The St. Croix TRAILS Dance Troupe in front of the Aize Tsuraga-jo Castle.

by Kate Lechnir

St. Croix Reservation, Wisconsin (OA)

For many members of the St. Croix TRAILS Dance Troupe, their recent trip to Japan was their first journey outside the country, and a once in a lifetime experience. They were invited to Japan by the Rice Lake International Friendship Association as a part of a cultural exchange between two sister cities – Rice Lake, Wisconsin and Miharu, Japan.

This year marks the 500th anniversary of the city of Miharu. The St. Croix TRAILS (Traditions Respecting American Indian Life Styles) Dance Troupe continues to honor and perform many of the traditional dances from 500 years ago, and were a natural to be selected to go.

Ten members of the St. Croix TRAILS Dance Troupe were accompanied by Mark Soulier, St. Croix TRAILS Coordinator; Gloria Merrill, St. Croix Tribal Judge; Wanda McFaggen, St. Croix Director of Tribal Historic Preservation; Jenny Bearheart, St. Croix Public Relations Director; Katrina Decorah, college student; and Jeff Butler, videographer.

They were greeted in Miharu by host families who would provide a home base for the dance troupe for the next three days. “I was a bit apprehensive when we all separated that first night and went home with our host families,” said Gloria Merrill. Her host family was comprised of grandparents, parents, and their eight-year-old son. “They kept us all comfortable, fed and rested. They went out of their way for us.”

Miranda Rivard, a 16-year-old student at Siren High School, was with a host family of a mother who worked as a nurse, a father who worked in Tokyo, and two daughters. “One daughter and the mother spoke enough English so we could understand each other.”

“My host family was a grandpa, a grandma, a mom and dad and four kids,” said Josh Merrill, a 16-year-old student at Unity High School. “They did speak a little English. I played Nintendo 64 and Game Cube with them.”

Mark Soulier and Preston Decorah stayed with a host family where the mother was the president of the Rice Lake International House, and the father was a doctor, and three children. The father taught Preston how to use a Samurai sword.

Jenny Bearheart’s host family was comprised of a grandparent, a mom, a dad and a son. “Staying with our host families, we learned a great deal of the culture of the Japanese, and we shared our culture with them. We were so fortunate to get to live in their homes with them, get to know them, to see how they really lived. The host families of Miharu were so welcoming of strangers into their houses. They really do feel like your family.”

Each morning, the host families drove their guests to the Rice Lake International House, built in 1994 by the government of Miharu and the citizens of Rice Lake. The house is used as a headquarters for English-speaking guests visiting Miharu. The wood used to build the house came from Rice Lake.

The first morning, the dance troupe met the Mayor of Miharu and the superintendent of schools at the Municipal City Hall downtown. They had prepared a special greeting and a dream-catcher. They visited two schools that day, each school with close to 400 children.

“We had to take our shoes off and wear sandals or go around in our stocking feet,” said Gloria Merrill.

“The whole school, from the oldest to the youngest, danced a welcoming dance for us,” said Amber Merrill. “It was cool. It was almost like a line dance with a lot more moves. They had instruments that they played along with the song. It sounded like a clapping sound.”

“Our kids and the Japanese kids had a culture exchange,” said Gloria Merrill. “We were shown how to spin tops made out of stone. We learned card games and marble games. One school performed a traditional tea ceremony and demonstrated Samurai fighting and judo for us.”

“When the St. Croix kids danced, the Japanese kids were staring in awe,” said Jeff Butler. “It was an incredible experience to capture these kids through the eye of the camera interacting with smiles and laughter, eye-to-eye contact and a definite sense of interest and acknowledgement. The kids found that they have something in common, before they become adults and realize they don’t.”

“I think our biggest success was always when our dancers invited members of the audience to dance with us,” said Mark Soulier. “One school principal said that he was so surprised to see his kids come up and dance. He said that the Japanese kids are usually so shy and reserved. The principal was hoping ten kids would come up and dance with us... and the whole school joined in.”

On Saturday, the dance troupe participated in a Cultural Exchange Day at the Miharu Festival House. After a welcoming ceremony, they conducted a two-hour workshop on Native American dances and regalia. After lunch, the dancing began.

