For many tribes of Plains Indians whose bison-hunting culture flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries, the sun dance was the major communal religious ceremony. Generally held in late spring or early summer, the rite celebrates renewal-the spiritual rebirth of participants and their relatives as well as the regeneration of the living earth with all its components. The sun dance reflects relationships with nature that are characteristic of the Plains ethos, and includes symbolic representations of various animal species, particularly the (...) eagle and the buffalo, that once played vital roles in the lives of the people and are still endowed with sacredness and special powers. The ritual, involving sacrifice and supplication to insure harmony between all living beings, continues to be practiced by many contemporary native Americans. (shrink)

Because Plains Indians, as well as some other groups of Native Americans, generally perceived people and animals as closely related, medical therapies and preventive regimes in human and veterinary medical practice often overlapped. The sense of partnership that mounted people shared with their horses dictated that it was appropriate for certain equine remedies to be similar to those used for themselves. Horses, as well as people, could possess useful knowledge in the realm of curing. Reciprocity between humankind and nature was (...) expressed by the interactive healing powers of people and horses as well as by recorded examples of the connection that existed between human and equine health maintenance measures and medical procedures. (shrink)

For many tribes of Plains Indians whose bison-hunting culture flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries, the sun dance was the major communal religious ceremony. Generally held in late spring or early summer, the rite celebrates renewal-the spiritual rebirth of participants and their relatives as well as the regeneration of the living earth with all its components. The sun dance reflects relationships with nature that are characteristic of the Plains ethos, and includes symbolic representations of various animal species, particularly the (...) eagle and the buffalo, that once played vital roles in the lives of the people and are still endowed with sacredness and special powers. The ritual, involving sacrifice and supplication to insure harmony between all living beings, continues to be practiced by many contemporary native Americans. (shrink)