The Indian Ring by Don Bendell

four compass points and offered prayers. A piece of braided leather rope was tied to the top of the tree by the scout who climbed to the top. Then Crazy Horse, because of his many battle honors, came forward and counted coup on the tree. Three other select warriors came forward to cut the tree down, taking turns chopping. In the meantime, Sitting Bull, Joshua Strongheart, and the other dancers were given blankets to catch the tree in as it was lowered by the rope. Blankets were placed on the ground anywhere the tree might touch as it was carried to the ceremonial circle.
    The dancers were instructed to carry the tree into the circle from the west, and it was again laid down on a series of blankets, with no part of it touching the ground. Next, the dancers tied bundles of sage and, in some cases, tobacco, to the top of the tree. Then like a Christmas tree, the sun dance tree was raised up and the trunk was carefully placed in the hole in the center of the ceremonial site, which had already been dug out by younger warriors.
    For three days, Strongheart, still fasting and only drinking that sage tea and water, did the sweats and meditation in the morning, then danced all day, taking breaks to go off and pray and ask for a vision. The men and women of the village and the sun dancers would start dancing each morning and would dance in a clockwise motion with warrior men on the inside and women on the outside.
    Then, on the third day, which Lakota actually call “piercing day,” the
heyoka
would start dancing. These were clowns, people with mental illnesses, or any who have shown themselves to be very spiritual people. This was to motivate the sun dancers as all of these three groups were considered very sacred and spiritual. Only the
heyoka
wouldwear black-and-white and dance in a circle going the opposite way of the rest of the people. The
heyoka
clowns would also do silly or ridiculous things trying to get the sun dancers to laugh even as the latter were expected to maintain a very serious meditative demeanor.
    In the afternoon, the sun dancers were stopped and those who elected to be pierced, which was a much greater honor than simply dancing, were all made to lie down. Piercing was, by far, the most sacred part of the sun dance ceremony of the Lakota, which was the only nation to practice it. They saw it as making a personal sacrifice for the good of all red brothers.
    One by one, holy men from each tribal circle went to each sun dancer and cut two holes in that dancer’s chest slightly above the nipples on the pectoral muscles. In Joshua Strongheart’s case, instead of a sharp knife, a ceremonial golden eagle talon was used, which did make Joshua feel even more special. Then wooden or bone pegs were inserted into the holes as that sun dancer was blessed and prayed over by the medicine man. Before they all stood again, Sitting Bull sat up and cut himself up and down his arms and sides, making fifty additional cuts on his body to show he was really willing to sacrifice for mankind.
    The sun dancers were told to approach the tree and the medicine men attached braided leather thongs from the top of the sacred tree to the pegs sticking through the flesh on each man’s pectorals. The most senior medicine man there, a leathery and very wrinkled old man, instructed the dancers to dance up to the tree, then back until the pegs pulled their flesh out. They were told to do this three times, then on the third try, they were to dance backward and when the flesh started stretching, they were to thrust themselves backward with all their weight and strength tearing the pegs through their flesh. Strongheart noticed that the much older SittingBull was bleeding profusely, so the Pinkerton decided he would endure whatever happened. He did. Some dancers did not tear their flesh when they tried, but Joshua made his rip free and he fell on his back and look skyward, barely conscious as his father’s village medicine man came