navajo sundance?

I went with a friend soem time ago to the Sun Dance at Big Mountain
and while there I made the statement that I did not think it was right
to have it there. That it was a slap in the face to "the traditional
Navajo Way". I was in the Whitesinger camp and Blackgoats.

I went and saw a number militant Navajos and a lot of non-Indian
tourists. There were three bus loads who paid $300 a head to join in
the sweat ceremony, one sweat with both men and woman together. I
stated my view of it. Orville Lookinghorse was running it. While no
one publicly challenged my statement, I was told privately later that
what I said was not welcome. I was counselled to keep my view to
myself.


I left the Sun Dance and to this day feel that at the place called
Head of the Earth, that home of lightning and the Twin Heros, and the
Hozhoji, where people identify themselves by clan which tells people
where come from, to whom you are related and places you on a certain
place on earth in terms of who you are, your family and birthright
that term Ke' is not a part of the Sun Dance, and after having looked
at the Sun Dance and some meanings of the placement of the center
pole, and associated articles attached to it, that it is a form of an
Enemy Way ceremony in part due to the use of certain things some
involving my own people I can not support it being on Navajo land.


I see a mixture of Peyote and Navajo way, along with the use of
western christian religions, such as Holy Roller practitioners who
import som Navajo Way practices into their religion. I have also seen
the use of electronic media, the internet used for "indian prayers by
credit card" and sootsayers stepping in to use what is not theirs.


Now our own people seek for help from not our ceremonies but ones from
other places. Navajo, who are we, we are diverse and some choose to
say this is ours, and they speak and sound like it is all of us, and I
think that Navajo People don't agree with it but are not so vocal or
agressive as to say take it away from here, but stand off to the side
and shake their heads.


I am reminded of a meeting I attended no so long ago, when an argument
broke out between a Hopi religious leader and an Apache medicine
woman. The Hopi said something to the effect that the Hopi ways were
older, more traditional and carried more weight, that their prayers
had greater power through their dances.


The meeting was a gathering of traditional religious leaders from 45
tribes discussing the use of Eagle feathers for ceremonies. Well, the
Apache woman got up and said, "Our ways have more power I think,
Apache prayers are stronger!", she said.


The Hopi looked at her and said when we dance our prayters work, they
take time, when we pray for rain, it will rain, he said. She said,
when you dance, it takes time, sometimes days or weeks before rain
comes, for us it is not so, she said. He looked at her across the room
and said, Tell me how can you say that? The scene was uncomfortable
for everyone. It seemed that what she said was too much for everyone
and they wondered what she would say. She looked at him and said,
Don't you know, we, my people have had ceremonies tath never fail.
When they are done they work, right away.


In the mind of everyone there, the names of traditional ceremonies
clicked off one by one. What was she talking about to say such a
thing. She said, do you see that light from outside. It comes from the
Sun. We have the Sunrise ceremony, and each time it is done the sun
comes up the next day.


The room was quiet, Everyone sat there and they just laughed. It was a
good laugh and even the Hopi after while laughed too.


Where would we be without each of our own tribe's ceremonies, mayhe
jst sitting in the dark.


rustywire@yahoo.com