There were close to 1,000 people in the Miharu Hall. The Toyama Bon Dancers performed a traditional and sacred “Bone Dance.” They wore silk kimonos, bows and special thatched hats. There were drums, flutes and a stringed instrument. The men sang throughout the Bone Dance. “You could almost imagine the story, just from watching the dancer’s movements,” noted Soulier.

“The Bone Dance is only performed two times each year, and often lasts three to four hours,” said Bearheart. “The dance is performed to appease gods and to let them know they are being thought of.”

“The dancing was very graceful and eloquent,” added McFaggen. “I know there was a deeper meaning to it. I know they were very proud to dance for us. You could see it. The music – I fell in love with it! It was really soothing and pretty.”

“Their dancing is so graceful, you have to move your arms and feet in sync with everyone else around you,” said Rivard. “Their outfits were really cool. The hats came down like a little point over their faces.”

The dance troupe performed next. They were followed by 30 Japanese drummers. There was one big drum and three or four smaller drums. “When they played the big drum, their beat was different from ours,” said Kyle Phernetton. “Their drum was four feet around and they pounded on it with two big sticks.”

After the performances, the dance troupe exchanged lessons on drumming and dancing. “Sharing our music and dance was beneficial to breaking the cultural barrier,” said Soulier. “Once we started dancing and holding hands together with the people there, we broke the cultural barrier.”

“It was good for us to see their dance,” said Bemosaakwe. “And it was good for them to see us. Because our styles of dancing are so different, and unique, we could see the cultural differences expressed in our dances.”

The next day, the dance troupe played tourist, traveling by bus with their interpreter, Jeana, and other families from the Rice Lake International House. They visited the Miharu Castle Town and Cultural History Museum, and toured a recreated castle. Only a few ruins were visible of the original castle from the 14th century.

Inside the museum was a village replica of an old Samurai castle. “The armor amazed me,” said Gloria Merrill. “It was made of leather and bamboo, not metal. We also saw old ricing baskets, and learned how the rice was harvested and processed.”

“I’ve never been in a castle,” said Bemosaakwe. “We saw their weapons and their shields. They showed us pictures of their pottery and candles.”

“It was very emotional for me, learning the history of the Samurai,” said McFaggen. “I feel that those descendents of the Samurai must be very proud of their ancestors. They had a beautiful way.”

The tourists also visited one of the three great cherry trees of Japan, located in Miharu. The “Takizakura” (Waterfall Cherry Tree) is more than 1,000 years old and stands more than 62 feet tall. The breadth of the branches reach nearly 72 feet. The circumference of the trunk is 31 feet around.

“I’ve never seen a tree that big or old. It was so beautiful,” said Bemosaakwe.

On their last day, the dance troupe visited one last elementary school. Preston Decorah surprised everyone, when asked to participate in sword fighting Japanese style. He did it like an old pro. Of course, no one knew that Preston’s host family had taught him sword fighting techniques for hours the night before.

When it was time to leave Miharu, everyone gathered around the bus and said their goodbyes.

“There were definitely some tears, and it was a sad time for all,” said Bearheart.

“What I will remember most about the trip was my host family. I will never forget them. They were so nice to us. They were generous people who you could be comfortable around. I like how they followed their traditions and their customs. You could see it in their homes,” said Bemosaakwe.

“It was important for us to show people from a different country what our tribe does; our wild rice, pow wows and how we do beadwork,” said Phernetton. “The one thing we had in common, rice, helped us become friends.”

“I’ll remember the people I met forever,” said Rivard. “I hope to go back as an exchange student after I graduate high school. It was a journey of a lifetime.”

“This was a once in a lifetime thing,” said Josh Merrill. “Because we traveled over there, we created greater ties to the Japanese country. If we don’t keep in touch, we’ll probably fail not only economically but politically in the future.”

“It was a learning experience and I want to go back,” said Josh Merrill. “We learned some, but there is so much more that I want to learn. I will remember this trip for a lifetime... everything we did, the places we went and the people we met.”

“I was so proud of our kids,” said Soulier. “They were always respectful to everybody... to the young and to the elders. They are beginning to learn that the world is not such a small place and that respect and good behavior can get you a long way.

“The small adventure of our kids meeting with other Japanese kids could help in the future of our two countries. We would like to have our Japanese friends come to visit us now and continue the exchange of our Native culture with the Japanese culture,” he said.