Shoshone-Northern Ute Sun Dance
About Sun Dance
Central to the Shoshone-Northern Ute worldview is the reality of spirits, some of which are important in the mythological tales of the people of the Great Basin Cultures, others are related to the separate religious complex of everyday life.
The most important among these spirits is Our Father, who is located in the sky, associated with the sun and is prayed with at the Sun Dance. Mother Earth is also one of the most important of these spirits and to whom offerings are made in the Sun Dance and on many other religious occasions. The erection of the Sun Dance lodge during the Sun Dance ceremony is a ritual reconstruction of the world, a microcosm.
The Sun Dance is basically a thanksgiving ceremony in which Our Father is thanked for the year that has passed and petitioned to guarantee a happy and healthy year to come a year of plenty. Prayers for good health and curing of diseases is also and important part of the ceremony.
The Sun Dance lodge is sacred because it is a symbol of the world. People coming in to get healed are requested to take off their moccasins and shoes.
When the Sun Dance is over, the lodge is left to decay-no human hand may destroy it. It must be done by the natural elements.
The Sun Dance is the most important ritual of the Shoshone-Northern Ute Native People, it extends back in time for many hundreds of years to present day.
The NCPC is proud to have helped to sponsor funding for this important ceremony among the Shoshone and Northern Ute Native People in years past and in the years to come.
About Ute Sun Dance Chief
Bear Boy LaRose
Bear Boy La Rose, 1954-2004, was a Northern Ute Sun Dance Chief. He attended many dances and shared his wisdom and teachings with all of the Communities.
Bear Boy LaRose