This newsletter is a little later than I wanted it to be, and here's why.
If you know me, you know my post-Gathering of Nations routine is pretty locked in. I come home from Albuquerque, spend the week sorting through photos and videos, get the articles written, push out the social media content, and basically live in Gathering mode for another seven days. It's a lot of work, but it's my favorite kind of work.
This year, that didn't exactly happen.
I felt great the first couple of days back, and then Wednesday hit me like a freight train. I came home from Albuquerque with some kind of stomach virus that knocked me completely off my feet. I haven't worked a full day since last Tuesday. I ended up at urgent care over the weekend just to rule out anything more serious and to get some fluids back in me because I was getting dehydrated. Not exactly how I planned to spend the week after the most incredible powwow I've ever attended.
Today is the first day I've felt like myself again, and I am ready to get back to it.
So yes, this newsletter is a recap of Gathering of Nations, and there is a lot to recap. If you weren't there or weren't watching the live stream, you might not fully understand just how historic this year was. We're talking 245,000 people in attendance. Gathering normally draws around 100,000, so they more than doubled that number this year. And 4,500 dancers. The biggest number I'd ever heard before was around 3,500. That number alone tells you everything you need to know.
I was there, I saw it with my own eyes, and it was still hard to believe.
There is still more content coming. More videos will be going up to our YouTube channel over the next couple of weeks, my photographer Fuljens is still editing his photos and videos, and I have a few more articles I want to write about what we saw and experienced. We are also working on scheduling a full replay of the live stream sometime this fall, so stay tuned for details on that.
For now, let's talk about Gathering of Nations: The Last Dance 2026.
🔴 This Week in Native History — Because the Story Doesn't End Here
Today, May 5th, is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Awareness Day.
The day was born from tragedy. In 2017, Senators from Montana introduced a resolution recognizing May 5th as a National Day of Awareness, a direct response to the murder of Hanna Harris on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, and the countless cases like hers that remain unresolved. Since then, the national movement has continued to elevate May 5th as a day of remembrance, action, and advocacy.
On some reservations, Native women are murdered at ten times the national average. And yet, because of limited data collection, there is still no reliable nationwide count of how many Native women go missing or are murdered each year. Invisibility, as advocates say, is not an accident.
But Native history is full of more than grief, it's full of resistance, resilience, and stories that most people have never been told.
That's exactly what This Week in Native History is for.
Each week, we dig into the moments, movements, and people that shaped Indigenous life in North America, the history that didn't make it into your textbooks, but absolutely should have. From ancient traditions to modern sovereignty battles, there's always something that will make you think, "Why didn't I know this?"
👉 Subscribe to This Week in Native History and make sure the full story is always in your inbox.
Every great story deserves a good discussion around the fire.
That's what The Circle is, a gathering place for everyone who wants more than a weekly read. A place to ask questions, share photos, trade stories, and connect with people who show up for the same reasons you do.
No noise. No algorithm. Just the community you've been looking for.
The Circle is open. Pull up a seat.
And this week’s conversation starter is a fun one:
What TV or movie character deserved a better ending?
Who would you rewrite, and give a better send off?
Come jump into the conversation, see what everybody else is saying, and add your pick too. I always love seeing where these discussions go.
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30 Years Building Online. 42 Disney Trips. Here's What I Learned.
Email marketing, content strategy, and community building to create your dream lifestyle.
I've spent 30 years building content businesses online. I run PowWows.com, host the Side Hustle Suitcase podcast, and have taken my daughter to Disney World 42 times — not by luck, but by intentionally building a business around the life I wanted to live. Every week I share what's working in email marketing, content creation, and building an audience that actually buys. Subscribe and come along.
