The Sundance is the most religous traditional Indigenous ceremony in the west. This tradition has spread, and now eastern Indigenous people participate in these ceremonies. The Sundance ceremony is indicated as an offer of personal sacrifice as a prayer for the benefit of one’s family and community. Sundance ceremonies last for days. The sundancer often fasts for a few days and then dances for up to four days. It is common for Sundancers to pierce their flesh and dance until this flesh has been sacrificed.
This is important for health care practitioners to know. Sundancers can become severely dehydrated and malnourished. Also there is a risk for infection at the piercing sites. Sundancers may also have scars on their body from previous experience. The important thing for health practitioners to realize,is that sun dancing is a popular tradition, including in Cape Breton. It is important not to stigmatize a client for having these scars on their bodies or beliefs.
“The Mental and physical preparation necessary for a dancer to survive the rigors of hours of dancing under a hot sunny sky forces an individual to challenge him or herself.Certainly, participation in the Sundance is not for the weak of spirit or body: participants undergo a series of four-day fasts, deprived of food and water, dancing in the hot sun, scarring their bodies through piercing of their own flesh which is offered to the Creator. But, what began as an initiation-into-manhood ritual for young boys becomes more inclusive in the 21st century. Women now participate in the dance if they wish, although many choose to limit their participation to support for the men who dance. It is clear, though, that female participants who choose this role do not view it as subordinate, but rather as a partnership. In the course of the film, the viewer is provided with an overview of important aspects of the ceremony, many of which are prefaced by black and white stills of nineteenth century, archival photos. We learn of the role of the buffalo, a sacred animal which provided all necessities of life for Plains tribes; the importance of tobacco, offered to the Creator, as it burns heavenward in pipes and other vessels; the selection and choice of “a tree of life,” bedecked with prayer ties (tobacco and prayers wrapped in small bundles of red cloth) and standing tall over the dancers and the ceremony site; and the four gates to the dance enclosure (along with a description of the significance of the coloured flags which fly over each entrance). Throughout, various chiefs and elders who lead the ceremony explain the significant spiritual dimensions of the Sundance; it is rich and profound in meaning, a ceremony in which “the sun shines on all,” and is described by one woman as “interfaith” because the sun shines on all people.” ( Joanne Peters)
The following video is a recording on a recent sundance ceremony.
Two-Eyed Seeing for Health 