I deny the claim entirely and I view it as preposterous.
The Son Dance
In the long ago time, there was an old Chief of the Lakota people. This was in the time when the Lakota were still on the east coast. The Lakota weren’t always buffalo hunters of the plains as most people today have read about in their history books. They were originally located in the east and there is still a remnant of them who can be found there today called the Wacamaw Sioux by some.
This story takes place before the Lakota were pushed to the west where they are today. A great and terrible sickness fell upon the land. All of the people were getting sick and dying and no one knew what to do. The medicine men and women tried everything to their deepest knowledge with teas, salves, and ointments made from plants but nothing was working and the People continued to die. As is custom among the People, the old man Chief prepared for his journey to go up the sacred mountain in order to fast and pray for an answer.
The first day the Chief was on the mountain he stood with his weathered arms stretched out towards the heavens and he cried out in a loud yet humble voice. “Creator! Maker of all things and giver of breath, I come humbly before you on this vision quest. Your people need help! They are dying, and I do not know what to do. We have tried everything that we know and nothing has worked to keep the people from dying. Is there a plant medicine that you can show me how to make a tea or salve that I can then bring to the people to heal them?”
There was no answer…
The second day the Chief stood once again after a full day of singing, dancing, and praying. He looked out upon the land and raised his eyes to the sky and cried out once again. “Wakan Tanka! Oh Great One! You alone know all things and you are the one who spread the stars out across the sky. Your people are dying, and I do not know what to do. Our medicine people have tried every herb, and our holy men have tried every prayer. Nothing is working and the people are dying. Is there a song that you can give me that I can sing over my people so that they may live?”
There was no answer…
The third day the Chief stood again; although, the hunger had begun to gnaw at his empty stomach, and the thirst was like fire that cannot be quenched. This was to be expected. It did not stop him from his duty to his people and as he stood he looked desperately to the sky for an answer. With hands raised high he called once again upon the Creator. “Tunkasila..Grandfather! You who are without beginning or end! You who formed man from the earth in the palms of your hands, your children need your help! They are dying, and nothing we have done has worked. Please Creator, is there a dance that you show me that I can pray and war in the spirit realm with?”
There was no answer…
The light of the sun was on its journey to the west as the Chief looked on in awe at the beauty of what Creator had made. With only a small amount of time left before the end of the fourth day, the Chief held out hope that Creator would answer his prayer. He slowly stood with arms raised high and his head facing the heavens. He was over the hunger pangs and was no longer thirsty as his spirit was being fed now through the songs and prayers of the People. “Great Mystery! You who made the moon and the stars and placed them in the sky, you gave us life and have sustained us throughout the generations. Please Creator, your children are dying, and I don’t know what to do other than pray and seek an answer from you. How can my people be saved, oh, Great One in the Sky?”
Just then, Creator sent a spirit being who hovered in the sky above the old Chief who dropped to his knees in awe at this powerful spirit being that appeared before him. The spirit being moved its arms and with its fingers drew a window in the sky above the old Chief then looked at where he was standing. “Look through this window, and you will see the answer to your prayers.” The spirit said with authority.
The old Chief looked through the large opening in the sky that the spirit had formed. He saw a man who was pierced and hanging on a tree. The spirit spoke again “He is dying so that your people may live.” The spirit then turned toward the opening in the sky and it began to shrink as the last rays of the sun were being pulled into the western horizon.
“Wait!” the old Chief exclaimed, “What is his name so that we can remember him and his sacrifice for our people? There is no greater honor among our people then to give your life for another.” The spirit turned to look at the old Chief and with an ageless voice the spirit said, “His Name is Bright Morning Star. Remember His Name.” And with those words, the spirit looked to the Sky World and was gone as fast as a bolt of lightning. The old Chief fell to his knees weeping and thanked The Creator for he knew that his people would be healed.
That’s what the old ones say.
~~~
I sat on the cool earth following the trail of fire sending embers into the sky where I was looking up to as if I could see the same messenger spirit that Creator had sent to the old Chief so long ago. I was stunned to hear this story about the spirit that Creator had sent with a dispatch of hope and salvation. I thought of the spirit and what it says in the book of Hebrews concerning angels:
Hebrews 1:14 “Aren’t they all merely spirits who serve, sent out to help those whom God will deliver?” (YHVH Stern, 1998)
“So you see, “PipeCarrier said, “This is the ancient origin of the Sun Dance of my people as it was told to me. When the old Chief came down from the mountain and told his vision, the People made a dance to honor Creator’s Son, Bright Morning Star, who died so the people would live. But over the centuries, the dance has changed.” Poking the fire with the small stick PipeCarrier continued, “We have the Tree of Life, and we dance and sing looking to the sun, and we pierce our skin just as He was pierced.
Some tribes Sun Dance without the piercing, but this story is how it all began.” PipeCarrier then sat silently as his face furrowed in deep thought. There was pain and rejection in his eyes reflecting from the fire. “Why haven’t these stories been told? God clearly showed Himself to the People,” I asked PipeCarrier. I already knew the answer to my own question.