Robert Batista sat in a red wagon. His jaw dropped as he watched Pat Iron Cloud dance in a circle in yellow and black regalia at The Children’s Hospital on Wednesday morning.
The Colorado Springs 4-year-old is recovering from surgery for gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, which causes too much acid to rise through the esophagus.
The boy, who is expected to go home today, had only one complaint about the performance by the Little Sun Drum and Dance Group: “I wish I could talk to them.”
He did get some attention from Cheyenne Frontier Days’ Lady-in-Waiting Kari Ward, who gave him a sticker and invited him to come to Wyoming.
The drum-and-dance group, Ward, Miss Frontier Katie Landers and other Frontier Days volunteers visited the hospital to promote the Wyoming rodeo and Western- themed events that start Friday and run through July 29.
“The idea really is to take a little slice of (Cheyenne Frontier Days) and get it out on the Front Range,” said Earl Atwood, lead assistant for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Indian Committee.
He said they have brought dancers to the hospital for nearly 40 years. “If we put a smile on their faces, then it’s a day well spent,” he said.
The Little Sun group – who came from the Wyoming Wind River Reservation – danced, drummed and sang for about 40 patients and staff, explaining the significance of each dance.
Many American Indian dances are for healing and prayer, group leader Sandra Iron Cloud told the audience before she invited them to join the last dance.
Some of the dancers also visited patients who could not come to the lobby.
Pariss Scott, 18, shook her dress to show how it jingled and let Dylan Martinez, 4, feel the eagle feathers she carried.
Dylan is recovering from a muscle tumor that was discovered in October, his mother, Jami, said.
She was hoping to take her son home to Westminster later in the day if he could keep food and drink down.
“I dance to help you guys,” Scott told Dylan while she stood next to his bed showing him her dress. “I’ll be praying for you every time I dance.
Staff writer Sara Crocker can be reached at 303-954-1661 or scrocker@denverpost.com.
