They came from far-flung countries such as Peru in South America and close, from Canada up North. They are Indians. The majority of them are descendants of Native Indian Americans who had inhabited this beautiful land long before anyone else set foot here.

It is estimated that there are over 500 Native American tribes or nations, the preferred designate, in the United States of America. They converged en masse on Traders’ Village in Grand Prairie Texas this past weekend to celebrate their heritage. A Pow Wow it was.

There were the Mohawks, original inhabitants of parts of New York, recognized by a hairstyle which leaves a strip of distinct hair in the center while both sides of the head are shaven.

The Inkas, great musicians, were in attendance with their melodious Pan Flutes, consisting of several pipes of various lengths tied together. Oh, they sound great!

Different nations have different flutes used for different reasons. Entertainment and spirit-calling make the list.

They were very colorful, neat and a pleasure to see. Without a doubt, their outfits of feathers, animal hides, plants of weaving thread display their ingenuity. They were resplendent. Some asked for $5 a pop to take pictures with them, which I declined to do. So I merely inched away and used my iPhone X to take a selfie, with them in the background.

After all, I was spending a lot of money to eat, drink, park, purchase merchandise and pay for a rental car for three days.

Traders’ Village is replete with as many ATMs as there are knockoffs, bootlegs. Transactions are mainly in cash with no refunds or returns. It is a neat place with clean restrooms, and the grounds are littered with visible trash cans.

There are rides for kids as in Six Flags of Texas, a food court, beer stalls and plenty of anything to buy.

They filed in one-by-one onto the stadium-like grounds for the celebration led by two, raising the Stars and Stripes and the Lone Star flags. The chief in charge said a prayer. When it was time for the national anthem, I was standing at ease, shooting videos and taking pictures, so I had to stand at attention for the Star Spangled Banner. Or so I thought. What I heard blew my mind. Native Americans have their own national anthem.

There were no other flags of their own worthy of note so without asking, my conclusion was since they only had two flags, they stood for the U.S. national anthem when played, which was not sung.

Speaking to the audience, the chief admonished the crowd not to read history books about Native Americans. “Do not read the history books about us. They were not written by us,” he said.

It sounded like a tacit castigation of Christopher Columbus who is thought to have discovered America.

“Columbus didn’t discover America – he never set foot in North America. During four separate trips that started with the one in 1492, Columbus landed on various Caribbean islands that are now the Bahamas as well as the island later called Hispaniola. He also explored the Central and South American coast. But he didn’t reach North America which of course was inhabited by Native Americans.” Valrie Strauss- The Washington Post.

Not to be outdone, Jamaicans had long ago taken swipes at Columbus. Listen to reggae star Burning Spear.

They danced in a circle, chanting what was not understandable to me because I could speak none of their languages despite I frequent Oklahoma, officially known as Native America.

On one of my trips to Oklahoma, I met Juanita, a twin, at a gas station in Glenpool. “You are Native  American, are you not?” I asked. “Yes,” she replied and hastily added, “but I cannot prove it.” Juanita is Choctaw. Texas Oklahoma border is Choctaw nation country but she was in Creek nation area in Glenpool, two and a half hours away from home. To get to Creek nation from Texas, you go through Caddo and Kiowa nations.

During this weekend’s celebration, embedded in the group was a black guy who ostensibly has been able to establish his Native  American heritage and is perhaps enjoying the attendant benefits.

Gee! How could he succeed in getting accepted when Juanita and her sister could not? Well, It is none of my business and I believe in science and history so I continued to enjoy the show, knowing many Americans have been unable to do the same.

On Monday, October 8, 2018, America celebrates Columbus Day. For now, dance to this  Inka music which got me pounding the floor with my feet all night when I got back home Sunday.

Credit: The videos of these Inka musicians, Burning Spear, and the Native American National Anthem are from YouTube.