As each year went by, and the family became a bit more splintered, I witnessed much loss of tradition.

At my first Sundance all of the family members worked in unison--as I had witnessed in the Yuwipi Ceremonies--to get the specifics down as they had been passed on to them. Each successive Sundance--as Godfrey was unable to be present and took Unci with him, and then Phillip was killed in a car crash--seemed to have lost so many of the details that I had once thought were essential. Without many voices to guide me in the part that I was called on to play, I found myself learning to focus my intent on others, open my heart, and beckon the Spirit of Woptura to be present, even if I didn't have the words and had lost many of the details of the Sundance itself.

Spirit never ceased to appear at Sundance. It never ceased to affect the people. Regardless of the traditions and subtleties lost. The miracles never stopped. One individual came to dance with infected abscesses on his feet. His foot was turning black, over-the-borderline gangrenous. I lobbied long and hard for him to go to the hospital in Rapid City. He ignored me. He prayed hard and was able to walk by Tree Day, and then went on to complete the Dance, during which time his foot completely healed. I