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Entering the circle How one Itasca man is trying to keep the American Indian culture alive in his own children and throughout the Chicago area.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Sara Burnett Daily Herald Staff Writer

Joe Podlasek kneels before his 2-year-old daughter, Ajiina.

On either side of him, an American Indian man dressed in full regalia leans in.

It is their job to explain to the young Itasca girl the importance of what is about to happen.

In moments, Ajiina will "enter the circle," or participate in an American Indian dance without being carried, for the first time.

It is both a spiritual step akin to a baptism and an opportunity for other American Indians at tonight's powwow to welcome the girl into the community.

Before she walks, Ajiina also will receive her first eagle feather - a single plume attached to a pink-and-purple beaded headband, handmade to match her new dress and apron.

The little girl stands still as George Martin, the leader of the powwow, prepares to place the plume atop Ajiina's head.

The eagle is the bird that flies highest, and therefore closest to God, Martin tells the girl, the feather on his own headdress brushing her forehead.

Ajiina will have to guard the feather carefully, he adds.

She must show it respect.

It is a moment so sacred, no photographs are allowed.

It takes several minutes for Ajiina to waddle around the floor of the University of Illinois at Chicago pavilion, her parents and other family and friends around her.

Later, Martin notes how the little girl, whose name is Ojibway for "in a little while," kept the headband on the whole time.

"Even though she's that small, I think she understood," Martin adds. "They may understand better than we do."

Martin - and other American Indians like him - are counting on it.

Saving history

At least two-thirds of American Indians in the United States - about 2.7 million of the approximately 4.1 million nationwide - now live in urban areas, according to the 2000 census.

More than 31,000 of those live in Chicago and its suburbs.

With those numbers increasing every year, many American Indians fear the language and traditions that once flourished on reservations are no longer being passed to younger generations.

About 418 native languages survive in the United States today, according to Anthony Aristar, a linguist and professor at Wayne State University in Detroit...

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