“Nice to meet you too. Bugz, you dance beautifully.” Liumei’s eyes scanned Bugz’s jingle dress. “What do the designs on your costume represent?”

“Regalia, actually.” Bugz corrected her as her dad winced almost imperceptibly. “Costumes are for clowns. We wear regalia.”

“Right,” Liumei said. “I’m used to people getting it wrong about my culture too. I’m super sorry. I shouldn’t have said costume.”

“It’s fine.”

Bugz’s father jumped in. “So, how are you liking life on the Rez?”

“Well, your community’s very beautiful. Everyone’s super nice. The family I stayed with for the first few weeks took me fishing.” Liumei glanced around. “And to be quite honest, it’s not what I was expecting. It’s not like any Rez I’ve seen on the news.”

“My wife is doing an amazing job of creating work in our community. And our people have always been proud of our culture. So we’re doing good.”

A group of flies swarmed the lights above them, seeming to accent the awkward pause in the conversation.

“This your first time at a pow-wow?” Bugz’s dad asked.

“No, I went to some at university,” Liumei answered, a little too quickly.

Bugz could tell Liumei was lying. Why do adults tell lies like this so often? A smart, independent woman—someone who would be treated no differently even if she admitted she hadn’t seen a pow-wow before—still felt compelled to tell a little white lie. Bizarre.

“Cool. Do you like grass?”

“What?” Liumei paused, looking confused.

“Grass…men’s grass. My son’s going to dance right away.”

“He’s really good,” Bugz jumped in with a smile. She decided she liked Liumei because of her attempts to fit in and not in spite of them.

“Make sure you pay attention to his moves. He’ll mirror everything he does on the left side on the right side a few beats later.” Bugz’s father stared into the centre of the dance arbor as he spoke. “It represents keeping everything in balance in the universe.”

CHAPTER 9

“So, at this time, the pride of our Rez, Waawaate Holiday, is going to put on a demonstration for all of you, and then we’ll get into his special. And, ladies and gentlemen, he has requested a trick song, so let’s see who wins this showdown—the dancer or the drummers. Okay, we’ve got the high sign.”