Mary Jack - 2nd Place in Golden Age Traditional Ladies 2001 Songhees Pow Wow Article on Mary Jack following an Interview There was a special on Saturday of the Pow Wow for one of the elder ladies of the circuit. Mary Jack's sons and daughters held a special for her. They put up all the money for her. Mary Jack is a Traditional Ladies dancer in the Golden Age category. She grew up on Tsartlip Reserve and has been dancing in Pow Wows for many years. In the Special, she gave away 14 blankets, including 5 Pennington blankets. One Pennington blanket was given to the committee for all their hard work in sponsoring the Pow Wow. She gave another blanket to the host drum, and the other 13 to ladies who dance in the Women's Traditional category. She honoured these ladies to show her respect for them. Many of them have shown their respect for her before in different ways, and she wants them to know she respects them as well. Many people have asked Mary Jack why she dances in the Pow Wow. She feels a great respect for the bighouse ceremonies. But she feels a lot of spiritual strength in the Pow Wow as well. She feels that Pow Wows pull us together as Indian people. "They give us strength." Her Indian name is Little Yellow Star. Her dancing came naturally to her. Everything about the Pow Wow felt natural. Her outfit even came naturally. Her fan, moccasins and shawl were all given to her. She decided all she needed was a blanket. She went to a garage sale and found a chair, full of dirt. The lady said to her "$4 for the chair." Mary Jack didn't want a chair, but she saw a little corner of a blanket sticking out. She pulled it out from the cushion and dirt. She paid $4 for the chair, but really it was a gift from the creator. The same thing happened with her corn husk bag, which she found at a 2nd hand store for 49 cents. You never know how the creator is going to speak to you.