Sun dance ranks as one of the most important religious ceremonies of almost all the Native American tribes of the Great Plains of the United States. It was originally performed to give thanks to the Supreme Being, represented by the sun. Native Americans also used the dance to ask the Supreme Being to provide for their needs during the coming year. Today, the ceremony has different meanings for each tribe. Tribes that have long performed the sun dance include the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Cree, Crow, Pawnee, Sioux, and Ute.
The Oglala band of the Teton Sioux hold the ceremony for four days during the summer. The dance symbolizes both their unity and their separateness from all other peoples. During the first three days, the ceremony includes selecting, cutting, trimming, and erecting a tall, straight tree to serve as the sun dance pole. On the fourth day, several young men dance around the pole. In some cases, a long pin is inserted through cuts in the dancers’ chest or back muscles. Leather ropes connected to the pins are attached to the pole or to buffalo skulls dragged behind the dancers. The dance continues until the pin rips through the muscle. The Oglala believe that the dancers, while they are dancing, have visions or communicate in other ways with the Supreme Being and thus gain sacred power.
