deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

A flag the North American Vexillological Association ranks as the number 1 in the USA. The state flag of New Mexico. (In Navajo: Yooto’ Hahoodzo)

New Mexico was founded in 1610, long before the US. It is a mountain state that is part of the area called the “Four Corners’, an amazingly magnificent land.

Host Nation People lived here for thousands of years before Spanish Europeans came. It was named Nuevo Mexico in 1563 – 250 years before the country of Mexico was founded. It is named after The Aztec Valley of Mexico.

New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the US. It has the second highest percentage of Indigenous People in the country. It is a part of the Navajo nation and also has 3 recognized Apache Tribes.

The near perfect flag is a Red Sun on a field of yellow. The sun is a sacred symbol of the Zia People. It is the only USA flag with no blue or white. It is another example of a contest run by the DAR. In 1920 the contest was won by Harry Mera. He chose the Zia Sun symbol for what it represented. 4 Circles of Life; 4 directions; 4 times of day; 4 seasons. A circle binds them all together.

New Mexico is the home of the Gathering of Nations. The Gathering of Nations is the largest pow-wow in the United States and North America. It is held annually on the fourth weekend in April, on the Powwow Grounds at Expo NM, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Over 565 tribes from around the United States and 220 from Canada travel to Albuquerque to participate. Tens of thousands of spectators attend each year.

The term ‘Pow Wow’ has been used to describe this type of event. “The word powwow is derived from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning “spiritual leader.” The term hasvariants,including Powaw, Pawaw, Powah, Pauwau and Pawau. A number of nations claim to have held the “first” pow wow.^{” For some Native Americans this term is now considered to be an offensive case of appropriation because of the cultural significance these events hold.}

The Gathering of Nations included many competitions. The Dance competitions are held in 36 categories, including different age group categories such as Elders (70+), Golden Age (55+), Adults (19+), Teens and Tiny Tots.

Other competitions include, Drum Groups, Horse & Rider Regalia, Singing and a pageant for Miss Indian World is held each year.

This year, Dania Wahwasuck, Prairie Band Potawatomi was crowned Miss Indian World. Miss Wahwasuck said, “I just want to make my Anishinaabe people proud. I just want to be a positive role model and I just want to be a scrub dancer that other younger scrub dancer girls can look up to. When they announced it, they first announced Prairie Band Potawatomi and that’s when I was like, that’s me,”