Sun Dance
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The Sun Dance (or Sundance) is a religious ceremony practiced by a number of Native American and First Nations peoples, primarily those of the Plains Nations. Each tribe has its own distinct practices and ceremonial protocols, but many of the ceremonies have features in common, including specific dances passed down through many generations, singing of traditional songs in the tribe's native languages, praying, fasting and, in some cases, piercing of skin on the chest, arms or back.
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[edit] Piercing
While not all Sun Dance ceremonies include piercing, the object of being pierced in Sun Dance is to make a sacrifice to the Great Mystery, and to pray while connected to the Tree of Life, a direct connection to the Creator. A common explanation is that a flesh offering, or piercing, is given as part of a prayer for the benefit of one's family and community.
Though only some Nations' Sun Dances include the piercings, the Canadian Government outlawed some of the practices of the Sun Dance in 1880, and the United States government followed suit in 1904. However, the ceremony is now again fully legal (since Jimmy Carter's presidency in the United States) and is still practiced in the United States and Canada.
[edit] The Sun Dance in Canada
Although the Government of Canada, through the Department of Indian Affairs, officially persecuted Sun Dance practitioners and attempted to suppress the Sun Dance, the ceremony was never legally prohibited. The flesh-sacrifice and gift-giving features were legally outlawed in 1895 through a legislated amendment to the Indian Act, but these were non-essential components of the ceremony. Regardless of the legalities, Indian agents, based on directives from their superiors, did routinely interfere with, discourage, and disallow Sun Dances on many Canadian plains reserves starting in 1882 until the 1940’s. Despite the subjugation, Sun Dance practitioners, such as the Plains Cree, Saulteaux, and Blackfeet, continued to hold Sun Dances throughout the persecution period, minus the prohibited features, some in secret, and others with permissions from their agents. At least one Cree or Saulteaux Rain Dance has occurred each year since 1880 somewhere on the Canadian Plains. In 1951 government officials revamped the Indian Act and dropped the legislation that forbade flesh-sacrificing and gift-giving.[1]
In Canada, the Sun Dance is known by the Plains Cree as the Thirst Dance, the Saulteaux (Plains Objibwa), as the Rain Dance and the Blackfoot (Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani) as the Medicine Dance. It was also practised by the Canadian Sioux (Dakota and Nakoda), the Dene, and the Canadian Assiniboines.
In Alberta, the Kainai Nation had permitted their Sun Dance to be filmed in the late 1950s, when tribal leaders were concerned that the traditional ceremony might be dying out. The result was the 1960 National Film Board of Canada documentary Circle of the Sun.[2][3]
[edit] In popular culture
- Although the ceremony is not depicted, many Native Americans shown shirtless in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman have scars which are identified as Sun Dance scars by Dr. Quinn's love interest, Byron Sully, who has adopted the Cheyenne way of life.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Brown, 1996: pp. 34-5; 1994 Mandelbaum, 1975, pp. 14-15; & Pettipas, 1994 p. 210. [Note: this is all that was provided.]
- ^ Rosenthal, Alan; John Corner. New challenges for documentary. Manchester University Press. pp. 90-91. ISBN 0719068991. http://books.google.ca/books?id=z7byAre88gYC&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=%22Circle+of+the+Sun%22+low&source=bl&ots=KNWCtjiWzD&sig=8w0VGuqa3UMzUIx5_O4nRgS-6Iw&hl=en&ei=7TEZS4foKsO1ngeP9cjbAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAsQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=%22Circle%20of%20the%20Sun%22%20low&f=false.
- ^ Low, Colin; Gil Cardinal. "Circle of the Sun". Curator's comments. National Film Board of Canada. http://www.nfb.ca/film/circle-of-the-sun. Retrieved 04 December 2009.
