(cheerful music) - [Narrator] On this episode of "Postcards."

- So breakaway is new to the pro rodeo level.

It's not a new sport overall.

Before breakaway was added to the pro rodeos, barrel racing was the only event for women.

- Maybe a lot of young people want to make things themselves.

They want to make things that last.

- [Marcella] Getting my granddaughters ready to dance, taking the time to braid their hair and to make their dresses and shawls makes me feel good that I can do that for them.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region.

More at wcif.org.

(cheerful music) - When I was 11 years old, I was diagnosed with meningococcal meningitis, which is a bacterial meningitis.

I had been riding for many years before then, but my parents used this horse that we had looked at as a push to be like, "If you get well, we are going to do our dangdest to get you this horse."

And you know, once I heard that, I was just set to get out of the hospital and get home.

And my parents, whenever I was driving up the driveway, had him in our front pasture.

And I can like still vividly see him running around and just, I was the happiest little girl that day.

(cheerful music) By getting Elvis, he pushed me to be stronger every day 'cause when I got home, I wasn't necessarily just healed up and ready to rock and roll.

I had a weak immune system and I had to really get my health back up to 100%.

And knowing that he was outside and that I was inside really made me do everything I possibly could to get outside to ride him.

Elvis is my best friend for almost 23 years and I got to have many accomplishments with him throughout Little Britches, high school rodeo, college rodeo and amateur rodeo.

Pacman is the horse that I rope off of now.

He's a nine-year-old gelding and I've owned him for four years.

(upbeat country music) My horse's personality is so silly.

He, when I first got him, was kind of quiet and didn't have much of a personality.

Throughout the last, like, year and a half, I would say, I really cracked into that personality and now he like smiles and everything.

But yeah, his personality is so goofy.

When I unloaded him here, he started bucking at the trailer because he was away from the other horse.

And he just has such a quirky attitude, like, "Okay, what's the next adventure?

Where are we at?"

And so he keeps me on my toes, that's for sure.

(Korah laughs) I had heard some of the bigger red ones were a little stronger, by the looks of that video I was sent.

I think that's what it'll be, but hopefully we'll make a run of it.

(upbeat country music) I started breakaway roping when I was, I think, like four years old.

And so it was kind of just what my family did, was rope.

And I didn't start competing until I was 11 in the breakaway roping.

But ever since I started roping at the rodeos, it just caught like fire and I couldn't quit.

- [Woman On Video] Go, go, go, go!

Korah, go, go!

Get in there.

(upbeat rock music) - I'm here today with my sister.

She's also a breakaway roper.

She is typically my traveling partner, and my husband as well.

He just retired, which he'll say he quit, but I say he retired from the saddle bronc riding.

He was a bronc rider for 20 years.

So we typically, us three, will go up and down the road.

And the breakaway roping is new to the pro rodeos the last four years.

So it's been a joy to be able to do what my husband did for many years before I did now at the same caliber as what he's competed at for so many years.

(upbeat country music) So breakaway is new to the pro rodeo level.

It's not a new sport overall.

Breakaway's been included at the Little Britches level, or the young kid level.

It's been included at the college level and the amateur level.

But four years ago, they added it to the PRCA and WPRA.

And so it's been a journey.

Not all rodeos have it yet, but each year there's more and more rodeos that are adding it.

So before breakaway was added to the pro rodeos, barrel racing was the only event for women.

(upbeat country music) I really think that the sport's really starting to open up to understanding the importance of having women a part of this industry.

We play such a big part of it in many other areas of the horse industry that it only makes sense now to have it at the pro level as well.

(upbeat country music) I think this lifestyle is so addicting because it's an adrenaline rush.

You work so hard, and sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't.

And I think just knowing how close you are to meeting your goals and your dreams just keeps pushing you along and it makes you want more.

- [Announcer] Oh my!

Ooh, Sydney!

- We had a little fun, anyway.

(laughs) So rodeo has taken me on a journey that has pretty much created the person who I am.

