71 



The Shake Dance of the Quilente Indians, With Deaw- 

 ing by an Indian Pupil of the Quilente Day School. 



By Albert B. Reagan. 



In this dance the Indians worship Jesus, calling Him Jesus-Man, con- 

 founding him with Kwatte, their god. This religious movement began 

 in the early eighties. It is a compromise between the old Indian worship 

 and Christianity. The former having been forbidden by the government, 

 the Shaker "church" was organized so that the Indians could still have 

 their performances under the constitutional rights granted to all religious 

 denominations. And in this they have entirely won, for Judge James 

 Wickersham, of Tacoma, Wash., fought the Shaker Church case through 

 the courts and obtained for the aborigines the right to worship God ac- 

 cording to the dictates of their own conscience. 



The movement began on the Big Skookum River, near Shelton, Wash., 

 in 1882. An Indian, John Slocum, was very sick and was unconscious for 

 several days. Regaining consciousness, coming back to "life" again as the 

 Indians say, he said he had been dead and in heaven, but that the keeper 

 of that blissful place had told him that he was a bad Indian and that he 

 would have to go to hell. But one more chance would be given him. If 

 he would go back to earth, lead a good life and teach other Indians to do 

 the same, he would in time be admitted into the happy hunting ground. 

 He at once began to preach the Shaker doctrine, exhibiting the power 

 conferred upon him by those above in a vigorous shaking and quivering 

 of all the muscles of his whole body. And all his followers exhibit their 

 power the same way to this day. 



They have candles and usually a cross. They begin their services 

 with a prayer and close them with a "doxology." The Shaker dancing 

 ceremony which usually lasts for hours is a hypnotic performance. 



The watchword of the organization is : "Do good to those who do good 

 to you and get 'even' with those who mistreat you." And the guiding 

 prayer "Our God is in heaven. If we die He will take our life to heaven. 

 Help us so that we shall not die. Wherever we are, help us not to die. 

 Our Father who is there, always have a good mind to us." 



