Council of Indian Nations

Thursday

Chris got up in the dark and went to work out at the gym. I heard Reveille and then Chris came to take his shower. After he left for work, I got up and finished packing. I added some non-clothing items to my suitcase. I put pistachios in a baggie. I got dressed and ate some cheese squares. Chris came home before 8. We packed our laptops and put everything in the car. Then we went to the Headquarters parking lot and moved our luggage to a gov't vehicle. Chris went inside and got the key. And we headed to SLC.

We finished the book on CD. He pulled off the highway just as we reached I-80. He programmed the GPS for The Clubhouse. Then we followed the directions until we got there. There was street-side parking, but it was completely full. We had to park a couple blocks over and walk.

We entered a very old building. The main hall was set up with long tables and chairs. We milled about, greeting people. We went upstairs to see the library. They had a display of old cameras. The book portion was small for a library. Then we went to the basement. There was historical stuff down there, too. Plus a big bathroom/changing room for each gender.

Back in the main hall, I found a seat. I talked to a few archaeologists, and then saw the CSM. She took the chair next to me so we chatted. Time dragged on. Trays of veggies, cheese and fruit were laid out. It was a bit early for lunch, but I had one plate. Chris had two: one of food and one of desserts.

After 2 hours, the meeting started. There were opening remarks. Then issues of the day were discussed. Hill Air Force Base, Tooele Army Depot, Utah National Guard and Dugway each gave a talk about what they were doing and how it might affect the Native Americans. The tribal elders weighed in and asked questions.

Mostly I kept my phone off, but checked it during breaks. I got multiple texts from Michelle. When the meeting was over, the MC talked about coming back for dinner and then tomorrow for either the petroglyph trip or the artistic line-up: dances, painting, beading, etc. I had already agreed to meet Michelle and her family at the glyphs. She also invited us to take some soaps provided by a native American business.

We went back to our hotel, following the GPS instructions. It took over 20 minutes because of traffic. I was going to dress for dinner, but Chris changed out of his suit and put on a polo shirt, so I did not change. We had a few minutes to check e-mail and such. Then we drove back to the Clubhouse for dinner, again parking on another street and walking back.

This time the main room was set up with round tables. We sat with some Dugway people and one tribal lady. Caterers brought everyone a salad and a honey bun. We watched a couple demonstrate native American dances and explain the parts of their outfits. The outfits did not seem to be constructed of items found in nature.

When the dancing was over, entrees were laid out on a table and tribal elders were invited to choose first, followed by younger tribal members, then military. Finally Chris and I went up. I got the vegetarian meal and Chris took the pork version. We had pear cactus juice to go with the meal. After the meal, they served crème brulee and mouse. I had the mousse, and Chris was too full.

Our table had a interesting discussion of what constitute cultural awareness. And it went on from there. The conversation continued after most people had gone. All the extra food was put into plastic boxes and left for whoever wanted it. I took some of each to give to Isodora who expressed an interest in the food provided by the native American caterer.

And Chris kept talking to the archaeologists. Finally I tore him away because we had to get the food refrigerated. So we walked back to the car, and drove to the hotel. It was cold enough that we left the food in the car. We went up to the room and spent some time on e-mail. Then Chris went to bed at 10:30 and I worked on my blog, then went to bed myself.

A little after I laid down, I heard a dog bark in the next room. And someone sushed it. Quiet. However, the bark came again. And they got more frequent. Long about midnight, out of frustration, I called the front desk about it. Several minutes later, someone knocked on their door. I didn't hear conversation, but after a bit, I heard barking outside. Eventually it all went quiet. Later I fell asleep.