SUN DANCE

most spectacular and important religious ceremony of the Plains Indians of 19th-century North America. Ordinarily held by each tribe once a year in early summer, it was an occasion when all could gather with guests from other tribes and reaffirm their basic beliefs about the universe and the supernatural through words, ceremonies, and symbolic objects. The ceremony was most highly developed among the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Oglala Sioux (and may have originated with these tribes). By the end of the 19th century, it had spread with local variations to include most of the tribes from the Plains Ojibwa in Saskatchewan south to the Kiowa in Texas. The sun dance is an example of the many individual quests for power (spiritual energy and insight) or aid from the supernatural that became elaborated as tribal ceremonies. In many instances it was a private experience involving just one votary or a small group of them. The development of total tribal participation, widespread cooperative effort, direction by tribal and religious leaders, and elaboration beyond the immediate Sun Dance indicate the meaning of this ceremony in terms of tribal aspirations (secular and religious) and in the reinforcement of social control. In the most elaborate versions a great camp circle was formed, preliminary instruction was given to the pledger and his associates, necessary supplies were gathered, and a dance structure was erected with a central pole to symbolize a source of spiritual and mystical power (e.g., the sun). Preliminary dances by others and the erection of an altar were followed by the Sun Dance itself. This continued intermittently for several days and nights; during this time those dancers who were fulfilling a vow or seeking power neither ate nor drank, their sacrifice ending in frenzy and exhaustion. Among some tribes self-torture and mutilation ended the rite. In an effort to curb such practices, the United States government outlawed the Sun Dance in 1904. Among a number of tribes benign forms of the ceremony continued, usually as part of Fourth of July celebrations. There were a few tribes, however, that have attempted to revive the Sun Dance in its original form and meaning.