Howard] THE PONCA TRIBE 107 



the legs to make them get up and perform. The characteristic orna- 

 ments of the dance were the porcupine and deer-hair roach headdress 

 and the "crow belt" or feather dance bustle. The latter was emblem- 

 atic of a battlefield, and its use was restricted to certain officers of 

 the society who were distinguished warriors. Both of these ornaments 

 were ritually fumigated during the ceremony by holding them over a 

 cedar needle smudge. 



About 1880, with the decline of intertribal warfare, the Heduska 

 society began to take on a religious flavor. Instead of the war speeches 

 and coup countings of the earlier dance there were long prayers for 

 the benefit of the group by designated officials. Gift giving, rather 

 than war honors, was the basis of admission. It was also about this 

 time that women were admitted as dancers. Students of American 

 ethnology will recognize this form of the dance as that which diffused 

 from the Dakota tribe to the Central Algonquian gxoups as the "Dream 

 dance" or "Drum religion." The Heduska persisted in this form, in 

 both Oklahoma and Nebraska, until about 1925, and is still retained 

 by the Osage, who seem to have secured some of their ritual from the 

 Ponca, as their ceremonial War dance or "Man's dance." 



Today the Ponca dance has entered a third phase, which might 

 be termed "Pan-Indian." Most of the religious elements (except 

 for song texts) have been lost, and the dance is, for most participants 

 and observers, merely a "big time." It is no longer the property of 

 any organized group. Instead, any and all dancers are welcome, 

 including visitors from other tribes. Gift giving, except for one 

 afternoon performance, has been eliminated because it "slows down 

 the program." The larger powwows feature specialty acts by visiting 

 dance teams and a contest in which the prettiest Indian girl is crowned 

 "powwow princess." There are also "championship" War dance 

 contests for men. Costumes have become quite baroque, and the 

 symbolism of the roach and crow belt have been forgotten. 



ChoreographicaUy speaking, the Heduska consists of individual 

 dancers performing any steps they choose while circling the drum. 

 The traditional progression around the drum was clockwise, but 

 the Southern Ponca, as observed in 1952, 1954, 1959, and 1961 moved 

 in a counterclockwise direction. PLC and older Southern Ponca 

 attributed this change to the influence of Southeastern tribes, such 

 as the Creek and Cherokee, whose dances progress in a counter- 

 clockwise direction. Many of the Ponca Heduska songs refer to the 

 exploits of Ponca heroes in the wars with the Dakota. A few have 

 been borrowed from other tribes and some are slightly reworked 

 versions of songs formerly used by other Ponca warrior societies, 

 now obsolete. 



