Champion jingle dancer has son, grandma on her mind
- Tiffany Head | June 20, 2016
A world champion dancer sacrifices all that she can for her children, and this year was awarded with a big prize at Gathering Our Nations Powwow.
Thirty-two-year-old jingle dancer Lacy Albert from Sweet Grass First Nation had been attending school at Northwest Regional College in North Battleford to attain a licensed practical nurse (LPN) degree but had to withdraw.
“They told us that my son would be born with a heart defect so I had to make a decision because he would need surgery after he was born,” said Albert.
Her son, Jett, had been born on April 22, 2015 with dextrocardia which can sometimes cause abnormalities in the pulmonary arteries, and Jett required two open heart surgeries.
“From having three healthy children, and then having that happen is scary,” said Albert.
Her son in now 13 months old and is a healthy active baby boy though he will go through another surgery when he is two and half years old.
“He scoots on his butt, he wasn’t able to go on his chest, because of all the wires, he started butt scooting so that’s how he gets around,” said Albert.
Albert recently attended the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico and was victorious in her performance. She was named champion, winning $2000 and another $700 and a star blanket, in other jingle dance categories.
“I’ve been going for a while, but I only ever go is there ever a special in that category. I won fifth there the first time I ever went there, I was so happy, it was like winning first,” said Albert.
A champion in her own right, she has been dancing since she could walk and says they have always travelled all over for powwow competitions.
Last year they were not able to attend but this year it was a good year. She danced for her son and also in memory of her grandmother who had passed on recently.
“She taught me and the patterns that I use and a lot of people ask me to do their moccasin pattern, I make them nice and fitted. She just passed away, Easter time,” said Albert.
She says she mostly stays home nowadays and takes orders for moss bags and makes new outfits for her children.
“I’m just always working on stuff for us,” said Albert who says she’s always beading and wouldn’t know what to do with herself if she didn’t have something to work on.
She uses the pattern her grandmother taught her, “My new bead work, I make them like hers and a bit contemporary.”
Albert says that it is a busy season for her family and will be traveling all summer.
She mentions that she will go back to school one day, but for now she will continue to bead and make moss bags.
“I’ll go back. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, just have to wait until my children grow older,” said Albert on her LPN degree.
Albert has a Facebook page for all her bead work, moss bags and designs for anyone interested.