APTN National News
APTN National News is proud to bring you a rare look inside one of the most time honoured ceremonies of First Peoples across Turtle Island, the Sundance.
APTN reporter Shanneen Robinson was invited and given unfettered access to the Sprucewoods Sundance ceremony in western Manitoba.
It’s guided by Sprucewoods Sundance Chief David Blacksmith.
Here is part part one of Shanneen’s series.
I have been told by Elders (Iam a OSKAPEWIS) for a number of Elders and Cerimonesies in ALBERTA,SASK and Manitoba. And I have been told in some cerimonies the women dressed as MEN to look like they were working in the fields ,So that the MEN could go into the BUSH and do sundances sweats and other Cerimonies .MEGWECH AHHA SOSIS (LITTLECROW ).
I don’t understand why this was recorded and aired. Is nothing sacred anymore? I have no words to express how this saddens me, I can only cry 🙁
This is a Sacred Ceremony and should never be made public. Such disrespect toward the Spirits, the Ancestors and The Great Mystery will only result is nagativity….
This only leads to exploitation and incidents like the sweatlodge incident where people were killed. People who don’t know the true meanings of these ways can really hurt people. Pray for these “Sundance Leaders'” and their followers not to cause harm to their own and to other people. There is such a thing as “karma” when you play with the Creator’s ceremonies. Pray for the health of our people and for ceremonies to stay alive but with out social media. Take this video down!!
Wow…Sad and disrespectful… there are somethings that should be left alone.. next thing you know, ya’ll will be making posters and selling t-shirts.. Where is the Humility in this????
Many of our people gave their lives to protect these ways and ceremonies. Posting this publicly is just an invitation to exploitation and abuse.
Hello Frank, we met in Whitehorse, am disturbed by this support you give to APTN but I kind of notice that people working in business tend to not think of the social ramifications of ‘its business as usual’ let’s have a partnership with so-so-non-native! Sometimes it’s just best to leave well enough alone, this new generation of sundancers have never been to a church, learned catholicism, but have been reared in their languages, feasts, fasts, sundance, sweatlodge, rain dance, what have you. The arguement that church hurt them is not a given for this new generation. It was on the sacred backs of the people who held the protocols, the songs, the locations away from the rest of society to protect our nations that they are able to FREELY do this journey without interference with the daily mainstream. APTN should be ashamed of themselves, funny how this kind of stuff is aired ONCE they get their license renewed!!!
I can say that I am very disturbed by this. It is something I would expect from a non-Native news source, but not from one of the very few we have. The sacredness of the ceremony loses its integrity and its intent through the eyes of the viewer. One does not learn or even begin to understand the ceremony without being a part of it. It is not a spectator event, never was.
I’m am just very disturbed and saddened by this.
The Spiritual Awakening prophesized by the appearance of the White Buffalo is at hand! It is time to reveal the glory of our most sacred ceremony to the 4 Colours of the Earth. No longer will we stay in hiding, no longer will we be ashamed. This is the gift that Creator has given to us. We have been tested, we have been humbled, but we have survived. Any who think our Sundance way off life should remain hidden, has been shamed by the influence of the Church. I will pray for those who are lost that they may find their way out of darkness and into the light of truth, Ekosi.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Ceremony is not supposed to be documented like this. You are stripping it of what makes it sacred, secret and protected. You are commodifying something that has no place being commodified and you are spitting on the memory of the people who died trying to protect our way of life.
ive never heard it being claimed as christian before, nor have i heard of a sundance in that park before, must be a lost souls one or some sort of gospel one that gather the weak, like christians do in india and thirdly its traditional a Sioux ceremony because they felt they where being punished and where asking for forgiveness because of the white devils etc ..never seen a painted center either..there are alot of not seen before stuff i wonder if this dude just went and did a library run and started his own cult? ..sundance chief? whooa save the ego buddy
Umm..you were right about it being a “Sioux” ceremony but it is not used for punishment. It’s a healing ceremony.
If ceremony like this wasn’t filmed and shared, then more customs would be lost. Specials like this help bring ceremonies back into people’s lives, it’s not shameful or disrespectful, it’s celebrating a wonderful and rich tradition.
Our ceremonies are alive and well, thank you very much. All this does is invite the unscrupulous to exploit and desecrate our ceremonies.
My aboriginal/FN friends are truly outraged by this arrogant breach of sacrosanctity !! You have tread on a people’s inviolable rights to maintain the sacredness of this ceremony….I am NOT FN, but even I can see that apparently NOTHING is sacred anymore. I would expect this of a “whitebread” main stream media source, but…APTN!?!!? For shame!
NICE!!!…GOD ONE SUNDANCE BRO’S!…I’M GONNA DO THAT NEXT HERE IN ROSEBUD…BUT I AM GONNA SELL INDIAN TACOS AT MINE…LIKE CROW DOG DOES…HAHAHA…GOOD STUFF PEOPLES 🙂 FROM ROSEBUD INDIAN RESERVATION
SOUTH DAKOTA…
It so sacred you put it out there for all to see….hmmm yeaaaaah buhdee…..no wonder we have so many white people stealing Indian ways…if Creator wanted them to know …he would have given it to them ..but he didn’t! This is why mother earth is so off balanced!
Sickening..seeing Indians condoning this..sad..this is MY OPINION
You are not a traditional walking leader,otherwise you would not allow such disrespect towards our Sacred Ceremony!
How dare you film any part of this sacred ceremony, let alone post it online for all to see? Shameful!