The Sun Dance: Connecting with the Children (Media and the Great Debate)

A controversy has erupted in Manitoba. The first time since the 1960s a Sundance ceremony has been recorded. There have been many negative and positive comments about this. APTN the Canadian National Aboriginal TV Network did a three part mini series in June 2013. What are some of the reasons against or for sharing the Sundance ceremony?

At the end of the Sundance with my boys

In the 19th century up until the mid 20th century many of the traditional ceremonies were recorded both in word, but visually with photos and later in video. Many of those doing this recording were anthropologists, Indianophiles and in the 1950s and 60s Indigenous peoples themselves. There was a tendency after the 1900s to start hiding the ceremonies because religious officials and government agents would take children during the ceremonies and they had been declared illegal both in Canada and the United States. 

To see the video

The 1895 amendment of the Canadian Indian Act (Section 114) criminalized many Aboriginal ceremonies, which resulted in the arrest and conviction of numerous Aboriginal people for practising their basic traditions. These arrests were based on Aboriginal participation in festivals, dances and ceremonies that involved the wounding of animals or humans, or the giving away of money or goods. The Dakota people (Sioux) who settled in Oak River, Manitoba, in 1875 were known to conduct "give-away dances", also known as the "grass dance". The dance ceremony involved the giving away and exchange of blankets and horses; thus it breached Section 114 of the Indian Act. As a result, Wanduta, an elder of the Dakota community, was sentenced to four months of hard labour and imprisonment on January 26, 1903.

According to Canadian historian Constance Backhouse, the Aboriginal "give-away dances" were ceremonies more commonly known as potlatches that connected entire communities politically, economically and socially. These dances affirmed kinship ties, provided elders with opportunities to pass on insight, legends and history to the next generation, and were a core part of Aboriginal resistance to assimilation. It is estimated that between 1900 and 1904, 50 Aboriginal people were arrested and 20 were convicted for their involvement in such dances. The Indian Act was amended in 1951 to allow all religious ceremonies.

There is a modern belief that these ceremonies should not be shared, but was this always the case? Recording devises are new and 100 years ago this would not have been a concern. There are hundreds of reports made by anthropologists that indicate that this ceremony had been well documented and was open to any who wished to join. Perhaps the question that should be asked is what can be gained by using media to reveal the Sundance today. There are too many young people who are cut off from any tradition. This lack of cultural foundation affects everyone. When we see 10 000 children in the care of Child Welfare in just Manitoba we know that eventually this will affect another 13 000 children in another generation. It is a growing problem this lack of parenting and capacity to love.

I obtained the 13 000 potential children in care by using fertility rates. They remain higher for Aboriginal women compared to non-Aboriginal women. In the 1996 to 2001 period, the fertility rate of Aboriginal women was 2.6 children, that is, they could expect to have that many children, on average, over the course of their lifetime; this compared with a figure of 1.5 among all Canadian women. In the same period, the fertility rate for Inuit women was estimated to be 3.4 children, compared with rates of 2.9 children for First Nations women and 2.2 for Métis women (Statscanada, 2013).

My point is that there is a growing underclass of Aboriginal youth who need these teachings because they cannot get it from the goverenement, foster families, their parents or even their families, because when you don’t know, you don’t know. How do you connect with all these Indigenous peoples who also deserve to have access to their traditions? The people who are currently taking part in the ceremonies have either been born into the tradition; they actively went looking for it because they needed it or because someone by a chance meeting introduced them to it. This ignores the mass of people who deserve to have access to their history.

I dream of a day when all Indigenous children will know the culture of their ancestors and have the opportunity to pass it along to their children. Then perhaps we won’t have so many children in Child Welfare. If David Blacksmith says he received a vision to share the Sundance with those who cannot be reached in usual manners then who am I to judge. David Blacksmith said that many of the traditional peoples who hold the teaching will not always be here. They will be fewer in number due to government policies and simple economics. It is tough to keep ceremony; the socio-economic lifestyle is tough. I have never seen a Sundance chief in a mansion. They make sacrifices that many are not following.

Traditions often change; I still meet Elders who say that women should never drum that this is a domain of men. Where are many of the men in the community; they have disappeared and forsaken their responsibilities? Those roles of healing have been filled by strong women. They have taken the drum and are using it to call their families and community to the spirit.

I personally feel it is time to break down the walls that divides the haves from the have nots of access to traditions. While some many say they should just ask and Elder, many are too shy and embarrassed to ask. They don’t want to seen ignorant and they are ashamed they don’t know.  This is away of giving them courage to eventually ask.

I would like to note that I am biased on this subject. I proudly dance the Sundance with David Blacksmith. I have thought long and hard about why but it is important and we can no longer hide from all the indigenous youth our wonderful traditions, their birthright.

To Learn more
Video of the Beautiful Sundance by APTN
Part I
http://aptn.ca/news/2013/08/14/the-sun-dance-ceremony/

Part II
http://aptn.ca/news/2013/08/14/sun-dance-ceremony-part-2-the-buffalo-dance/

Part III
http://aptn.ca/news/2013/08/15/sundance-part-3-the-conclusion/