Dance Lodges on the Great Plains

[Tom Leonard]

Mark,

There were several Hethushka round houses on the Ponca Reservation in 
Oklahoma. There was at least one "earth lodge" built for that purpose, 
as well (its 'foundation' can still be seen near Bois D'Arc). The last 
round house at Ponca burned down in the early 1960's.

There were dance houses in each of the 5 original Osage districts (later 
distilled down to three districts). One remains standing in Hominy, 
Oklahoma.

I recall one of these round houses being mentioned in Quapaw country 
(northeastern Oklahoma) but don't recall too many details on that one. 
But, I know folks up that way who might.

There are pictures and plenty of folks still around that remember the 
details of these  buildings. My older brother used to have the job of 
keeping the wood stoves going during winter dances at Ponca - he can 
tell you all kinds of details.

Let us know what you need.

Tom Leonard


Mark J Awakuni-Swetland wrote:
>
> The University of Nebraska Press is going to reprint my 2001 Routledge 
> monograph on the Omaha Dance Lodges. Finally it will be in an 
> afordable paperback.
>
> This provides me an opportunity to attach an afterword that begins a 
> discussion about these circular structures among other Great Plains 
> tribes and their relation (or not) to the Omaha Dance and/or/ 
> Hethushka/. I want to gather together some of the current thinking on 
> these structures and offers some speculations.
>
> I have looked at the SiouanList archives related to the Grass Dance 
> and /Hethushka/.
>
> I recall that Loretta Fowler mentions the Omaha Dance among the 
> Arapahoe, and circular structures used for social events among the 
> Gros Ventre in her books.
>
> I have references to the Lakota at Pine Ridge doing the "Omaha Dance" 
> in circular structures built for that purpose in the late 1800s. I am 
> aware of circular lodges among the Osage and Pawnee in Oklahoma, but 
> with little details about their construction and uses.
>
> It has been suggested that investing in these structures seems to be 
> an early Reservation phenomenon since folks were no longer nomadic and 
> restrained from other cultural practices.
>
> Are you aware of any other occurences of such structures?
>
> Thank you for considering this inquiry,
>
> Regards,
>
> Mark Awakuni-Swetland
>
> mawakuni-swetland2 at unl.edu
> Office: 402-472-3455
> FAX: 402-472-9642
>
> oNska abthiN! 
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