WEBVTT 00:00:01.640 --> 00:00:04.224 >>[narration] Beneath White Mountain, in New Mexico, 00:00:04.224 --> 00:00:09.836 the Mescalero Apache reservation prepares for a coming of age ritual. 00:00:12.204 --> 00:00:16.572 Over the span of four days, 13 year old Dashena Cochise 00:00:16.572 --> 00:00:18.723 will pass through ancient tests 00:00:18.723 --> 00:00:23.503 of strength, endurance, and character that will make her a woman. 00:00:26.737 --> 00:00:30.890 The Mescalero Apache hold the ritual every Fourth of July, 00:00:30.890 --> 00:00:36.458 it is a grueling ordeal intended to prepare girls for the trials of womanhood. 00:00:37.664 --> 00:00:39.559 >>[Millette] When she was a little girl, 00:00:39.559 --> 00:00:41.658 I knew this was what I wanted to have for her. 00:00:43.516 --> 00:00:46.365 >>[narration] Dashena's mother, Millette, has spent more than a year 00:00:46.365 --> 00:00:49.483 preparing for this week of ceremony. 00:00:49.933 --> 00:00:54.517 Family members and friends will help her feed and care for more than 50 guests. 00:00:56.617 --> 00:01:01.087 The family's most important task is selecting Dashena's Medicine Woman. 00:01:02.887 --> 00:01:08.588 Zelda Yazza will instruct Dashena in the ways of traditional Apache womanhood. 00:01:11.191 --> 00:01:16.376 The four day ceremony encapsulates the Apache creation story. 00:01:17.093 --> 00:01:19.687 Dashena will move through the stages of life: 00:01:19.979 --> 00:01:26.081 infant, child, adolescent, woman, 00:01:28.563 --> 00:01:33.067 culminating in an all night dance that will test her endurance. 00:01:35.084 --> 00:01:39.034 The ritual begins with the rising of the morning star. 00:01:40.069 --> 00:01:44.524 The ceremony requires that Dashena live by strict rules. 00:01:45.857 --> 00:01:52.607 These four days mean little sleep, scant food, and the need to set aside emotion. 00:01:53.442 --> 00:01:58.426 Throughout the ordeal, she must wear a face of stoic resolve. 00:02:00.361 --> 00:02:03.846 >>[Dashena] I'm very excited and happy, even though I can't smile. 00:02:03.846 --> 00:02:07.164 I try to show it in some way. 00:02:09.043 --> 00:02:12.472 >>[narration] Before Dashena joins the other girls, she is blessed, 00:02:12.472 --> 00:02:16.196 dusted with pollen the symbol of fertility. 00:02:24.166 --> 00:02:27.433 The girls start their journey in a sacred teepee 00:02:27.433 --> 00:02:30.284 built by their male relatives. 00:02:35.687 --> 00:02:40.104 The basket is filled with pollen and other ceremonial objects. 00:02:41.236 --> 00:02:46.007 As their ancestors did, the girls run toward the rising sun, 00:02:46.007 --> 00:02:50.776 circling the basket four times to mark the four stages of life. 00:02:55.461 --> 00:02:59.912 The fourth and final day brings Dashena to the cusp of womanhood. 00:02:59.912 --> 00:03:02.947 She ascends the hill to pray to the mountain spirits 00:03:02.947 --> 00:03:05.782 for a long and successful life. 00:03:09.916 --> 00:03:14.603 With darkness near, it's time to dance beside the ceremonial fire. 00:03:17.701 --> 00:03:21.021 Dashena and the other girls will dance all night long, 00:03:21.021 --> 00:03:25.104 much of the time hidden in big tepee. 00:03:30.473 --> 00:03:34.859 More than ten hours later, Dashena is still dancing. 00:03:35.609 --> 00:03:40.928 The medicine men greet the sun, a signal that the final test is near. 00:03:43.645 --> 00:03:48.864 The girls' faces are painted with white clay, symbolizing the goddess. 00:03:50.782 --> 00:03:54.283 On their last circuit around the sacred basket, 00:03:54.283 --> 00:03:57.234 the girls wipe away the symbolic clay. 00:03:57.234 --> 00:04:01.736 With the falling of the tepee, their rite of passage is complete. 00:04:02.002 --> 00:04:06.845 Dashena receives her Apache woman's name, Morning Star Feather. 00:04:07.325 --> 00:04:11.175 >>[Dashena] Morning Star Feather. >>[Zelda Yazza] Morning Star Feather. 00:04:12.477 --> 00:04:16.345 Everything went well, she's a strong woman. 00:04:17.157 --> 00:04:20.695 >>[narration] Her community gathers acknowledging that this girl has 00:04:20.695 --> 00:04:23.879 earned the right to live as a woman in the tribe. 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:28.580 As an Apache woman, Dashena serves as a symbol of her culture, 00:04:28.580 --> 00:04:34.933 renewing and protecting a way of life that's in danger of vanishing.