South Tama’sCorbin Shuckahosee will be in a group performing various styles of traditional Native American dances.
TAMA, Iowa — It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for South Tama sophomore Corbin Shuckahosee. He will be in the world-famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, watched by tens of millions of people every year.
It will be a bright and early Thanksgiving morning for Corbin and his mom, Kathy. The duo will have to be lined up by 6 a.m. to participate in the largest parade in the world.
Since he was a baby, Corbin has been performing in powwows.
“As soon as he began to walk, he was able to attend our first Meskwaki annual powwow when he would have been about a year and a half old,” Kathy said.
After more than a decade of dancing, Corbin and his mom will be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time.
“We usually try to catch the parade every year,” Kathy said. “But I never thought I would be on the parade myself and my son also. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The two were asked by Larry Yazzie, a 1985 alumnus of South Tama.
“Patterns or designs are passed down,” Yazzie said. “But a lot of the regalias that you’ll see are handmade by the individuals themselves.”
Yazzie serves as the artistic director of Native Pride Productions, an Indigenous dance group.
“Our language is still intact,” Yazzie said. “Our ceremonies are still going on in our communities across North America, and that’s very important.”
Kathy and Corbin will be joined by seven other Native American dancers from reservations all across the U.S. and Canada.
“I just want the world to see us on this platform that we are proud people,” Yazzie said. “We are proud of our ancestors and what they passed down to us.”
Because they come from all over, the dancers won’t be able to rehearse together until they get to the Big Apple on Tuesday. Each will don a unique set of regalia and present a different style of dance.
“It’s very honorable and humbling,” Kathy said. “There are many that dance these styles, so to be able to represent us is very humbling.”
The members of Native Pride Productions will get to have a practice run before the big day. They are performing their routine at Times Square on Wednesday night.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade can be watched live on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. local time on NBC and Peacock.