Dance Lodges on the Great Plains

[goodtracks at peoplepc.com]

Somewhere I have a photo of the old Otoe-Missouria round house.  Earlier 
someone spoke of the round dance houses at Ponca, Osage and Pawnee.  At 
Pawnee, there was the South Round House that was gone by the 50s/ 60s, but 
the North (Skidi) Round House stood unto recent times when it caved in to 
deterioration.  About late1980s-90s, a new larger Round House was built and 
is used regularly.
The Ioway of Oklahoma would dance Iroshka in an open air space, South of the 
Cimmarron river.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Billy Maxwell" <bmaxwell at mt.net>
To: <siouan at lists.colorado.edu>
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 1:07 AM
Subject: Re: Dance Lodges on the Great Plains


> The dance lodges are a carry over from earth lodges since the dance was 
> transfered to the Hidatsa
> at a fairly late date. I think it is 1870. Then that form spread from 
> there and the dance house with it.
> This is one version of the spread and I am sure there are other versions 
> out there.
>
> The Crow Call it the Hot Dance early on and it was a carry over from the 
> Arikara doings.
>
> The late Bill Shortman, who was Belknap Gros Ventre, told me quite a bit 
> about the old dance houses there.
> Some stories I should not relate here, he he. Along with wood stoves there 
> are the kerosine lanterns and then the
> Coleman lanterns after WW 2. Some of our contributors have boogied in 
> Blackfeet dance halls as late as the 1950's.
> Billy
>
>