The Next Generation: Kimberly Lucio
Kimberly Lucio is Anita Afraid Of Bear’s second eldest daughter. In the photo above, she engages with her own daughter during the rite of passage “Toss The Ball”. After having a dream about the Sun Dance, Kimberly realized what her role should be in the sacred ceremony going forward. To learn more, read the Q&A below.
Kimberly Lucio, aged 36
Q: What is your role in the Sun Dance?
A: Well at first I was in the arbor, and I would help my mom to make spiritual food. And then, I ended up having a Sun Dance dream. My auntie encouraged me to go through with it and finally do the 4 years that they like us to do for Sun Dance. My first year was the year before the pandemic, so I’ve only gotten to dance one year. And I only did 2 days because I wanted to be available to my children for the rest of the dance.
[Describing the dream]: I was in a circle with everybody dancing. Everyone was dancing with water, which I knew was not realistic because there’s no water up there. Everybody had bowls of water with them and was wearing blue. My auntie told me that the Afraid Of Bear colors are blue, red, green and yellow. She said there’s meaning behind it. So you can start and go on a vision quest to see if you can find out more meaning as to why you’re called to dance.
I feel like I’m supposed to be a water carrier, the one that pours the water in the inipi onto the rocks. That’s what I got out of the first year I danced.
Q: You have a daughter who participated in the rites of passage and ceremonies last June. She wrote a lovely letter as to what the ceremony meant to her, wherein she used many traditional words. As her mom, what did it mean to you that she went through this? Did you see that this experience affected her anyway?
A: I was really happy that she got to experience this because I never had the chance to. I was super proud of her because she showed incredible strength through the whole thing. She was so hungry but didn’t eat because she knew good things would come from it. I think she realizes that we’re going to have to know these ways to pass them on. So, she knows how important these ceremonies are.
Q: Do you have any goals that you would like to see accomplished for the Tiospaye?
A: Yes, it’s really family oriented. We have a big family. I have nieces and nephews that just want to know. And what I want to see happen is them coming for it every year. I think that they know in their hearts how important it is as well that we keep it alive and keep it going. And learning our ways, they’re ready for it.
Q: What do you feel your role is in the process of handing down that information to them?
A: When I sit down and talk to them, they look up to me and I’m kind of like a role model to them. They always come to me with all these questions, and so I’m like “this is how it is” and they think it is so cool! We prayed about it and now we’re seeing a lot of them coming [to the Sun Dance], so it feels like our prayers have been answered.