When I was a little girl, my parents would bring home those Barnum's Animal cookies in the box with a string. My brother and I would hold on to the boxes and make a little circus train with them, tying the strings together and dragging them through the yard, garage, and everywhere else we could.
I vividly remember a day when I was by myself for some reason (perhaps my brother was taking a nap or maybe we got in a fight and I didn't want him around), toting along my little Barnum's circus cars and singing tunelessly "Ijkalaka, Ijkalaka, La-la-la...Ijkalaka, Ijkalaka, La-la-la" (of course pronouncing Ijkalaka, "eek-a-like-a"). My mom came outside and asked me where I'd heard that before, to which I honestly replied "I made it up". I was then informed that my great great great grandmother's name was Ijkalaka (as I was pronouncing it) and she was part of the Oglala Sioux tribe.
Looking back, I'm pretty sure I knew nothing of Ijkalaka Russell at that point or who she was to me until my mother filled me in. I think this might be one of the first examples of which has brought me to believe that spirits can and do communicate with us. And as children, we still listen.
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