New Jingle Dancer

[Onkwehonwe.ottawa]

Ahnee all you Jingle Dancers!

I am new to this forum. I am of Iroquois ancestry (Cayuga-Onieda) and have been dancing traditional dances since I was a young girl, long before it was "cool to be 'Indian'". Unfortunately, I gave up dancing when I was about 16, and other things in life happened. I have recently returned to my traditional roots, and along with it, returned to pick up my dancing bundle.

My question is to all you ladies out there, regarding my grand-daughter, who is now 12. My grand-daughter is of mixed heritage, Iroquois on my side, and Anishnaabe (Mississauga of the Credit)on her grandfather's side. I recently had a dream about my granddaughter, dancing a jingle dance for her grandfather. I can still picture the dress she was wearing. What does she need to do to be initiated as a proper Jingle dancer? When will she be able to dance? It is not in my culture, but it is part of hers.

Meegwetch/Nia:wen

[ojibwakwe]

My question is to all you ladies out there, regarding my grand-daughter, who is now 12. My grand-daughter is of mixed heritage, Iroquois on my side, and Anishnaabe (Mississauga of the Credit)on her grandfather's side. I recently had a dream about my granddaughter, dancing a jingle dance for her grandfather. I can still picture the dress she was wearing. What does she need to do to be initiated as a proper Jingle dancer? When will she be able to dance? It is not in my culture, but it is part of hers.

Well First off....I'm not going to tell you what to do and I don't think anyone else should either on this topic..but we can help guide you and you can take whatever advice you want to.
is her grandfather still alive? If she has ojibwa grandparents that are still alive, they would be your best bet to ask and talk to about this and if they can't help much, im sure they can steer you in the right direction. It sounds like the family should be involved in this as much as they can. It is not up to people on this forum to tell you when your granddaughter can dance or is ready, in my opinion and the way I was raised that is a family decesion. I would also recommend writing down any tiny details of the dress or draw it out if you can.
Good Luck....

[Onkwehonwe.ottawa]

Thank-you.

Nia:weh gowah/ Chi-meegwetch, Ojibwakwe, for answering my inquiry.

It gives me some guidance in how I should proceed in grooming my grand-daughter for this role. As I am not Ojibway myself, my teachings as Haudenosaunee may be quite different from Anishnabe, As I am not familiar with the teachings associated with Jingle dancing,I want to be respectful. I did not expect people in this arena to tell me what to do, but it helps to have input and guidance.