INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



The account of the Ponca Sun Dance here presented may, at 

 best, be considered imperfect and unsatisfactory. This is due chiefly 

 to the fact that I have been able to witness the ceremony but once, 

 and that opportunity has not been afforded to investigate the cere- 

 mony by questioning the priests. It must also be noted that, owing 

 to the rapid deterioration of the Ponca in recent times, the ceremony 

 has lost much of its former hold on the tribe. Owing to the prox- 

 imity of the camp-circle to the railroad and to white communities of 

 considerable size, the ceremony is witnessed each year by a large 

 number of white visitors. This has contributed much to weaken the 

 genuineness of the feeling for the ceremony. Not the least difficulty 

 which I encountered in the brief time that I have been able to devote 

 to the Ponca, was my inability to secure the services of a satisfactory 

 interpreter. This does not mean that there are no educated young 

 men in the tribe, or that the priests are unwilling to give such infor- 

 mation as they possess about the ceremony. The real difficulty lay 

 in securing an interpreter who would be willing to confine his atten- 

 tion to the subject in hand. Imperfect as this account is, however, 

 I offer it as a contribution to the study of the Sun Dance in general. 



It is with much pleasure that I acknowledge my indebtedness to 

 White-Eagle, the chief of the Ponca, to the minor chiefs, and to the 

 priests and dancers of the ceremony for their uniform willingness to 

 assist me, both in securing information on the ceremony and in pho- 

 tographing the more important events. 



George A. Dorsey. 



November i, 1905. 



