Ida Mae Garrison
Hunkpapa Sioux
All of us of the 2017 New York Dance For All People were so honored to welcome Ida Mae Garrison of the Hunkpapa Sioux nation as an honored guest (thanks to Jan Wylie, Oshee Eagleheart, and others) to our dance in her 100th year of walking upon Mother Earth! Joan Henry tells us that “her longing to hear traditional songs again, her longing to hear the sound of the drum and to feel its rhythm brought her to this Dance.” At the closing Spirit Feast, it was the privilege of the women to wrap Ida Mae in a new Pendleton for what she has stood for and all that she has given during her lifetime.
Upon Ida Mae’s return home after the NY Dance, she spoke excitedly about traveling to Tennessee in April, but it was not to be. Jan Wylie posted this Facebook entry on March 25, 2018:
Ida Mae shed her earthly robe at 11:11 this morning. She is now dancing from the Other Side Camp. It was a peaceful passing, surrounded by her family and caregivers. Thank you all for your love and support of Ida Mae and for her team of caregivers. We all feel your huge open hearts hugging us.
Ida Mae Memorial Fund
One of the very last things that Ida Mae said was: “Up the road or down the road, some child is being abused by the parents or by the teacher, or by the other children. Love them, all the children in the whole world.”
To help carry out Ida Mae’s wish, donations in Ida Mae’s memory may be sent to the children’s program administered by her friend, Luella Harrison, in Porcupine, ND. Checks should be made payable to: Porcupine Local District # 3457, specifying “for the Children’s Program”, and mailed to:
