Sun Dance

The Sun Dance is a special ceremony done by some Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada, especially those from the Plains cultures. It is also part of a newer movement in Native American religions. During the Sun Dance, people from different groups come together to strengthen their beliefs about the world and spiritual matters through shared rituals and sacrifices.

In the traditional Sun Dance, young men would dance for many days and nights without eating or drinking. In some cultures, they also took part in acts of personal discipline as a way to show devotion.

After Europeans came to the Americas, laws were made in both Canada and the United States to stop Indigenous cultures from practicing their traditions and to make them follow Christianity and majority-Anglo-American ways of life. The Sun Dance was one of the ceremonies that was not allowed. Later, in 1951, Canada allowed a simpler version of the dance again. In the United States, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed in 1978 to help protect the religious freedoms and cultural practices of Native Americans, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians.

Description

The Sun Dance is a special ceremony for many Native American and Indigenous peoples. It includes dances, songs, a sacred fire, and praying with a ceremonial pipe. Participants often fast from food and water before dancing, and some take part in physical trials like piercing their skin as a sign of sacrifice for their community.

Family and friends stay nearby to support the dancers with their prayers. Preparing for the Sun Dance can take a whole year, with leaders and elders guiding the community.

Canada

The Canadian government tried to stop people from doing the Sun Dance for many years. From 1882 to the 1940s, officials worked hard to discourage or stop these dances in many communities. In 1895, a law was added that made it illegal to hold dances that included hurting the body, either of people or animals. This law could lead to imprisonment for anyone who took part.

Even with these laws, many Indigenous communities continued their Sun Dance traditions. Some did it secretly, some got permission from local officials, and some avoided the body-piercing parts of the ceremony. In 1951, the law was changed to allow these dances again.

Contemporary practices

The Sun Dance is a tradition that many Native communities in Canada and the U.S. still practice every year. Some groups, like the Cree and Saulteaux, have held similar dances called Rain Dances each year since 1890.

In 1993, leaders from the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota nations met and made a strong statement against people who were using their sacred ceremonies in the wrong way. In 2003, leaders asked that only Native people take part in the Sun Dance to keep its meaning strong for future generations. They explained that while anyone can pray for support, only Native people should be near the sacred altars during the ceremony.

Ascetic elements and symbolism

The Sun Dance includes special practices that show deep respect and belief in many Native American cultures from the Plains area. People take part in activities like not eating or drinking for a long time and dancing for many hours as a way to pray and show devotion to help their community. These activities show strength, humility, and the idea of renewing life through giving something of oneself.

A key part of the Sun Dance is going without food and water for several days, usually inside a special circular space with a tall cottonwood pole in the center. This fast is both a test of the body and a way to focus spiritually. These dances help connect people more closely with their community and with sacred ideas. In some traditions, dancers have wooden sticks placed through their skin, which are tied to the center pole or heavy objects. As they dance, they pull against these ties until the skin comes free, which is seen as giving strength and life to the community and the divine. The pole in the center of the dance area stands for the link between the earth and the spiritual world, and the circle around it represents the universe. Not every group uses piercing, but all focus on personal strength and giving. Today, these practices are seen as ways to build a caring community and take responsibility for future generations.

Filming

A Cheyenne Sun Dance gathering, around 1909.

In many Sun Dance traditions, filming or taking pictures during ceremonies is not allowed. People believe that cameras and money might scare away the spirits, so most real ceremonies are not recorded. However, the Kainai Nation in Alberta allowed their Sun Dance to be filmed in the late 1950s to preserve the tradition. This filming became a documentary called Circle of the Sun in 1960, made by the National Film Board of Canada. Historical photos from Manitoba show that these ceremonies have been practiced since the early 1900s.