Essay On Sun Dance

The Sioux were thought of as violent and scary when really, the things they were doing, were beautiful. They have many traditions that revolve around life. Even today the Sioux carry on their ancestor's beliefs and stories. Their ideas of life itself were special. The Sioux is an overall unique tribe. One of the most important things to the Sioux is the Sun Dance. The Sun Dance is a ceremony that lasts four days. It shows honor towards the sun and bravery to overcome pain (David J. Wishart, 1). Many of the things that are involved are flesh offerings, fasting, dancing, and drumming. A Holy Medicine Man would get the bone of a buffalo and would cut through the skin, putting fetters in the holes. The fetters are attached to a string that is attached to the top of the sun-pole. The objective is to pull the feather out of their skin. Typically, the men would get the fetters on their back
Buffalo was a huge part in their sacred ceremonies. They use buffalo bone, hide, and meat for certain things. The Sweat Lodge ceremony is a symbol for purification. They make a dome out of long sticks and use buffalo hide to create an air tight roof (Lakota Culture, 1). Rocks are the most important part in this ceremony. Before bringing the rocks into the dome, they would heat up rocks in a fire pit outside of the dome. Once the rocks were hot, they would bring them inside and set them in the middle. The people would pray while water was being pored on the rocks to create steam. The Sioux believe that the steam is the breath of the creator and that "the rocks are the oldest things on earth, and when they are heated, they come back to life" (Lakota Culture, 1). Another very important ceremony was the Vision Quest. Men went to a hill for four days and nights and would fast during this time. Throughout the time of being there, they had to pray and wait for a vision. The vision would be told to the other tribe