Beyond the Classroom: Diving Further into the Native American Culture

 For this post, I want to dive further into the Native American culture. The Native American culture is specifically important to me because I am American Indian, which if you do not know that is another term used for Native American/ Indigenous. I have recently found out that American Indian is my true race. With that being said, my family and I are part of  the Bute Tribe of Bayou Bourbeaux. One part of the Native American culture that really interests me is the traditional dances. 

The hoop dance is traditionally performed for healing ceremonies in the tribal community. These events were very sacred and were to bring balance and harmony back. For this dance, the hoop is considered the most important part. Most Native Americans viewed the hoop as a never-ending circle of life. The hoop is very symbolic and is continuously seen throughout the Native American culture. For example, during the dancing in the powwows the dancers are in the formation of a circle. When the hoop dancer is in the circle at the powwow, he feels seven connections: North, East, South, West, heaven, earth, and their heart. Today hoop dance is shared as an artistic expression to honor indigenous traditions. 

The sun dance is another traditional dance of the Native American culture. This dance was a religious ceremony that both begins and ends at sunset. It takes place during the summer solstice and lasts around 4-8 days. This dance symbolizes the infinite continuity of life and the dependence of life on the continuity of nature. The purpose of this dance was to thank the eagle for bringing harmony between body and spirit and to the buffalo for its role in food, clothing, and shelter. This dance was most important to the plains Indians. 

Another dance that is important to the Native American culture is the rain dance. Rain dance ceremonies are typically performed in the spring after planting, in the fall before harvesting, and in the late summer if droughts threaten the crops. The rain dance is a spiritual activity, the dancers summon the attention of the good and bad spirits. They dance to cleanse the earth of evil spirits and to welcome the blessings of the spirit world. Since water is very essential to human life, people have revered and worshiped water since the beginning of time. 

Citations:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/native-american-rain-dance-history-ceremony.html

https://hankeringforhistory.com/native-american-dances-and-meanings/

http://nativeamericanhoopdance.blogspot.com/p/about-hoops.html