Outside, drums echo through the courtyard as a youth group moves in rhythmic unison to the Buffalo Dance. “The buffalo gave itself for the people to thrive,” Tekala explains. “The dance is about respect and acknowledging that we’re part of a wider ecosystem.”
As the sun sinks behind the Sandia Mountains, I return to the open highway with Rupert’s words echoing in my mind: “Route 66 isn’t just crazy road signs and nostalgia. It’s where Indigenous people are now telling our own stories.”
