Our Dish Soap Defrosted!

BACK IN THE BUTTE

So we drove back to Eagle Butte late Tuesday night when the power came back to the main towns. When we were here without power, our dish soap froze which made washing dishes very difficult. When we returned, ti had defrosted- yay! Unfortunately, anyone who lives outside the towns do not have electricity yet and may not have it for a few more weeks. The water is still undrinkable so we have been distributing clean water around the reservation. Also, we have been taking shifts at the Emergency Operations Command Center answering emergency calls 24/7. For me, this means waking up every 4 hours to drive people to switch shifts. But, it's very interesting working with the Tribal Government and working with the people who are at the forefront of the disaster relief.

SWEAT
On Saturday we were invited to a Sweat Lodge! It is an outdoor dome covered in tarps that is pitch black. Rocks are heated in a fire until they are red and then they are placed in the dome and water is poured over them to create intense steam. We had 13 people in ours. The experience is very spiritual and intended for cleansing and prayer. We sat through 3 rounds of the steam which took about 2 hours. I sweat buckets. And my nose hairs burned.

BUFFALO
I saw a herd of Buffalo! They were beautiful and I photographed them in black and white. Then I ate buffalo. I don't think it was kosher, but who knows, the buffalo had some pretty intense peyos.

PICTURES FINALLY! WHERE WE LIVE:
OUR HOUSE:

OUR GROCERY STORE (THE LTM):

THE HABITAT OFFICE: