Third Coast Creatives

The world is in crisis and once again a special group of Native women have rallied to address the problem.   This time jingle dress dancers are using technology to communicate their message of hope and healing to the world.   Using Facebook and Tik Tok challenges, Indigenous jingle dress dancing is going ‘viral’ on social media to help heal the world. According to Ojibwe tradition, the jingle dress originated during a time of great trouble.   In 1918, the Spanish Flu Pandemic was ravaging the world.   By the time it died out, the pandemic had killed more people than the Great War that preceded it.   It was during this crisis, an Ojibwe father was worried about his young daughter.   She was showing flu-like symptoms and was growing weaker by the day.   Unable to sleep, the father had a series of visions about four women, each wearing a special dress in four different colors, covered with metal cones and dancing a special dance.   When he awok...