Grass Dance of the Spirit Lake Dakota

The Grass Dance should not be thought of as just a dance, but rather as an all-important male fraternal organization with complex rules and ceremonies. It originated with the warrior society among the Ponca/Omaha/Pawnee complex and transmitted to the Dakota of the Spirit Lake Reservation by 1870. Originally known as the "Omaha Dance," it was soon termed the "Grass Dance." It subsequently spread to almost all of the American Indian tribes and became foundation to the pan-Indian Pow-wow. Through forty years of inquiry Louis Garcia as sough out the oral tradition of the Dakota people in regard to the details of the society's officers and ceremonies. Herein he covers the varied roles of the Pipe Owners, Whip Owners, Whistle Owners, Raven-skin Bustle Owners, Drum Keeper or Leader, Food Servers, and Singers. He describes all the featured ceremonies, including the War Ceremony, or Dog Feast, the Wounded Warrior, the Dropped Article, the Wife Giveaway, and the Feeding of the Mourners. Garcia also gives great attention to the history of the dance halls of the Spirit Lake Reservation. He goes on to cover the development of the Women's Dance Society, and explains how the Grass Dance evolved into the modern-day Pow-wow.