Indians of North America

¶ … ceremonies of the Hopi tribe of the American Southwest, and the Assiniboine of the Northern Plains. The Assiniboine engage in the Sun Dance as one of their major ceremonies, while the Hopi engage in the Snake Dance as one of theirs. These dance ceremonies share many commonalities, but they contain major differences, as well. The Hopi were largely agricultural, living on mesas devoid of much moisture, while the Assiniboine were hunters, subsisting off the buffalo of the plains. These differences make up the disparity in their ceremonies, and they are important clues to their identity and way of life.

The Hopi Nation is one of the oldest Native American tribes in North America. They can trace their history in Northern Arizona, where their reservation is located, back to the 12th century, but they believe their history goes back much further than that. They are believed to have migrated to the desert southwest from Central America and Mexico, and at one time, they lived throughout the Southwest. Now, their reservation is located in Northeastern Arizona, lies partly in Navajo and Coconino counties, and is surrounded by the larger Navajo reservation. The Hopis live on a series of mesas, First, Second, and Third Mesa and their villages are scattered about on these mesas. Their villages are extremely old, and built in the style of old Anasasi cliff dwellings, placed on top of each other three or four stories high. Some of the most ancient villages are off limits to outsiders. Old Oraibi, located on Third Mesa, is considered to be the oldest continually inhabited village in North America ("Hopi Tribe"). Many of these villages are extremely sacred to the Hopi and are off limits to visitors. Many other of the newer villages welcome visitors and are home to some of the galleries and arts & craft stores the Hopis operate throughout their reservation.

The Hopis live simple lives based on agriculture, and that has been their tradition for centuries. Unlike other nomadic tribes, they built permanent villages and did not travel in search of their food. They have always been a peaceful people, and they continue to avoid conflict whenever possible. They still rely on agriculture, which might seem odd, considering their location in the high desert. To survive, they have developed a unique form of agriculture known as "dry farming." The editors of a tribal Web site note, "Instead of plowing their fields, Hopi traditional farmers place 'wind breakers' in the fields at selected intervals to retain soil, snow, and moisture. They also have perfected special techniques to plant seeds in arid fields. As a result, they succeed in raising corn, beans, squash, melons and other crops in a landscape that appears inhospitable to farming" ("Hopi Tribe"). Many of the Hopi live today very much as they did in the 12th century. They have modern conveniences such as electricity, but they still farm, live in their ancient villages, and perform their ancient rituals. Some Hopis have left the reservation and live and work in nearby towns. One of the most famous Hopis in recent times is Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, a Hopi soldier and mother who was one of the first servicepeople killed in the Iraq war in 2003.

The Hopi are also celebrated craftspeople. They produce decorative pottery, silver work, jewelry, basketry, and perhaps the most well-known, Kachina dolls that are traditionally hand carved from cottonwood roots. These elaborately dressed dolls depict many of the characters that perform in their traditional native dances and represent the gods and goddesses they believe watch over them. Tourism is a large part of the Hopi world today, and there are several galleries and co-ops that sell their crafts to the public, all of them located on the Hopi reservation.

The Assiniboine tribe is a Sioux-related tribe that inhabits Northern Montana and parts of Canada. Today, the Fort Belknap Reservation in Northern Montana is the headquarters of the U.S. Assiniboine nation. In the past, the Assiniboine were nomadic hunters, following the buffalo across the northern plains for their sustenance. Their Web site states, "The Assiniboine were typically large game hunters, dependent on the buffalo for a considerable part of their diet. They used buffalo hides for clothing and receptacles, and lived in hide tipis" ("Fort Belknap"). Today, they are largely agriculturally based. Their Web site notes, "The main industry is agriculture, consisting of small cattle ranches, raising alfalfa hay for feed and larger dry land farms" ("Fort Belknap"). In Canada, they are called the Stoney, or "those who cook with stones," because they used to heat stones in order to boil water to cook their food. Their language is a derivative of the Dakota (Sioux language), and it is believed they came to the area from further east in the Minnesota region. They call themselves the Nakota. They did not have domestic horses, but they did have domestic dogs in their camps, and they sometimes used them to carry items or pull sleds. In the past, they were aligned with the Cree nation, and fought against the Gros Ventre, but today, they share their reservation with the Gros Ventre.

