Native American Bear Dance While many Native American tribes hold the bear as a sacred animal, the Southern Ute tribe takes another approach with their unique Bear Dance. The duties and types of healing arts and spiritual ceremonies performed would naturally vary from tribe to tribe. The Sun Dance has been performed by young Native American warriors as a way to not only honor the sun, but also to bring the dancers visions. The Ghost Dance (Natdia) is a spiritual movement that came about in the late 1880s when conditions were bad on Indian reservations and Native Americans needed something to give them hope. The music produced in the Bear Dance is what brought me to the ceremony, as the principle instrument used in the ceremony, besides singing, is the notched stick (or rattle) mentioned in The American Indian. The Ghost Dance (Natdia) is a spiritual movement that came about in the late 1880s when conditions were bad on Indian reservations and Native Americans needed something to give them hope. The ceremony cures bear, snake, and other sicknesses which are caused by Wind or Fire. The diversities existing The dances are regionally or tribally specific and the singers usually perform in their native languages. Individuals make personal sacrifices on behalf of the community. The Annual Ute Bear Dance which is held every spring is a social dance everyone enjoys. Depending upon the dance, sometimes visitors are welcomed; while, at other times, the ceremonies are private. Historically, the Native Americans performed the dance for a variety of reasons, including friendship creation and curing a sickness. The Native American tribes performed the Eagle dance when there was a need for divine intervention. Some of our features have teddy bear … It also embraces elements of a ceremony, particularly movement, that often have a hypnotic effect, especially through repetition. Pyrenees AncientPages.com - The Native American Sun Dance is an important religious ceremony of the Plain Indians of North America.The tribes of the Great Plains saw the Sun as a manifestation of the Great Spirit. The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by some Indigenous people of United States of America and Canada, primarily those of the Plains cultures.It usually involves the community gathering together to pray for healing. It is a ten-day event to strengthen social ties within the community, encourage courtship, and mark the end of puberty for girls. The treatment of Native American dance in this article is meant to focus first on certain general features of dance and their manifestation in a number of areas. In most Native cultures, Bear is considered a medicine being with impressive magical powers, and plays a major role in many religious ceremonies. They traditionally believed that the eagle has the supernatural power to transport prayers to the gods. Native American healing arts and practices are earth-based, honoring and respectful of the Father Sky, Mother Earth, Grandfather Sun, and Grandmother Moon. The Bear Society of Arkansas did celebrate the Awakening of the Bear's in the Spring, the Healing Ceremony in the Summer and the Sleep Ceremony at the beginning of winter. These individuals would serve as herbalists, healers, and spirit communicators. It is one of the oldest Ute ceremonies. The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by some Indigenous people of United States of America and Canada, primarily those of the Plains cultures. Manataka American Indian Council . Ahulani – This figure participates in the Soyal Ceremony appearing with two Soyal Manas on the morning of the last day of the event.The decoration of the Ahulani mask differs in its symbolism on alternate years, according to whether the Snake or Flute Dance is celebrated. Dance continues to be an important part of Native American culture. For the Utes, it is a ten-day event of dancing, feasting, games, horse racing, and gambling. Bear hunting and killing a bear was followed by a party called peijaiset with ceremony intended to show that the bear would be a "honored guest" instead of a slaughtered animal, and that its death was "accidental", in order to not to anger the bear's spirit.