Smoke Signals 5
Grass Dancer Takes Time To Share His Talents
Tribal youth Chad Peters represents at Sheridan's Chapman Middle School.
By Willie Mercier
JUNE 1, 2002
The vast gymnasium of
Chapman Middle School in
Sheridan is empty when Grand Ronde
Tribal member Chad Peters, dressed in Native
regalia, sets up his senior project.
Peters, a senior at Sheridan High School, is a
grass dancer who decided to share this part of
his life with the young people that attend
Chapman.
"I see that most people in these schools and
the school districts don't know much about In
dian education and pow-wows and pow-wow eti
quette, so I thought that it would be a good way
to teach them," said Peters.
It was not so long ago that Peters was sitting
in this same gymnasium watching assemblies
himself, now he is the presenter.
The sound of Chapman Middle School's young
people could be heard as they approached the
gymnasium doors on Friday, May 10. The stu
dents were gathered for Peters' presentation.
Peters started by introducing his father,
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Like Father, Like Son Tribal member Chad Peters learned to dance from his dad Deitrich Peters and
recently showed his skills at Sheridan's Chapman Middle School. Peters' presentation to the students was part
of his senior project at Sheridan High School. Years before, Peters sat in the same gymnasium watching others
present their senior projects, wondering when it would be his turn.
Deitrich, and his friend, Franklin Pratt, and
then himself. After giving a little background
regarding their regalia, the different dances
and the meaning of the music, the sound of
beating drums resonated throughout the gym
like an approaching thunderstorm, and then
the dancing began.
Peters explained to the audience that tradi
tionally, a grass dancer's purpose was to flat
ten the grass for a dance arena and to rid the
ground of any rodents, snakes or anything else
that might be hiding.
Chad's feet touch the gymnasium floor in
synch with the drumbeat and it is obvious that
he has the student's attention. The kid's, who
are notorious for short attention spans, sit qui
etly and attentively captivated by Chad's
movements.
"I think it went awesome, they (the middle
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school students) actually responded more than
the high school kids," said Peters when asked
how he thought his presentation went.
Peters has been dancing for several years, his
father was his inspiration and is who Peters
credits for getting him interested. You might
have seen Chad dance if you attended the
Tribe's Annual Pow-wow last year; he danced
in the grass dancer competition.
"I didn't fare too well," said Peters. "I don't
dance for the money - I dance because I want
too."
Will he compete next year?
"Yeah and I'm going to do better, but it doesn't
matter to me if I win or lose." B
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Educational Students at Peters' presentation
learned about his regalia and what the grass dance
means and what its origins are.