If it wasn't for rodeo, I probably wouldn't have gone to college and rodeoed through my college.

A lot of what I've done for work has been through horses and having that knowledge of rodeo.

And so just being where I am today, it all falls back on being a part of rodeo.

(upbeat country music) (gentle music) (siren screeching) - Just waiting for a siren to stop.

Oh, and now it's stopping.

Get ready for a little Alabama magic.

(upbeat music) Well, the good news is, it's only getting hotter.

- Yeah.

It's a good day to wear a bunad.

I live in Minnesota and my ancestors came from Norway.

So what am I doing here in Alabama wearing this traditional Norwegian folk costume?

My great-great-grandmother immigrated from Norway in the late 1800s.

All she brought with her was her spinning wheel.

I'm here with my crew, Chris and Ben, and today we're gonna pick up the spinning wheel from my great-cousin.

And after that, we're headed to Norway, where my great-great-grandmother learned to knit with love.

(upbeat music) - [Ben] Hello, we are here to visit Vonnie.

Awesome.

Thank you.

There she is.

- Hello.

- Hi!

- Nice to see you.

- It's good to see you.

- Oh, it's wonderful.

- Oh, my goodness.

- [Vonnie] Wonderful.

You look so Norwegian.

You have a solje.

- [Dana] What's a solje?

- It's the jewelry that they wear for ceremonies.

- When I put it back together again, here, it broke off.

It just fell off.

And so I put a little bit of glue on there.

It's a weak point, you know, so you want to be very, if you're moving it, you wanna be very careful.

- [Dana] Oh, okay.

And you would like to see this go to a museum, is that right?

- Yes.

- Okay.

- I mean, I would like- - I don't want it back.

I've had it for the last 30 years.

- Okay.

(Nancy laughs) So I've been tasked with finding a permanent home in a museum for this.

- That's fine.

- Okay.

- In Minnesota.

- In Minnesota, yeah.

- [Nancy] But here's all the extra parts.

- Do we know anything about how old this is?

Was it new when she got it or did she get it from her?

Is it a used one?

- I know she brought it with her on the ship.

She sheared sheep on board the ship and made garments, 'cause she spun the wool and then she knit.

- [Nancy] As long as you are collecting artifacts, you might like those.

- These are incredible.

These should be protected in a museum.

This is part of- - You're welcome to do whatever you want to do.

- Yep.

This is part of our state heritage.

- This is a picture of my grandparents and their three living children.

I grew up in Lake Koronis, where I was born.

And I grew up in the home of Lady and J.B. Johnson.

But grandpa fished every day, which was his occupation in Norway.

He used to row across the North Sea to the Lofoten Islands.

And I visited there.

You probably have also.

- [Dana] Can you tell me what you know about Lydia and where she comes from?

- She came from Sweden as a child.

She had been put out of her home because there were too many children and they couldn't afford to feed them.

And so she came somewhere to in Norway.

My grandfather fell in love with her and his parents did not want him to marry her.

And so that was the year the cod didn't run.

So he decided to take off for America.

And it took two years for him to gather enough money to send for her.

(playful music) And she came in the bottom of a boat, as steerage, with animals.

(sheep bleating) She knits everything throughout her life.

Luggos, socks, (answers dinging) sweaters, heavy jackets.

You know, somehow she made them heavier.

I don't know because I don't knit.

No, I'm terrible at it.

I tried many times, but I either knit too close or I don't knit close enough.

So it's unreliable, what I did.

(laughs) - [Dana] All right, we'll be right back.

- Okay.

- I'm not nervous at all.

Just another day.

Transporting historical artifacts.

Okay.

Look at that.

I feel like Indiana Jones right now.

- Yeah.

Spinning wheel retrieved.

High five.

- High five.

(upbeat music) Right now it is 11:41.

It's still light.

(upbeat music) So today we went to Hop Hot Hip Knit Shop.

- HipKnitShop.

I'm director.

(laughs) - And learned about cool, vibrant-colored, all natural wool and cotton.

- My name is Catherina.

I've been knitting since 2016 and I've started this shop.

