Book

The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians

The Trustees16 (3)Published In 1918 • Pages: i, 223-270

By: Wissler, Clark.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a detailed account of the Piegan Sun Dance that the author saw performed twice during his stay among the Blackfoot from 1902 to about 1911. Wissler's exact observations on this ceremonial are further supplemented by data provided by native informants. In this work various elements of the Sun Dance are discussed at great length, such as the preliminary preparations for the ceremony, a daily account of events taking place during the first eight days, the vow (to perform the ceremony), the ceremony of the tongues, and the medicine woman, (one of the key participants in the Sun Dance). The monograph concludes with a brief discussion of some mythological notes relevant to the ritual, and the degree to which the Blood and North Blackfoot participate.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Organized ceremonial
Priesthood
Mythology
Asceticism
Prayers and sacrifices
Outbuildings
Religious and educational structures
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Blackfoot
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1999
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Plains and Plateau
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 1982
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1902- ca.1911
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Montana, United States; Alberta, Canada
NotesAdditional notes
Clark Wissler
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
19010681
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Siksika Indians