What is the sun dance?

The Crow Indian people kept many of their traditions alive. The sun dance was one of the special ceremonies where many people would gather to pray or ask for guidance. Although the ceremony was not allowed for a period of time, the Crow Indian people often have sun dances today. The sun dance was a significant part of the Crow Indian people's spirituality. It was a spiritual retreat in which a large number of participants would fast, pray and dance for a period of days. They asked for answers to events going on in their lives. They might offer a prayer for someone who was ill in their family or for the needs of other people who asked them to represent them in the sun dance experience. For many years, the United State government and different religious groups did not allow the Indian people to hold the sun dance. In the 1940s, the Crow Indian people reintroduced it, and today, they frequently hold sun dances on the reservation. In the Pryor area, there is at least one each year. The Crow Indian's sun dance grounds are about one mile south of Plenty Coups State Park. The water from the sacred Plenty Coups spring is one of the most spiritual places. They come to the spring to get the water to break the fast of the dancers at the sun dance. From: Chief Plenty Coups State Park Museum Tour Content

In the original sun dance, the Crow Indians pierced themselves, and through the suffering of one's physical pain, they were to experience a vision quest. The sun dance let them see the spirits that evolved from their medicine bundles and helped them to use the power, or medicine, of the bundle. From: Vincent Goes Ahead, Jr., Museum Interpreter, Vice Chairman of the Crow Tribe