Dance of the Prairie Chicken

One of the oldest and most familiar Native dances is called the Dance of the Prairie Chicken. It is sometimes referred to as the Chicken Dance.It is considered to be a sacred dance that was given to a Warrior by the spirit of a Prairie Chicken.

The legend is that one day when a brave Warrior was out hunting, he heard a loud thumping noise that reverberated through the forest. He followed it far and wide until he came upon the source. It was a group of Prairie Chickens dancing in the long grass.

After watching the birds for a few minutes, the Warrior lifted his bow, aimed at one of the birds and killed it. He took it back to his camp and the women cooked it for the tribe. Everyone feasted on the bird.

That night, when the Warrior was in a deep sleep, the spirit of the Prairie Chicken came to him in his dream and asked him. “Why did you kill me? I was in the middle of a sacred dance for my Nation.”

The Warrior apologized and explained that his family had been hungry and needed to eat. The spirit of the Prairie chicken understood this and accepted his humble apology. He decided to honor him by teaching him the steps to the sacred dance known only to the Prairie chicken Nation.

When the Warrior woke up the next day, he shared his vision with his people. Eventually, the dance spread beyond the Blackfoot Nation to all Indian nations.

Even today, native Americans continue to celebrate the sacrifice of the Prairie Chicken by dancing the Chicken Dance. It has been described as miming the male praire-chicken’s mating rituals. Fluffing feathers, making pecking motions with one’s head, strutting, touching the ground. During all of this, the dancer spins and continually moves in a forward direction.

Michael felt very honored that during the course of photographing Native Americans, he was invited to attend some of their powwows.  These were closed events and outsiders were not typically allowed to observe or participate.  It was very unusual for an outsider to be invited, much less permitted to take photographs during the event.  This is one of the pieces he includes in his show on Native Americans, "Honorable, Worthy of Respect".