The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-05-10

INDIAN DANCES
PUT UNDER BAN
Uncle Sam Has Assumed Role
Of Official Censor for {
Red Men.
WAR STEPS ARE TABOO
Self Mu6lation Of Participants Is the
Cause Of Vigorous Measures I
by Indian Office.
WAR STEPS ARE TABOO
BY EARLE r. DORSEY.

Uncle Sam has assumed q good many
roles since 177s. but nothing Uncle
Sam has ever attempted can over
shadow his official role OF dance CEN
sor to the American Indians.
For good many years, the impress
sion has prevailed that the United
States government. at the time IL
finally awoke its national conscience
In the matter of the Indians, pushed the
noble red men away on q reservation.
gave him % many acres OF land. SO
much money every year and then told
him, as the saying runs. to go to It." !
. AZ q matter of fact. the Indian once
of, the Department Of the Interior
watches Its Indian wards with all the
jealous care Of q dominick hen with one
chicken. and II there Is any one little
thing that the red man cannot do II Is to
indulge in a few of his little unexpur-
stated performances Of native folk-dsne-
ing, which were originally designed to
arouse the noble red mans fighting
blood.
Fear Great white Father.
In denying these aboriginal preroga-
tives Of the Indian to his twentieth CEN
fury children. the Indian once ever
holds before its wards the picture Of
Great White Father back in WASH
ington, intensely displeased at the par
ticular thing that the Department Of the
Indian once, wished to prohibit.
The Indian always has been very proud
Of his dancing ability. and in prohibiting
some OF the dances that are not consid-
cred good medicine" the Indian once
Is forced to use the greatest diplomacy.
but the same result il accomplished In
the end. The Indian. regardless Of state
ments to the contrary. holds the Great
White Father In fearful esteem even
to the point of abandoning many of their
tribal dances.
When Custer was chasing Sioux along
the Little Big Horn. a good many of the
Western tribes were addicted to the de-
lightful occupation Of dancing the sun
dance at frequent and regular intervals.
This dance was largely of a religious ma
ture and was designed to propitiate the
sun god in some peculiar. Indian way.
The braves who were chosen for the
dance were big. husky fellows, blest with
the gift of an Indians Imagination. They
began with the beating Of tom-toms as
they danced in a circle and as the
steady boom. boom. boom OF the TOM
toms beat upon their ears they gradu-
ally worked themselves into the widest
frenzy.
self-n1tiIa ton of Dancers.
The climax Of the dance come in the
self-mutiIation OF the dancers. When
they had reached the proper condition
out would come the scalping knives. The
big braves, one by one. would pause IN
the dance to draw their scalping knives
across their shoulders and down across
their breasts. Again and again, in their
religious, hypnotic frenzy, these knives
would be drawn across their shoulders
and breasts until the dancers finally
dropped from exhaustion and loss OF
blood.
for the social and moral welfare OF he |
Indian. the sun dance was one Of the
first tribal customs to come under the
ban of the government.
First, the Indian Office tried to show |
the chiefs the detrimental moral effects |
OF this british and degrading dance, but !
rhe old chiefs stood pat on the traditions |
Of their fathers and the dance went |
on. One after another of the |
argument of the Indian Office were ex-
hausted until finally. in desperation. the |
officers Of the Department Of the Int |
rior invoked the picture of the Great !
White Father angry at his Indian chill |
dren.
Then. and then only. the sun dance
passed into oblivion. In some parts of
the unsettled West, the dance breaks out !
but Uncle Sam, the official |
dance censor. shakes his head and soon |
his disapproval is brought home to the !
through the long arm Of |
the Indian ONCE.
Another of the dances of the good old |
days that have passed into oblivion is
the war dance.
Some Other Good Reasons.
The Indian Office had a number of very
good reasons for stopping the war dance.
Chief among these reasons was the
effect produced on the In
dian mind by the winding mazes Of the
dance and the steady beat of the war
drums. The Indian on the warpath IL a
bad character to deal with, and the In
iian ONCE was particularly anxious that
no smoldering memories in Indian
breasts be aroused II the banning of the
war dance could prevent 1t.
Another extremely objectionable dance
was the scalp dance. This served much
The same purpose OF the war dance. only
The Indians, with an eye to the theatre
,al properties OF the dance, felt that