(whimsical music) I didn't mean to start a new shop.

I shared my knits and passion through social media.

And I got questions, you know, "Do you have patterns?"

"Do you sell finished garments?"

I start to think, okay, maybe I could do that.

I show you one of the most popular designs, actually, they're the bestsellers now too.

Especially now the lemons and strawberry, a bit because it's a bit unique compared to, you know, traditional designs as well.

So I was a nurse working at the NICU.

I quit my job at the hospital to do this full time.

There's not so many women in my family that's been knitters.

Maybe my grandma used to knit wool socks and my mother made a few '80s, cool '80s sweaters with lots of colors.

My family think it's a bit weird that I'm sitting here with my own knit shop and deliver wool and rayon and patterns worldwide, 'cause we didn't imagine that that would happen.

(Catherina laughs) This is actually the cherry jacket inspired by the granny squares jacket.

And that's an old Norwegian tradition.

Usually you have maybe from seven to 10 balls for each order.

- [Dana] Why do Norwegians love to knit so much?

- Yeah.

(laughs) I think it's for different reasons.

You have the young people who want to make unique clothing, you know, in their own colors.

They don't want to wear what everyone else is wearing.

Maybe a lot of young people want to make things themself.

They want to make things that last.

Cotton is one of the worst environmental threats of the earth.

I have pure rule that my cotton is certified 'cause this is a new type of culture, that you think about what you do and what you choose to buy.

Maybe a lot of older people or people that's been knitting for generations, they just liked the handcraft.

They just have always done it and like to do it.

I didn't think that it was something for me, 'cause I like, you know, to be on the move and to do something all the time.

But actually that's perfect 'cause you know, you can watch television and you can talk and you can also, on your fingers, you can knit while you do other things.

If I go camping, I bring my knit.

If I go to a boat ride, I bring my knit.

If my boys are on a soccer practice, I always knit.

So it's very calming and just sit there and enjoy life while knitting.

So... (upbeat music) - All right.

If I were to pick a sweater in this shop, follow me, follow me.

Huh?

- We are going to the Thon Hotel in downtown Bodo to pick up Marta Nerhus, who is our next interview.

She makes large sculptures out of knitted textiles and her yarn is made out of metal.

So it's kind of the next-level knitting.

- She's a heavy-metal knitter.

(laughs) - Should we put some heavy metal on?

- Yeah.

(intense heavy metal music) - I feel that this metal wire is just like a line.

You can draw it and you can draw in the space and you can build with it.

Yeah.

- [Dana] So you're knitting with metal.

- Yeah, knitting with metal.

Yeah.

It's metal thread.

But all my techniques are from textile, like knitting and I'm sewing it together to make it stand like this when it's three-dimensional.

I think it's fantastic to see something grow between your fingers.

It's great to get your ideas out to life, but it's even more great when you don't have an idea and suddenly you can talk to the material and something grow.

So this is Syrian refugees coming to Norway and I sew that.

- [Ben] Ah, so how big is that?

(quirky percussive music) - About so.

I think I prefer big pieces, but also, there's more pieces.

(Marta laughs) So this is my evening knitting.

(everyone laughs) So this is more like handcraft.

- [Dana] What is the difference between art and handcraft?

- I think handcraft is for use and for your eyes.

But if you make art, I think it has to have some deeper meaning.

I was going to have a big exhibition at Bryggen Museum in Bergen.

It was just at the time there were coming so many refugees from Syria and we have this discussion, "Are they welcome or not?"

And then I also comparing to this immigration to America that people have been traveling and trying to get a better life.

I think it's not long time since we were in the same situation, you know?

Yeah.

(quirky music) I was growing up on a farm and my mother and father were doing everything by hand and were working all the time.

Yeah, knitting and weaving and sewing.

And also this (speaks Norwegian), she couldn't stop.

She was very, she liked to do it.

The same exhibition, I made 800 small boats like this.

I couldn't imagine the shining in the thread before I was hanging it.

And they were so thin.

