River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1924-08-28
INDIAN DANCES
LIKE REVEALS
Ancient Ceremonies Are
Mostly Religious in Nature.

Washington, D. C.-Indian ceremo-
malls are rarely understood by other
races, and consequently the In
dian rites and dances have often been
unjustly criticized, says ]. N. B. Hewitt
of the Smithsonian institution.
The white man is extremely gullible
when 1t comes to believing fantastic
tales about the red man. 1t is no rare
occurrence for a witness to appear at
a congressional hearing and to testify
regarding the evils of Indian dances
and later to admit that he has never
seen the Objectionable rites.
Furthermore, the white man must
plead guilty to lack OF sympathetic
imagination when he observes the In
dian. Aside from some ethnologists,
people who do attend Indian ceremo-
MES generally see only the gyrations
of painted savages. Sometimes they
cannot refrain from showing their
amusement and scorn. Sometimes they
offend the Indians seriously.
One man who was present at
Navajo snake dance grew righteously
indignant at the sight of venomous
snakes handled by the dancers who
even placed them in their mouths,
When one Of the reptiles was laid on
the ground the visitor lmpulsively took
a soda pop bottle and tried to kill 1t.
The white man was the Indians guest,
but the snake represented some re-
f..fn, ohnl 80 hn 1nn md
was for the time being an object Of
generation. Guest as he was, the rash
outsider jeOpardized his life.
Show Reverence to Nature.
Mr.. Hewitt says that the ceremonies
of the Indian are incorrectly called
pagan. No people have held more
reverent attitude toward nature and
the Master Of Life than the Indians,
he says. BY their symbolism they
built up a system of associations, so
the budding trees, the ripe corn or
the forest animals, they thought Of the
legends and the significance Of those
things in life. Considering their "1ack
Of advantages" the Indians put into
words an astonishing amount Of truth
regarding their universe.
The Indian regards the tribal rites
and all the symbols that goes with
them with the same respect that any
other race feels toward It's religious
observances. A typical feast Is the
Iroquois planting ceremony, which
r1ono In, tho coripO Tho woman
and girls dramatize the planting proc
esses and sing the songs descriptive Of
each. Men of the tribe preach and
tell the others to treat one another
kindly, to avoid lying and gossip, to
live peaceaby and to be thankful
for their blessings.
There is always feast and dancing
at the close of all festivals. They be-
lieve that the Master of Life, seeing
the people dance, knows that His chill
dren are content with what He has
done for them, and so He is pleased.
1t is all the Indians way of render
ing thanksgiving.
Outsiders not knowing the language
and symbolism, are apt to conclude
that the Indians are holding a gay
party, WHILE as Mr.. Hewitt points out,
If we compare the occasion TO some
thing in our own civilization, it is
more accurate to compare it to a re-
ligious meeting.
Masks often Misunderstood.
Use of hideous masks by certain
tribes is a typical source Of misunder-
standing among white people. The
masks do not represent the Indians
idea of beauty, as many people believe,
but represent the seven winds which
bring diseases. Each type of mask
suggests the face of the victim of the
disease brought by that wind.
On New Years day masked men go
into each wigwam and put out the
fire, clean away the ashes and light
ceremonially a new fire. This is not
a senseless rite. The ashes of the
old fire have collected waste materials
and germs for some months, and clean
ing the fireplace is health measure.
There Is no doubt that some dances
of primitive tribes have included prac-
tees which the white man regards as
reprehensible. The Indians practice
of slashing themselves and one an
other with knives during the sun dance
has been criticized. SO has the reck-
less handling of snakes, both harm.
less and venomous, at the snake
dance. Charges of immortality In con-
nection with some rites have also been
made
The Indians themselves say that
few, If any dancers, cut themselves
now in the sun dance. The idea back
of the cutting was to show courage.
Sixteen officials of a Pueblo tribe
recently denied the implication of i'm
moral practices in their ceremonials
by saying: Our dances are drama.
opera and poetry. The womanhood Of
our pueblo are as sacred to us as the
symbolic dance we are trying to de-
fend and preserve"
This statement was made in a pc
tition that the ancestral dances