Growing up in inner-city Cleveland doesn't lend itself to many opportunities for a Native American girl to meet other Natives.

In fact, for a long time I was just as convinced as everyone around me that Natives - outside of my own family, of course - didn't even exist anymore.  True ignorance at its best. That may sound stupid to a lot of people who grew up on reservations that might take this privilege for granted. For me it was truly a reality.

Now, at 25 years old, I have finally gone to the biggest Indian event on Earth - the Gathering of Nations Powwow.

Before I even landed in Albuquerque, about half-way actually at my Denver connection to be exact, I saw that this was going to be a very indigenous flight.  Indian Country is such a small world that a former Navajo co-worker and I were on the same flight. We hadn't seen each other in a year.

But that just kicked off the excitement to come.

Finally, I walked into my hotel with my two friends.  There were Natives e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.  Working behind the desk, walking in and out of the rooms, hanging out in the lobby. Despite my two years on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, this was new territory for me.  I have to admit I was like a giddy little kid.

At the mother of all powwows, I walked into "The Pit" which was about 20-some rows deep of elbow-to-elbow spectators.  At grand entry, the dancers moved in from four directions. It seemed like a continuous stream of jingle dresses, chicken dancers, fancy shawls, etc. 

When an eagle was brought around, it flapped its wings vigorously. Goosebumps sprang up uncontrollably and that chilly tingle on my skin caught me by surprise.

Outside, I ate New Mexico's famous sidedish of green chile on carne adovada. Yum. Vendors in a tent sold any kind of Native art you could think of.  An Indian actress signed autographs and beautiful Native models sold their "America's Next Top Model"- like calendars.

It was like the dreamworld I wished for as a child.  A place where I wasn't the only one.  A place where no one would make me feel ashamed because "Indians were dirty.  A place where I didn't feel out of place.

All of this made me sad, though.  This gathering made me realize just how fractional our population is on a continent once completely inhabited by the tribes represented at the powwow. 

Still, for that one day at the Gathering of Nations Powwow, I made memories I will never forget.  I saw so much that I had never seen before. Most importantly, though, I felt a pride I had never felt so strongly before.