My mother was very proud when I had the exhibition.

So here you see it's knitted.

But when I was trying to get into this art, she always saying that, "You should be a teacher.

You should be a teacher to earn money because it's really a hard life."

I can tell you that I first was a social worker and when I was 27, I have a sister who was 37 and she died of cancer.

And I thought, "Now I have to do what I should do, to knit the art."

- [Dana] Why do you think Norwegians love knitting so, so much?

- Maybe it's cold and we need, but it's also, in the '70s when I was in high school, even the boys were knitting.

We were sitting there in meetings and sitting on the floor and knitting.

And then it has been out for a long time, but now maybe five, maybe 10 years ago, it is in fashion again.

So everybody's knitting now.

And even boys.

- [Man] Well, guys, how do you think the day went?

- So to be honest, we took on a hike that was definitely too advanced for our skill level.

Then when we got there, we made friends with like, six Norwegians.

And they took us on a boat ride.

No, everything worked out perfectly, and it was like super warm, which is, we are told it's like, the best day in 20 years in Norway.

(gentle music) - [Ben] We are on our way to Lofoten.

- [Narrator] If you drive through South Dakota long enough, you'll come across a beautiful statue representing a fancy shawl dancer.

(energetic percussive music) But where did it come from?

Who better to ask than a family with four generations of fancy shawl dancers?

Madonna Thunder Hawk, who passed it on to her daughter, Marcella Gilbert, who passed it on to her daughter, Chouette Umani, who are all passing it on to Chouette's two oldest, Hanhepi and Anpo.

(announcer speaking indistinctly) (Anpo ululating) (Madonna laughs) - That's a pretty story, isn't it?

(cameraman laughing) A legend.

Ah.

That's just, to me, that's funny.

- What?

What did you say?

(laughs) Because, you know, the shawl dance is not that old.

I mean, it began in my lifetime.

People who don't know about us wanna hear the fantastic and the super sacred, but it's crap.

It's a bunch of BS.

- We didn't get out there thinking they're gonna be looking like butterflies.

They'd have laughed us out of there, laughed us out of the arena.

(laughs) Came from right here.

- Right here?

- Right here on Cheyenne River Reservation.

We just started, you know, using more footwork and at first it was just messing around, hanging out, you know, just carrying on.

I remember the first time, this friend of mine, we were dancing like that and she spun around.

Everybody went (gasping) "Oh, oh my God.

Did you see that?"

Oh, everyone's just appalled, you know, but the fancy shawls with all the designs and everything, where did that start?

It started with somebody that had enough guts to step out there and do it, and not many did.

So Marcy, a lot of times she stepped out.

She was the first one to do this, first one to do that, first one to wear this, you know, stylize them.

There was always shawls, but you make something else out of it, you know what I mean?

- [Marcella] As a young person, and we were, you know, bringing this new dance, taking ownership of it and creating it.

Our style of dance.

The fancy shawl is a Northern Plain style of dress, like I said, the leggings and moccasins and of course the cape.

But all of that is Northern Plains style.

And now it's pan-Indian.

You see it everywhere, all over the world.

Before the contest, the competition was between the dancer and the drum.

(energetic percussive music) (singers singing in Indigenous language) It was so cool.

I mean, because you really did get that drumbeat in your body and in your heart.

And so, I mean, you know, it's on a different level.

It's on a different level.

Your intuition and the drumbeat and your body and your heart and you know, you had to feel when you thought that drum was gonna stop and that was the challenge.

Your head straight.

When I'm getting my granddaughters ready to dance, taking the time to braid their hair and to make their dresses and shawls and to do the bead work, makes me feel good that I can do that for them.

And then to watch them dance is just a delight.

I just love it.

And I'm hoping that I can continue to get them what they need so they could stay on the dance floor, 'cause that's a really good place to be.

It's gonna be a lot of work, but that's what grandmas are for.

(Marcella laughs) (energetic percussive music) (men singing in Indigenous language) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the Citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at explorealex.com.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region.

More at wcif.org.

(upbeat music)