The Sundance was a very important religious ceremony for the Plains Indians of 19th- century North America. The ceremony was held once a year and lasted from four to eight days.
Many other Indian tribes practiced the Sundance as well, such as the Sioux and the Ojibway. Rituals varied very much and it would involve sacrifice and supplication.
The eagle plays a large part of the Sundance. It is a sacred animal and it is the closest creature to the sun. The eagle represents many good human traits; it is courageous, swift and strong. It has great foresight and knows everything. "In an eagle there is all the wisdom in the world". It is the facilitator of communication between man and spirit.
The main theme of the Sundance however, is the buffalo. It symbolizes life. The buffalo gave the Indians the quality of life - it gave them clothing, shelter and so on. The Sundance praised and blessed the relationship between humans and the buffalo. .
The buffalo skull was used as an alter for the Sundance. Offerings were presented to the skull. The Cheyenne used to stuff the eye and nose sockets with grass, representing bountiful vegetation for the buffalo, which in return meant healthy buffalo for the people.
The sacrifices could be self-inflected torture. This was the highest form of sacrifice. The dancers would have pieces of bone or wood skewered into their skin. The bone or wood was tied to the sun pole. Then they had to tug and pull until their skin broke free. This could go on for hours. .
Self torture symbolized rebirth. The torture represented death. When a sun dancer lived through the torture he was reborn, mentally and spiritually as well as physically. .
After the all dancers were torn free the Sundance was over. The Indians have to leave the area, the land is now sacred.
The Sundance shows continuity between life and death - a regeneration. It shows that there is no true end to life, but a cycle of symbolic and true deaths and rebirths.