Case file · Sacred site
The ban on the Sun Dance
An 1895 amendment to the Indian Act outlawed the giveaway and wounding parts of Plains ceremonies such as the Sun Dance (Thirst Dance), adding to the 1885 ban on the potlatch.
1895 CE · 45.42, -75.70 · status: official
The account
Many communities kept the ceremonies in secret or in altered form. The bans were dropped from the Act in 1951, and Sun Dances are again held openly across the Prairies.