Today, their main business besides agriculture is a tribal meat packing company and smokehouse. They sell a variety of meat products, mostly based on bison. The tribe keeps a heard of 600 bison that they rely on for income. They suffer from high rates of unemployment, as much as 75% at some times of the year, and they are one of the poorest native communities in Montana. Tourism is almost non-existent, and the tribe is always looking for ways to improve itself and help its members survive.

The Hopi religion is based on stories and legends about their gods and characters who watch over them. They celebrate these characters in elaborate dances and ceremonies throughout the year. The Snake Dance is one of the most important of these dances. The details of the dance have been handed down for generations, since Spanish explorers first encountered the Hopi in the 16th century. The Snake Dance is actually the culmination of a sixteen-day Snake Antelope ceremony, a very elaborate celebration that holds great importance in the Hopi community. Another writer notes, "Through the first half of the twentieth century, the Snake Dance was perhaps the best-known symbol of American Indian religion, and it became a vastly important tourist attraction" (Jenkins 3). Because tourists are not allowed to take photographs of the event, there have been problems with the dance and the number of tourists it attracts. This year, the Hopis closed the dance to all outsiders, because during the last dance, tourists ignored the photo ban and photographed the ceremony, which is deeply offensive to the Hopis.

The Snake Dance takes place in the village plaza. Prior to the dance, men have gathered snakes from the desert, and painted their bodies in ceremonial designs. They build a bower of cottonwood called a "kiwi," and in the bower, they place the snakes, located in a jar. A cottonwood plank is placed in the plaza for the dancers to use, as well. When the ceremony begins, two rows of twelve dancers enter the plaza and circle it four times. Each time they reach the plank, they stomp on it, creating a noise like thunder. Antelope dancers form a long line and sway like a snake as the other dancers continue (Fadely).

The Snake Chief bends over the jar of snakes and puts a snake in his mouth. The dancers each dance with a snake in their mouths, circling the plaza with a partner. They place the snake on the ground, and then return to the kiwi for another. After the dancers are done with the snakes, they place them inside a cornmeal circle the women have prepared. Members of the Snake Clan then gather up the snakes and release them back into the desert in all four directions, north, south, east, and west. After the dancers are through, women carefully clean the paint from their bodies, and they return to the kiva, a religious chamber, for purification (Fadely). It is the most important dance of all the ceremonies held during the year, and it is the last dance of the season.

The main purpose of the Snake Dance was to bring water for the crops, which is why it is always held in the summertime. It is held in August every other year, alternating with the Flute Ceremony. The cottonwood board they stomp on represents thunder, and the songs they sing during the dance encourage clouds to form and to release their moisture on to their crops. It is a very important dance to the Hopis, the most important of all their dances and ceremonies.

The Snake Dance is the most significant and the most sacred, and that is why they do not want people to photograph it. The Snake symbolizes the Earth and the female and male spirit, while the Antelope symbolizes freedom and the highest level of spiritualism that the snake should arise toward. Together, they form the basis of the Hopi religious beliefs, and so, this dance is important because it calls out for water, but it symbolizes much more than that to the Hopi people, as well.

The Assiniboine ceremony, the Sun Dance, was and still is extremely important to the people; it was religious and ceremonial in nature. Most of the Plains Indians performed a version of the Sun Dance, so it was not original to the Assiniboine. An expert notes, "The Sun Dance originated with the Plains Algonquians around 1700, diffused throughout the Plains tribes, and by the early 1800s had developed into the most magnificent aboriginal ceremony of this culture area" (White xiii). Only the men in the tribe performed the dance, and it lasted three days (the time it took to erect the lodge used for the dance). After the dance was over, they removed the lodge. In fact, the Assiniboine often refer to the dance as the "Medicine Lodge" dance rather than the Sun Dance.

The actual details of the dance seem quite gruesome to some people. The dance is actually a celebration of thanksgiving and healing, but in the past, it helped prove a man's worthiness to hunt. Dancers gaze at the sun in preparation for the dance, and during the performance they take vows, pray, fast, sing, dance, and suffer so that God will look favorably on them. Author White continues, "Common elements of the Sun Dance ceremony involve a 'pledger' who makes a vow to perform the dance as a result of a dream or vision, a sweat lodge purification, the building of the Sun Dance lodge, smoking the sacred pipe, and the actual dance itself" (White xx). One of the highlights of the dance is young men slitting their flesh, inserting leather thongs, and hanging from the lodge pole, or dancing around it. White continues, "Participants danced while gazing at the sun and blowing eagle-bone whistles, while attached to the sacred center pole by thongs and skewers through the chest muscles and pulled outwards until the muscles tore free" (White xx). This aspect of the dance seemed extremely violent to early Indian officials, which led them to ban the dance. White states, "Aside from keeping children from school and neglecting crops, the torture element of the Sun Dance furnished the excuse for the Indian Regulations of 1904, making the Sun Dance a punishable offense" (White 7). It remained banned in both the U.S. And Canada until the 1950s, when officials finally lifted the ban. The Fort Belknap Assiniboine still perform the dance on the Fourth of July at Mouse Canyon Flats near Lodge Pole.

