A Plains ceremony and a federal policy
The Sun Dance is a ceremonial tradition of Plains nations, and in the late nineteenth century it became a target of United States policy. This article follows that history, from the ban to the revival, in general terms. It also explains briefly why the Sun Dance is often wrongly linked with all Apache peoples. Most Apache groups did not hold it, and the narrower question of the Plains Apache and other ceremonies is treated in the article comparing the Plains Sun Dance with Apache ceremonies.
Why the government targeted it
In the 1870s and 1880s, US Indian policy aimed to assimilate Native people, that is, to replace their ways of life with those of the non-Native majority. Officials working on reservations were encouraged to discourage Native religious practices, which they often described as obstacles to “civilization.” Ceremonies that brought large numbers of people together were of particular concern to agents, who worried about their influence and their gatherings.
A major step was the creation of the Courts of Indian Offenses, introduced in 1883 under rules that listed certain “offenses.” The rules are generally understood to have targeted dances and other customs, including the Sun Dance, and to have provided for penalties such as withholding rations or imprisonment. The effect varied by place and by the attitude of the local agent. Later, the Office of Indian Affairs issued further instructions against ceremonies, and in the early twentieth century the restrictions were tightened again. Historians describe this as part of the wider assimilation policy and its effects.
It should be said that the ban was not always enforced with equal force. Some communities moved gatherings, held them in modified forms, or continued quietly. Others stopped holding them for a time. Accounts differ by nation, which is why the experience of one should not be generalized to all.
A parallel in Canada
Canada also restricted Native ceremonies, and in the 1880s changes to its Indian Act targeted certain dances and gatherings. The details belong to a different country’s law and are not covered here, other than to note that the pattern of suppression was widespread in North America.
The turn toward change
Attitudes and policy shifted gradually. In 1934, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier, issued a statement favoring religious freedom for Native people, and the same period saw the Indian Reorganization Act and a different approach to federal policy, as described in the article on the Indian Reorganization Act. The change did not instantly end hardship or discrimination, and some local officials and missionaries remained opposed.
In 1978, Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, which stated a federal policy of protecting and preserving Native religious rights, including access to sacred sites and the use of ceremonial objects. Scholars and Native leaders have noted that the Act lacked strong enforcement provisions, and debates over its reach have continued. The wider question of Apache religious freedom is part of the same story.
Revival and continuity
The Sun Dance did not disappear everywhere. In some places it continued in private or altered forms, and in others it was revived in the twentieth century as communities reasserted their ceremonies. Today it is held by a number of Plains nations, and a few others, according to their own customs. The ceremony remains sacred, and nations differ on what they share. Anyone interested should rely on materials from the nations themselves and respect their rules about visitors.
The story is also worth noting for its cost. The suppression of ceremonies caused real harm to communities, as people were punished for prayer and older people who held ceremonial knowledge sometimes died without passing it on. The revival is therefore often described by communities as recovery as well as celebration, although individual views vary and it is not for an outside site to describe how they feel.
Why it is wrongly tied to Apache peoples
A search for “Apache Sun Dance” returns many pages that treat the ceremony as part of Apache heritage in general. Several causes are likely.
- Pan-Indian stereotypes. Popular culture often portrays Native nations as sharing one set of customs. The Sun Dance, with its dramatic reputation, appears frequently in this kind of imagery.
- Apache fame. The Apache name is among the best known in American popular culture, so Plains and Southwestern features get blended under it.
- A real but narrow link. The Plains Apache lived alongside the Kiowa and had a recognized connection to Kiowa gatherings. That limited connection is sometimes inflated into a claim about every Apache group.
The Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero and Jicarilla nations each have their own ceremonial histories, which differ from the Plains pattern. The history of the ban is a Plains history first, though Apache communities experienced the same assimilation era and its restrictions in their own ways, including through reservation agents and the boarding school system.
Sources and care
Writing about the Sun Dance is complicated by the fact that many early descriptions were written by non-Native observers, officials and missionaries with their own views. Modern readers should look for accounts by Native authors and by tribal institutions, and for current information on what a nation shares publicly, consult its official website. This site is independent and does not speak for any nation.