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Keeping their traditions real
Pollen Trail Dancers bring culture, entertainment to South Rim area

Patrick Whitehurst/WGCN
Pictured from left to right (top to bottom) is A. Brent Chase, Garrick Yazzie, Kyle Chase, Brandon Tony and Kenvin Yazzie of the Pollen Trail Dancers.

Patrick Whitehurst/WGCN Pictured from left to right (top to bottom) is A. Brent Chase, Garrick Yazzie, Kyle Chase, Brandon Tony and Kenvin Yazzie of the Pollen Trail Dancers.

GRAND CANYON, Ariz. - Canyon visitors have plenty to do, from sight-seeing to cuisine and shopping. Many, however, call the Pollen Trail Dancers a highlight of their Rim experience. The dancers are comprised of a number of members; some of them long time performers in the group, such as Lead Dancer Garrick Yazzie, who has been a facet of the Pollen Trail Dancers for 15 years. Director A. Brent Chase is also an enduring fixture.

The dancers will perform this summer at the Hopi House on the South Rim. The 2009 lineup includes Yazzie and Chase, as well as Kenvin Yazzie, Kyle Chase and Brandon Tony, all of whom add their own artistic flair to the Pollen Trail Dancers team of the Navajo Tribe. There are roughly four female members of the group at any given time, who perform storytelling dances that tells the story of the Navajo women's role in the tribe, from basket making and weaving to harvesting corn.

According to A. Brent Chase, the group has been performing on the platform outside the Hopi House for roughly a decade.

"They have a natural platform right outside by the Rim," Chase said. "We do southwest dances, as well as intertribal pow wow dances. There are two different venues that we do. We do, of course, the ever-popular hoop dance and we do from Navajo dances, Apache dances, to Zuni dances. We do eagle dances, basket dances, bow and arrow dances, (the) rug or sash dance, which tells the story of our grandmothers' weaving, so we do a lot of traditional, social dances and story-telling dances. And of course, I also incorporate the story-telling with each of the dances."

Chase also plays flute as part of the Pollen Trail Dancers, which works hand in hand with Xanterra and the National Park Service to offer their performances on the Rim.

"We're very thankful and honored to be able to work here and showcase Native people's dances," Chase said. "If you're traveling through the area and you want to see a really good show, an honest show, come to the South Rim here at the park in front of the Hopi House and experience a little Native history and catch the spirit of the southwest."

Educating visitors

One of the group's biggest goals is to help educate visitors to the Canyon in the beliefs and traditions of Native American culture, Chase said.

"My favorite part, most definitely, is where we're able to express and showcase Native American culture to the people, the visitors. They come from all directions, from across the world," Chase said, adding that the Pollen Trail Dancers have received numerous requests to perform abroad.

"We prefer not to," Chase said. "We feel this is a center point for us to do our shows. The people from all over the world come here, being that it is a National Park and my favorite thing is incorporating culture. I think we are the only ones here in the park that do something more extravagant with performances."

He said people learn a lot about Native cultures simply by watching the group perform.

"Naturally, when you see us performing, you are entertained, but one of the things we do is we educate people about who we are and we tell them as it is. A lot of the times, the history books don't disclose a lot of things. We do, and we tell a lot of things, and that's the beauty of it, is that we do it ourselves, not through some media thing, or through some book or movie, we do it ourselves live and we give it to them live, and a lot of people express their deepest appreciation for being able to catch this. That is fuel for us to keep going. That's energy for us to keep going as well."

Those seeking to learn more about the Pollen Trail Dancers can look online at www.abchasingwind.com.


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