The Sun Dance Tree is a universal part of Sun Dance Ceremonies practiced initially by Plains Tribes. While the Ceremony is practiced differently by different Tribes and Sun Dance Leaders, the Sacred Tree is the Sacred Center of all Sun Dance Ceremonies.
In 1882, the U.S. Secretary of Interior Henry M. Teller ordered an end to all “heathenish dances” on reservations due to their “great hindrance to civilization.” Then in 1892, Thomas J. Morgan, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, further suppressed Indigenous spiritual practices by ordering penalties of up to six months in prison for those who repeatedly participated in religious dances or acted as medicine people.
The U.S. government renewed the prohibition of Sun Dance ceremonies in 1904. In 1934 the US Government allowed limited forms of Sun Dances on July 4, Independence Day.
Deksi Pete Catches Sr. (1913-1992), who was my Sun Dance leader, at Little Eagle, along with Art Amiotte, told me when he first came to the Sun Dance, it was held during a Carnival at Pine Ridge in the afternoon.
There would be some dancers, and people would come to watch the dancers and sit in bleachers. But he told me even under those circumstances, if you were truly sincere and had faith, you would be blessed by our Creator.
He said he had been drunk for months, dirty, unbathed, and smelly, and literally crawled to the Sun Dance Tree, right in full swing of the noisy carnival. When he reached the Sacred Tree, he grabbed onto it and prayed with all his physical and spiritual strength.
He said even in the middle of that Carnival, Wakan Tanka and the Ancestors blessed him. After holding on to the tree and crying for a long time, he said Holy Power entered his heart and body and healed him.
Deksi Pete said when he was finally able to stand up, he was a new man. He never drank a drop of alcohol again. Along with Frank Fools Crow (1890 – 1989.), Martin High Bear(1919-1995), Bill Schweigman-Eagle Feather (1914-2000), John Fire Lame Deer (1903-1976), and Deksi Pete became among the greatest Sun Dance Leaders of his time.
I will never forget how Deksi Pete would literally transform when he stepped into the Sun Dance Circle. When he danced, he was like a Sacred Prayer in action.
It was not until the US Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) in 1978 that the rights of Native Americans to exercise our traditional spirituality by ensuring access to sacred sites, the use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through our Sacred Ceremonies and Spiritual Traditions.
This history makes it easy to understand why many Indigenous peoples do not want to share or expose our ceremonies outside our communities. I agree with Frank Fools Crow, "Survival of the world depends on sharing what we have and working together. If we don't, the whole world will die. First Mother Earth, and next the people."
I also understand and respect those who do not wish to share our Ceremonies. Everyone has the freedom of choice. For I believe every member of our Human Family has the right to respectfully pray and worship our Creator when, where, and how they choose.
Through the dedicated and loving efforts of Dekshi Leonard Crow Dog, Tahansi Galen Drapeau Sr., and others, the Sun Dance has spread across Canada, the USA, and South into Mexico and as far South as Columbia. This Sacred Ceremony continues to spread and bring healing with a new generation of Sun Dance Leaders, including Sun Dance Chiefs, Tonska's Galen Drapeau Jr, Leonard Crow Dog Jr., and Son Rueben George.
