The Sun Dance Cultural appropriation The Sun Dance

The Sun Dance Cultural appropriation

The Sun Dance • Ceremony practiced by native Americans in the US and Canada • Annual gathering of tribes • Several days, to gather and pray for health and peace • Young men and women participate in ceremonial dancing to show their endurance and become adults

The Sun Dance • There is a sweat lodge and a community tipi built • The dancers fast and sweat in the sweat lodge • The dance was outlawed by the US govt in the late 1800 s because some tribes pierced the skin of the young men’s chests and tied them to the center pole of the tipi. • “Dancers kept going until they lost consciousness, and sometimes this could go on for three to four days. Dancers often reported having a vision or a spirit walk during the celebration. Once it was over, they were fed, bathed, and -- with great ceremony -- smoked a sacred pipe in honor of the Great Spirit's manifestation as the sun. ”

Fancy Dancers • The dancers did something we call “fancy dance” • This could go on for days • It was a great honor to be a dancer during the Sun Dance pow wow

Chief Illiniwek • Chief Illiniwek was the official mascot and symbol of the University of Illinois at Urbana. Champaign associated with the University's intercollegiate athletic programs from 1926 to February 21, 2007. The mascot was portrayed by a student dressed in Sioux regalia to represent the Illiniwek, the state's namesake.

Chief Illiniwek • He wore a Lakota Sioux costume, bought in the 1920 s from a chief on the impoverished Pine Ridge reservation by the Marching Band director who thought adding an Indian Mascot would be interesting. • The dance was created by former boy scouts “familiar with Indian lore” • The Illiniwek tribe was a confederation of tribes that lived in the upper Mississippi River valley in Central and northern Illinois. • Most of them were killed by the Iroquois in the 17 th century. • Those that remained were forced to leave the area and move to Kansas in the early 1800 s. They now live on a reservation in Oklahoma where they have merged with other tribes from Ohio.