The purposes of the Sun Dance were varied. Early on, it was meant to prepare young men for battle and determine who were the bravest and toughest. However, the dance was always one of spirituality, thanksgiving, and healing. The Assiniboine are extremely spiritual, and their ceremonies always reflect this. It was a gathering of all the people of the tribe to thank God or the "Sky Father" for their safety, security, and way of life. They also believed that there were spirits between the Earth and the Sky Father that could come down to the ground and influence the people's lives in positive ways. They responded to suffering and fasting, and this was the main purpose of the torture aspects of the dance, they wanted to positively influence the spirits to continue to watch over them and take care of them (White xx). To give something back to the Sky Father was a sign of respect, honor, and sincerity, the Assiniboine and others who performed the dance did not view it as torture. A white teacher who observed the dance notes, "He describes the Sun Dance as a form of public worship of the deities Sun and Thunder, as was instructed by the Great Spirit in a vision" (White 7). The Assiniboines perform their own version of the dance, modified from other Plains Indians. Some tribes do not practice the torture aspect of the dance, but the majority do.

Traditionally, the dance was held in the late summer or early fall, but it has been moved today to July Fourth partly for tourism and partly to take advantage of the holiday. It is still a very spiritual and important event, one of the most important in the Assiniboine calendar. Author White notes how important it is to their spiritual beliefs. He writes, "But, the dance is just an expression of gratitude to the Great Spirit for the joy and ecstasy of a religious life, and for the beauty of creation, as expressed in their name for the ceremony which literally translates as 'making a lodge dwelling for a religious ceremony'" (White 8). It held strong spiritual connotations, and still does. White continues, "The performance of the ceremony is supposed to re-create, to re-form, to re-animate the earth, vegetation, and animal life" (White xix). Thus, it was also a ritual that was supposed to help please God and ensure the tribe's survival, especially throughout the frigid winter months that would soon test the tribe's survival skills. The actual performance of the dance is simple, without ornate steps and movements; mostly it is a test of the strength of the men and pain they can endure.

Like the Assiniboine Sun Dance, the Hopis are not the only tribe to create a Snake Dance. Early Spanish explorers discovered Pueblo Indians dancing a Snake Dance in the 16th century, where they flagellated themselves to show their devotion. Another writer notes, "Scientists today understand that the massive loss of blood can induce hallucinations. The delirium of such states allowed ritual celebrants to transcend their daily existence and enjoy close contact with the gods" (Gutierrez 29). This is quite similar to the Assiniboine self-torture in their dance, which was associated with hallucinations and visions as part of their Sun Dance. The Hopis do not rely on hallucinations and visions, which is one way their two dances differ.

Another difference is the use of the snakes. The Assiniboines dance is much more spiritual in nature, which is why they pray, fast, and offer up thanks to the Supreme Being for their survival. Their actions are meant to appease the spirits and thank the Sky Father, and the entire ceremony is circled in religious beliefs. The Hopi dance has religious overtones, but its main purpose is to ask the spirits to send water for their crops, so it is more about seeking sustenance, rather than giving thanks. They both have spiritual overtones, but in different ways and for very different reasons.

Another difference is the length of the dance. The Assiniboines dance until they are exhausted or their flesh is torn, while the Snake Dance is relatively short. Much preparation goes into both dances, however. The Snake Dance is a culmination of a sixteen-day ceremony, while the Sun Dance is the culmination of a three-day ceremony. They are both extremely ritualistic and follow very prescribed patterns, and have been performed for hundreds of years.

There are many commonalities between the dances, however. They both use props as part of the dance. The Hopis use snakes and the Assiniboines use the medicine lodge and the lodge pole. They both wear special costumes and paint themselves in specific ways to prepare for the dance. They both allow the tribe, and sometimes visitors, to view the dances. They have elaborate ceremonies surrounding the dances that last for several days.