Unbroken: Indigenous Peoples Today
Nick Ohitika Najin, Miniconjou Lakota Warrior and Traditional Dancer
Nick Ohitika Najin is a Miniconjou Lakota traditional dancer that you can often find at Indigenous pow wows and events throughout the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions. Dressed in over 30 pounds of different ceremonial adornments that were crafted by himself and dozens of friends and family members across 40 years, his regalia celebrates the creativity, positivity, and pride of his entire culture.
"When you make regalia you don't just hurry up and do it. Your emotions and thoughts also go into it. It's a long process and my family friends did a lot of the beadwork and some of my featherwork. The roach that you see with the porcupine hair, a family friend did that for us too. So there's a lot of skills that I don't know but they have, and you don't just pay money to get this done. You have to trade, you have it gifted, you earn things like that in a respectful way.
"I really take dancing to heart and I practice every day. I have a responsibility to our people. Not only do I like to dance, but it feels good to see someone's face who cannot dance. To have them live within me.
"They say 'dance for the people' because there's people out there with diseases, they're handicapped, they're elderly, and for whatever reason they just can't do it. And when you're out there dancing, you don't just go out there and dance half way. You go out there and you fully dance. Me personally, I get lost in the songs. I have a lot of emotions and pride that come out. You go out there and dance as hard as you can and give it all you can.
"If you take care of your regalia it will take care of you. We say that because dancing is like a gift. The dancing that you learn and that outfit that you're gifted with will bring out the happiness in people."
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