Thank you for the information about sun dance. Yes. Not too much about this women's sun dance matches what you say. I'm not sure what all is going on at that dance, since I never attended. I do know the sweat lodge leader who was abusing her power and pretending to be a healer of sorts is now head dancer of it, and I'm kind of concerned. (At least, last I heard, she was head dancer. I know she's still involved there.) I guess how deep her involvement is might be one of those things I could look into.
I do know some Native women do attend that sun dance, but the dance itself isn't run by any particular tribe. It started out as a dance for women of color in general, but again--it's not run by any tribe. I think the whole thing is still kind of disrespectful. I don't want to define it that way for the Native women who do attend, but I don't like that the head dancer I mentioned (who once ran that abusive sweat) is presenting herself as a tribal healer. She isn't. She uses Yaqui heritage as an excuse, but she has no training.
I'm worried for a couple reasons. I'm afraid she might manipulate someone else, abuse someone else sexually. I also worry because when I was attending lodge, she didn't want to let people leave the lodge, even when they were in physical distress. Instead, she wanted to put her hands on them and "heal" the symptoms. I know one woman at one point had to be carried out of the lodge because the leader denied her requests to leave. I worry that some day, someone won't be carried out. They'll just try to stay in and stay in because she tried to tell them to.
Thank you, Frederica. Thank you Earthw7. I don't want it to happen to anyone else.
