by Robin D. Lee
April 5, 2023
“Raven Steals the Light” is a classic Native American story. The first time I heard it, I was captivated. On investigation, I learned that there are different versions, depending on the tribe, and the storyteller who is making it come alive. This led me down the rabbit hole of watching YouTube videos with different versions, told by members from a variety of Northwest, Canadian and Alaskan Native tribes.
A few years later, I went to a pow wow with a friend. As we were watching the opening ceremony, he brought my attention to a few little girls who were practicing fancy dancing.
“Wow, I thought fancy dancing was only for men and boys,” I replied.
As we continued to watch the pow wow dancers, he would describe what was going on. At one point, he got my attention when women and girls had the floor. Their shawls were twirling…flying, as I had noticed only a few times before.
Most of the dancing and the competitions with women dancers were very controlled rhythmic dancing compared to the mens contests. It was obvious you had to know the precise steps to win an award. While everyone followed the basic moves, the best dancers also knew how to add just enough of their own flair. They did something special yet, in the female competitions, it was still within a subdued structure.
Back at home, the new knowledge that women also get to fancy dance stuck with me. One day, when my housemate was gone, I started to hear drums in my head, and I knew it was time to do a fancy dance. Even though I didn’t know the exact steps, something about it felt so familiar, and somehow healing.
Whenever I would hear the drums, which was a regular occurrence for at least 3 or 4 months, I would dance. My fancy dance was always the same. With my black shawl I would dance, “Raven Steals the Light.”
In Native American lore, Raven is the trickster. In his mischief, he causes change and transformation. In the traditional story, an old man kept all of the light of the universe in a series of nested boxes. He wanted all of the light to be hidden, so no one could see his daughter. Some versions say he was afraid she would be ugly. Others say he feared that she would be so beautiful, someone would take her from him.
Raven found a way to trick the old man into letting him open the boxes. When he did, he stole the light and flew away, creating the sun, the moon and the stars.
Across the months of fancy dancing Raven, I played with spreading the wings of my black shawl. I freed the light from the box, over and over.
I came to realize that we are the ones that have been keeping our own light in a box. We are the ones who keep ourselves in the dark. We are the ones who play small, and don’t want to shine our own light, for fear of how we might be judged.
What do you want?
Have you been keeping your light in a box, suppressing your radiance, talents and personal expression?
What is your gift or message for the world?
What if you are bold, like Raven, and take your light and your gifts out for the world to see?
The world is struggling right now.
Maybe It’s time for each of us to boldly shine our own light, and encourage others to do the same.
What if we were to fancy dance about life and freedom; joy, curiosity and exploration?
It would be a dance about making known the unknown, our true God-given right.