As Brown As I Want, The Indianhead Diaries, Excerpt
PowWow Pete- I think Pete was accusing mom of still being in love with my dad...
Photo by my mother sometime around 1949…Left, my Aunt Pat (Pauline in the book), Janelle, Bob (Carlos in the book).
Most of this book is autobiographical, but it’s my book, so MY RULES! Mom never had a good man, so I gave her Powwow Pete in As Brown As I Want!
Chapter 11. Powwow Pete
…Carlos said we were driving his mom’s old Packard to the powwow because its trunk was bigger than the trunk in Mom’s new Ford, but I never paid much attention to the big brown cardboard box in the back of the car. If I had, I would have thought it was our picnic. Well, Gramma has always said I have two stomachs and no brain…
…I found out when we got to the campsite the box in our trunk was full of Indian men’s ribbon shirts with lots of different colors of ribbons that swing when the dancer moves. They must be the prettiest shirts my mom and her crew have ever made…
…While Mom was busy selling her shirts, Powwow Pete, who’s kind of a tribal policeman, started going around and checking out the booths to see what everyone was selling. Mom was real nervous. I think it was because you’re supposed to be Comanche or at least some kind of Indian to be able to sell at a *tribal powwow, and she was afraid Powwow Pete would kick her out when he came to her car. But he didn’t. It wasn’t a mistake, either, because Powwow Pete and Mom have been friends for years and he knows for sure we’re Mexican*. He not only didn’t throw her out, he even bought a shirt. Normally, he wears those Navajo cotton prints with a small design. Mom has scouts all over who are supposed to tell her if they see Powwow Pete wearing a bright red shirt with ribbons. She spends so much time with him whenever he buys a shirt, you’d think he was her favorite customer. I don’t understand it. It’s not as if he’s her best customer. He only buys about one shirt a year. Sometimes, I think they’re sweet on each other, except Mom always says the last thing she needs is another man in her life. Well, I need one, even if she doesn’t. Powwow Pete would sure make a good dad for me. He’s real nice. I’ve never heard him yell at anybody. Not even once. I’ve put him on my New Dad List. I’m pretty sure he isn’t married because he’s always alone at the powwows…
…At the powwow that night, the Comanches showed how gracious they can be to outsiders*: Powwow Pete, all dressed up in his new red shirt, asked Mom if she wanted to join the women in their round dance. Mom said no because she was so busy packing shirts she forgot her dance shawl, and she knows it’s *disrespectful not to have one on while dancing with the other women. I could tell she was real disappointed…
…Carlos and I like to walk around and watch the dancers get ready. Sometimes, we hear the men talking and laughing about the Navajo Indians during the war who used to talk their native language on their radios so the Japanese and Germans couldn’t tell what they were saying. They never did figure out what the messages were. Ha! I guess they’ll think twice before they tangle with *Navajos again. Mom explained to me how the Comanche men have always been warriors, so they’re proud of their military service. That’s why they wear their family’s military patches on a strip of material over their shoulder when they dance. Powwow Pete’s is so long it almost touches the ground. Both sides, front and back, are covered in *army patches. Carlos says some of them are from relatives, but most of them are his. He’s a real war hero for sure…
Author’s notes:
As I’m now in my eighties, and I’m writing about the 1950s, some things have changed. I’ve decided to add these explanatory notes for history’s sake.
*Mexican- When I was growing up, one little drop of Mexican blood put people in the category of Mexican. We were 60 miles from the Texas border and resentments over the Alamo still ran deep. I never heard the word Hispanic used.
*Outsiders- Not Comanche. We were always very careful to “know our place” even though no one ever made us feel unwelcome. Many of my mother’s friends were Comanche and Kiowa and my mother played on their softball teams.
*Disrespectful- When I was home visiting in the 1980’s, a Comanche told me he’d never heard of it not being respectful not to wear a dance shawl if you were invited to dance. Customs had changed!
*Navajo Code talkers-When I grew up, I learned many tribes in the United States and Canada used their languages to confuse the enemy. I do not know if any were Comanches.
*Army patches-During a visit in the 1980s, I took my mother to a powwow where many of the men were wearing the cloth ribbons with patches sewn on. I kept trying to get closer to the dancers to get a better look. One dancer glared at me until I sat down. He noticed me because I was obviously not Comanche! After I sat down, I was a little shaken. Before the end of the powwow, I realized the dancer who stared me down was Wes Studi! He was afraid I was a reporter! I do not believe Wes Studi is a Comanche. More likely, he was a guest.
As Brown As I Want, The Indianhead Diaries, was a finalist in the 2004 Oklahoma Book Awards Contest and a first-place winner in the fiction category in Surrey, Canada in 1999.