FINDING MY DANCE

A renowned Indigenous dancer tells her story.

At 4 years old, author Thundercloud, of the Ho-Chunk Nation and Sandia Pueblo, received her first jingle dress—an intricate, hand-sewn garment worn by Indigenous dancers. When she performed for the first time at a powwow, her spirit soared. This feeling never left Thundercloud, and as she grew up, she began dancing in the Native “fancy shawl” tradition as well as in contemporary, jazz, tap, ballet, and modern styles. Despite her meteoric rise in numerous dance communities (which eventually led to her becoming an internationally renowned professional dancer), Thundercloud was a “shy” kid who “didn’t fit in.” She was perpetually “the only Indigenous girl in class,” no one pronounced her name—Wakąja haja pįįwįga, or “Beautiful Thunder Woman”—correctly, and the timid girl “never corrected them.” As Thundercloud reached adulthood, she found strength through her ancestral dance and the birth of her daughter. Empowered by her heritage, Thundercloud now corrects those who mispronounce her daughter Yelihwaha•wíhta’s name (“She Brings Good Energy”), lifting up “a language that still exists, and a culture that we still honor, despite many attempts to wipe it out forever.” Accompanied by Fuller’s evocative illustrations that fill pages with bright colors and dynamic figures, Thundercloud’s rousing story of an uncertain child who grows to take pride in her identity will resonate with readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A moving picture book about the resilience one can find in one’s cultural inheritance.