Some Dakota & Lakota elders have contacted me & asked me to remind everyone that sharing photos/videos from inside our ceremonies is forbidden. We ask that if you see someone online posting shots &/or clips from Sundance ceremony that you not share, RT or boost them. Shun it.

Besides going against our beliefs & what the spirits have advised sharing pictures & videos from inside ceremonies desecrates them & robs other participants of privacy & healing. Ceremonies are not performed for likes or clout. People have died to save them for us. Be respectful.

Oceti Sakowin (Lakota/Dakota) hold Sundance & other ceremonies during the summer. This year most are cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19. There are still a few occurring & that is at the discretion of that circle & community.

It is very disturbing to elders to hear of the desecration of ceremonies. They have paid a steep price for being Native their entire lives— survived boarding schools, had their families ripped apart, lived with abuse, historical trauma. Our ceremonies were illegal until 1978.

Also to clarify, sometimes ceremonies happen at powwows, but powwows themselves are not ceremonies. Taking pictures & videos at powwows is ok unless you are told otherwise. Still, it’s always good to ask for permission as a courtesy.