Jingle dresses thrived despite being suppressed
Most readers can be forgiven for not knowing that 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the jingle dress. This might seem like a small anniversary, but it represents an important part of our Indigenous and contemporary culture.
Today the jingle dress dancers are a common sight at powwows, but they are relatively new when you look at the long sweep of Indigenous history and culture. Most powwow dances have a genesis that goes back long before European contact.
The origin of the jingle dress dance belongs to the Anishinaabe people, also called Ojibway in Canada and Chippewa in the United States. The exact place of origin is dimmed by the march of time, but some say Whitefish Bay, Ontario. Others say it occurred south of the medicine line in Mille Lacs or Red Lake Minnesota.
Near the end of the First World War, a family had a very sick daughter. The father went on a vision quest to gain the power to cure her. In his vision he saw a young girl in a dress that contained jingles sewn in rows. The girl danced a special dance with springlike steps, but always keeping one foot on the ground. The father taught some of the girls’ friends to do the dance and when they began, the sick girl got out of bed and danced. She survived and shared the dance and the dress with her friends.
The original dress was made from the four sacred colours, red, yellow, white and blue, with four rows of jingles made from the lids of snuff cans. The dance and the dress gained in popularity as the gift was given to other Anishinaabe women.
The Spanish influenza epidemic was brought to North America by returning soldiers from Europe. The epidemic hit Indigenous communities hard. In his memoirs, Reverend Edward
But our people persevered, and news and ideas could not be suppressed forever.
Ahenakew wrote, “The church was piled high with bodies. On the reserves so many people were dying that mass funerals and burials were being held.” This tragedy spread across Indian country, causing widespread grief.
It was at this time that the jingle dress dance became known as the healing dance, and it remains so to the present.
In order to recognize the story behind our culture, one must understand the sacredness of the songs and dances and what they represent. People meet with elders and medicine people to receive the colours they can wear. The dances themselves are significant, mimicking animals, such as the chicken dance, or preparing a camping place, like the grass dance.
The dress and dance spread among the Anishinaabe and later to the Dakota tribes to the west of them in the United States. Later the dance would spread through the nations by the extensive powwow circuit. Prior to changes in the Indian Act in 1951, our people were still restricted to the reserve and had to have a pass approved by the Indian agent. If he felt that someone was travelling for religious or cultural purposes, they would be denied.
But our people persevered, and news and ideas could not be suppressed forever. The influence and strength of the dance spread throughout Indian country. Today, as we freely travel from tribe to tribe, powwow to powwow, we forget the struggle our elders had to preserve our language and culture.
While we recognize modern medicine, we also must recognize the healing power of the spirits and the psychological healing that makes us stronger. Today many traditional healers combine their gift with the power of modern medicine, and together the two compliment each other.
The jingle dance remains special because of its significance. This dance came to prominence during the time when our culture and religion were outlawed on both sides of the border. Today we have modern epidemics such as diabetes and various cancers, as well as drug and alcohol addiction. The need for healing is more urgent than ever.
The jingle dance both empowered and honoured women, and flourished despite being outlawed. The dance is also a reference to the power of women, and today women continue to dance the healing dance.