SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — People across South Dakota are celebrating Native Americans’ Day. In Sioux Falls, hundreds of people lined Philips Avenue for a parade Monday morning, butthat is just one of the ways people commemorate the holiday.
It’s called the Calling of Dancers, and Monday, it brought people of all ages together at Falls Park.
WATCH: Native American Day parade in DTSF
“It’s awesome. The weather is cooperating, and the people are cooperating and everybody’s cooperating, so I’m happy,” dancer Phil Little Thunder Sr. said.
“Being able to gather today, it really represents solitude, connection, healing. We’re really trying to break these cycles and having gatherings like this and events like this to be able to celebrate with one another definitely helps,” parade committee member Shaina Yellowback said.
The dancing is simple.
“Get one with the drum. Listen to the drum beat and then the rest will come to you,” Little Thunder Sr. said.
But there’s a lot of meaning behind every movement.
“Whenever we have people who are dancing, it’s within prayer and healing for our communities,” Yellowback said.
“I have relatives here in Sioux Falls that I want to honor for being here and to never forget where we came from,” Little Thunder Sr. said.
It also keeps their Native American traditions alive and passes them down to the next generation.
“This is all spiritual stuff that I have on to try to encourage the young people to practice our culture and traditions so that our people never go away,” Little Thunder Sr. said.
And Yellowback is pleased to see more dancers show up every year.
“It’s really building up, and to see the support that we have here in Sioux Falls, it’s amazing. To be able to just keep going and keep the momentum going every year, it really brings a lot of healing to our community,” Yellowback said.
South Dakota was the first state to recognize Native Americans’ Day when legislature made it law in 1990.