Friends

 

My hiking boots are dusty. Really dusty. I last wore them when we went to Go Jii Ya. 

Go Jii Ya is a fall celebration on the reservation. It takes place at Stone Lake, about 20 miles south of town. It is an annual event that often draws Jicarilla Apaches living in other place back home for a few days. In August families begin working on their campsites, so that everything is ready on September 15th. 

The main event of Go Jii Ya is a footrace between the men of the two clans. Tradition holds that if the red clan wins then hunting will be good the following year. If the white clan wins then the next year will be good for crops and harvesting. 

The race itself is quite exciting to watch and there are also pre-race and post-race rituals that take place. Non-tribal members are not allowed to take pictures and we tell our friends that Go Jii Ya is much better experienced than described. Arrange your visit to take place on September 15^th and you’ll go home with memories you’ll never forget. After the race people return to their camps to eat, usually a variety of traditional foods, virtually all of it cooked over open fires. They eat, and then go visit other camps. 

Because of the pandemic Go Jii Ya was held in a much more limited and largely ceremonial fashion in 2020 and 2021. This year was the first more normal celebration in three years, and because we took our 2019 vacation in September it was our first time there in four years.

This year the grounds at Stone Lake were dusty. It was dusty watching the footrace, which lasted nearly 40 minutes. It was dusty during the post-race rituals, and it was dusty as we visited camps.

We usually camp during Go Jii Ya but the woman we used to camp with passed away during the pandemic. We saw her son during the race and accepted an invitation to eat at his camp. It takes some time after the race for food to be ready and so we wandered a bit and then headed in the direction the camp of an extended family within our church.

On the way we saw two women we know and haven't seen for a long time. "Come eat with us." We sat down for a bowl of cabbage soup, bread and melon. And good conversation, especially when the father of one of the women got to camp. He is truly a local legend, in the very best of ways, and I feel honored to hear him call me his friend.

Back to walking on the road to the top of the hill. We happened on the camp of a woman from our church and her sister. That woman is a dear friend of Robin. The food wasn't ready and after some conversation we set off for our original destination, the camp of an extended family within our congregation. 

It's a big family. Brothers, sisters, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They aren't all connected to our church but they have always treated us very well and invited us to many family gatherings. We ate well and enjoyed spending time with friends. 

Then we wandered back towards the race track and ended our day at the camp where we had first been invited for a meal. The food was good but to sit and talk, face-to-face, for the first time in far too long, was the best part.

It was a good day, and bittersweet when we had to leave to take our sons to soccer. There were other camps I would have loved to drop in at just to visit. And truthfully, if I had the entire day I wouldn't have gotten to them all.

I've got a dusty pair of boots. And that dust, today, reminds me that of the many blessings of ministry on the reservation, perhaps the richest is in the many people who nine years were unknown to us, who were strangers, and are now dear friends.