>>Dr. Nelson: As a sacred space, as a place
for worship, I think that part of what the
grounds is doing in addition to continuing
traditions is it's helping to foster certain
values. And so I wonder if we could hear from
you about what sorts of values are most important
to the folks at the grounds.
>>Chief Comingdeer: Cultural values vary from
tribe to tribe and even maybe from community
to community. What's important, what's maybe
been forgotten or what's upheld may be a little
stronger over here or over there. The one
thing that that comes to my mind when I think
about values, ceremonial tribal values here
is the respect for one another, which is an
Indian value, but the the specific value here
that comes to my mind first and foremost is
a strong work ethic. For those of us that's
here, it is our job to maintain this ground.
Nothing comes first, and the only thing that
stops you from doing your job is the death
of you, that you will perform your duty to
that point. And if you are fortunate enough
to live a long healthy life, you can do that.
Sometimes people get sick, so sick that they
can't perform their job. I look forward to
a long life here of doing my job to the end.
That would give me a great satisfaction.
>>Dr. Nelson: You talk about folk's health
in in a never different places, and it looks
like keeping people healthy is maybe even
another one of the kinds of values that the
grounds is fostering through the medicine
that you're talking about and and maybe even
through the ball play.
>>Chief Comingdeer: If you were engaged in
your ceremonial ground activities, you would
have no choice but to be healthy. It's a very
physically active lifestyle, and nobody as
a community lives off the land, an agrarian
society like we were before. We don't hunt
for all of our food like we did before, so
our our life in general is less physical today
than it was in the generations of the past.
You can't help but but maintain a level of
physical fitness because it it is a physical
it's a physical thing as well as a spiritual
thing to play ball. You know, you've got to
be able to run and and in the heat. And then
this place requires a lot of firewood, so
somebody has to cut and split all that wood,
so those are physical activities, and the
dance itself. I remember one time we put a
little device on one of our shell shakers,
and it was a--
>>Dr. Nelson: One of those pedometers or something
like that?
>>Chief Comingdeer: --a pedomoeter that's
what it was called. It was called a pedometer,
and it was a shell shaker that was she danced
a lot at at one of our meetings. Just out
of curiosity we wanted to see what what it
would read at the end of the when the sun
come up, and it was just over 10 miles.
>>Dr. Nelson: Goodness! [laughs] With how
how much do you reckon those shells weigh,
too?
>>Chief Comingdeer: Oh, I don't know, an extra
30 pounds on them maybe. I don't know,--
>>Dr. Nelson: Goodness.
>>Chief Comingdeer: --25 or 30 pounds. Some
may be heavier because they have larger can,
larger fixtures, but you're you're you're
talking about a physical a physical feat,
you know, in itself to to dance all night
for men and women and some some are elderly,
you know. And so it's it's a testament to
our people that we that we are and that we
come from a people that have been strong,
not just mentally and and spiritually, but
physically too.
>>Dr. Nelson: Well, you talked a little bit
about the the ball game. Maybe we could take
a look over and and see where it is that you
play ball here at the grounds, if that'd be
all right.
>>Chief Comingdeer: Sure. Yeah. That'd be
good.
>>Dr. Nelson: Well, we're going to pack up
the set, and we're going to go on a walk.
