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Granddaughter Honored

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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I gotta do a little granddaughter bragging...


Granddaughter Leinie modeling her cowgirl working clothes! She's become great help working cattle and calving...



This is her again- the tall blonde in the back row... We needed to get all the work caught up because going into the next couple of weeks are tournament weeks- where all nonessential activity shuts down on Thur- Sun for basketball tournaments...
Pretty proud of this little (6 foot) gal- who as a Freshman made the varsity team and now has worked herself into the "6th man" position behind the older girls..


Granddaughter Leinie with her friend from Poplar, Tomee Escarcega with the beautiful star quilt Tomee and her family awarded Leinie at the 2B District Girls Basketball tournament on Thursday night ... Altho Leinie is a freshman and Tomee is a senior- they have played ball either together or against each other for years...(Today Glasgow beat Poplar out of the tournaments...Sadly Tomee and Poplar goes home- and Leinie and Glasgow go on to Divisionals in Conrad starting March 6th...)

And Leinie realizes the long tradition and tremendous honor receiving one of these quilts is...

For many Native Americans, the star is a sacred symbol, equated with honor. The belief is a respected and longstanding tradition, inherited from their ancestors. The Assiniboine and Lakota Sioux Indian nations of Eastern Montana and North and South Dakota had a spiritual belief in the stars, especially in Venus, whose reflected light made it one of the brightest objects in the night sky with the appearance of a star. The planet Venus was their guiding star. It represented the direction from which spirits travel to Earth, symbolizing immortality.

Today, it continues to herald a new beginning, a new day dawning. Standing between darkness (ignorance) and light (knowledge), the morning star leads to understanding. Star patterns using natural plant dyes adorned hides and teepees. The symbol was interwoven within porcupine quill work and beaded patterns used on moccasins, leggings and clothing. When missionaries came in the mid to late 1800's and introduced fabric and sewing to Native American women, the "Morning Star Quilt" was born. It replaced the traditional red buffalo robe and was displayed at their funerals as a means to honor and protect loved ones on their final journey through the stars. Its tradition of honor grew as the quilts were draped around the shoulders of their braves and hunters when they returned from battle or a successful hunt. Often the young men would wrap themselves in a quilt on their vision quests.

The quilt and its traditions have been adopted by many Indian tribes. The Southwestern tribes, having a similar belief in the stars, call this quilt "God's Eye". And like many other cultures, they believe it is more of an honor to give rather than receive and still use the quilt today in their "give-away" ceremonies. The quilt is now more simply called "Star Quilt". Today, Star Quilts are one of the most valued gifts of the Northern Plains Indians. They are seen as banners in schools for graduation and school functions, used as altar cloths in churches, placed on top of sweat lodges and used in powwows. They may be given to honor a special friend or family member, to a newly married couple, or to parents in celebration of a child's birth. They are given in sympathy to a family, honoring a loved one who has died. They are even given to those whom they have never met, out of respect and admiration.

Star Quilts are still wrapped around the shoulders of the recipient as a symbolic way to honor and protect that person on their journey through life. Giving is a universal tradition. Like the makers of the original Star Quilts who bestow their treasured creations upon others, rather than keeping them all of us have a capacity to share. When you see the image of the Star Quilt, let it be a reminder that there is honor in giving.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks... And as long as I'm bragging- here is the 1/2 a page picture of the granddaughter which was in today's Billings Gazette...
Our girls lost this game- but came back to beat Poplar to advance to the Divisionals in Conrad...

 
Congratulations to your granddaughter on her basketball career. That can be quite a boost in whatever she does in the future, with all the discipline and hard work required for success in sports carrying over into all other endeavors.

That was one of the best explanations of the meaning behind the star quilts. Thanks for sharing it. They are so beautiful, and the symbolism can be meaningful to anyone. The fine work of seamstresses in assembling those quilts is awesome, too.

mrj
 
Super congratulations to you and your grandaughter. I have 3 playing class c ball. None as succesfull as yours but still a source of pride. Just think you have 3 more years to enjoy. Wish her the best of luck and will keep up with her and Glasgow in the future. E.B.
 
I want to congratulate your Granddaughter. I appreciate your comments on the star quilts. I didn't know that the Indians believed it a special honor if they were given a star quilt or why they value them so highly. I thought it was just pride in their skill and handiwork. Gives me a whole different look at some of their culture and beliefs. Many times Indians have come here with stat quilts, I have never valued them to highly. Maybe that's a shame.
 


I have to put on my Grandpa hat and do a little bragging again... Here is my granddaughter Leinie and the Mon-Dak team (Montana and Dakota girls) while they were in Australia the last couple of weeks playing the Aussie teams...



Here they are again with one of the Aussie teams they played against...Leinie is the one on the far right in both pictures... Sounds like they had a ball- spent lots of time at the beach- and got to see quite a bit of the country-- BUT they were all homesick and she was happy to touch down back in Montana yesterday...
 

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