The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot IndiansWissler, Clark
Religion
The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians
Wissler, Clark
Siksika Indians; Sun dance
The writer has upon two occasions seen the ground where a Blood sun
dance had been held. The dancing lodge, the sweathouse, etc., were still
standing and all these were just as noted among the Piegan. The Blood
lodge was a little larger, but the Piegan said that it was formerly so
with them, they now having very poor timber to work with. We have in
addition two brief published accounts of eyewitnesses.[19] The chief
difference we could detect was in the secondary dances of the society
where the Horns and the Matoki[20] took a very prominent part. As there
are now no such organizations among the Piegan, this gives merely an
outward appearance of difference.
The Northern Piegan, as may be expected, also had the same form. As to
the North Blackfoot, we have only the statement of other Indians that
the sun dance was the same. The Sarsi[21] also had the very same form
and we may suspect the Kutenai as well. At least, my Piegan informants
asserted that the Kutenai had the sun dance from them. The problem here,
however, must rest until we have more data, though Hale is of the
opinion that the Blackfoot gradually displaced the Kutenai and took over
many Plains traits from them.[22]
FOOTNOTES:
[19] McLean, _ibid._, 231-237; McQuesten, _ibid._, 1169-1177.
[20] This series, volume 11, 410-418, 430-435.
[21] Goddard, Pliny Earle, "Sarsi Texts" (_University of California
Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology_, vol. 11, no. 3,
Berkeley, 1915), 192-195.
[22] Hale, H., "On the North-Western Tribes of Canada" (_Report,
Fifty-seventh Meeting, British Association for the Advancement of
Sciences_, 173-200, London, 1888), 198.
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