Bear's Den: "The Strawberry Moon - A Time of Ripening Hearts and Heartfelt Query"

Umm, the Strawberry Moon. This is the time when these wild berries fruit. For many traditional Indians, it´s also the time of the Sun Dance – a painful and physical practice beseeching of the Great Mystery´s assistance. This ancient dance is truly a request… from the two-legged ´heart´… for the Great Good Spirit´s help.

Match-squa-thi ki-te-his (little hearts) is what many of my people call wild strawberries. Yep, and they have some American Indian similarity to the Christian Bible´s Adam and Eve, too. In generic Indian oral story, when the Creator made the First Man and the First Woman, they soon began to quarrel. Like many domestic fights, it´s hard to say what started it. But, because of it, the First Woman ran away from her mate. God had told them that they must get along; so the First Man became very sad. He asked the Creator, from his ´heart´… to help him get her back. The Master of Life asked First Man if he would be good to his wife… if He helped. The First Man swore that he would; he would never quarrel with her again. So, the Creator told him the direction to start and First Man headed that way. First Woman had a great head start, so the Creator attempted to slow her so that First Man could catch-up. The Great Good Spirit created a patch of blueberries in her path, but, she was so angry and hurt, that she didn´t even slow down. Next, He tried raspberries, and currants, and blackberries. Although the thorns tore her clothes and scratched her, her emotions ran high and she kept going. Finally, the Great Mystery created a new berry, growing along the ground, designed to catch her eye and… her heart… and she slowed down to try one. It was so good, she stopped to pick more, and this took time. First Man finally caught up to her and gave his heartfelt apology. They made up, and the strawberry is still shaped like a heart because it symbolizes the love of the First Man and the First Woman. And many Indian people call it the heartberry for this reason.

Yes´sir, in this way the Sun Dance is somewhat akin to match-squa-thi ki-te-his because the ceremony denotes the most sincere of the ´heartfelt´ appeal. The Sun Dance is a ceremony of request for healing and/or spiritual guidance, and it isn´t taken lightly. It is held at this time because sage is the most succulent and the sun is at the highest point in the sky. Just as some faiths practice fasting as a form of self sacrifice, many others do not. Yes´um, and some American Indian nations practice the Sun Dance – Woodland, Plains and Western, alike. Many others don´t. In essence, the Sun Dance is an observance of self-sacrifice and physical pain. It´s a heartfelt, physical, human acknowledgement – to the Great Good Spirit – that the dancer is seeking great help for a loved one, or for themselves. Now pain and self sacrifice are both things that normal two-leggeds avoid in every day life – they just do. But this ceremony is a way for the participants to show the Creator that the dancers are truly earnest in their quest for help. Yeah, and it´s serious business, too. It´s always voluntary and the pledger (participant) has to be sincere in their desire to take part. While it varies from nation to nation, it´s typically a 16-day deal. The first eight days are preparation, then four days of actual dance performance, and the last four are spent in renewal and physical healing. The pledger is painted and adorned in spiritual clothing for the four days of the dance, and eagle claws or sharpened pegs of wood are placed, painfully… under the skin of the pledger´s chest. These are tethered with long rawhide ropes to a tall wooden Sun Pole. The dancer travels in a circular motion around this pole for 96 hours. During the four days of dance, the pledger neither eats nor drinks, and is supported by friends and family in attendance around the perimeter. This is not a vision quest – it´s simply a humble and heartfelt form of request to the Creator – that of the dancer´s own physical pain and self sacrifice.

Um-hmm, and don´t´cha know that when white folks first saw this dance they were appalled. Since the roughest form of spiritual self sacrifice that they ever undertook was that of fasting, they thought the Indians were flat-out nuts. Heart shaped little fruits may be fine, but a painful heartfelt dance… well that there… sure wasn´t. After Indian nations were placed on reservations, the Sun Dance was outlawed by the U.S. government. It survived in hidden ways, though, and is now practiced openly again. The bottom line here is that when seeking great help from the Creator, some Indians believe that they have to show their sincerity by painfully dancing in the Sun during this ceremony, just as some other religious people feel they must fast at certain times, etc. I personally may not be one of them, but I sure have no trouble supporting anybody who is… seeking and pleading with the Creator… from the two-legged ´heart´.

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David Walks-As-Bear is an Inter-Tribal Elder and Kispoko Shawnee Indian. He works as a private game warden and detective captain, and is a novelist and syndicated newspaper columnist living in Northwest Michigan. Contact him at The White Lake Beacon: 231-894-5356 or visit his website at: www.Walks-As-Bear.com