University of California Student Brings Young Women’s Flower Dances Into the Spotlight

 

Cutcha Risling Baldy, a doctoral student at the University of California Davis, is collecting oral narratives from women who have participated in flower dances. She hopes the project will shed light on how the important roles women played in traditional culture were suppressed and even erased by anthropologists, government officials and missionaries.

By Marc Dadigan: October 1, 2012

 

 Flower dances are beautiful dances that appear to celebrate a woman in all the forms she may take in her developing life. It is generally used to celebrate the coming of womanhood or menstruation. In general, not just for Native people this is seen as something that is dirty and should be hidden from society. That there might be something wrong with women in general. Why doesn't something that happen naturally have such a bad impact on women and on society. This dance brought about empowerment and helped young girls discover not to be ashamed of their bodies. There is something important about younger girls knowing that there is nothing wrong with their natural bodily functions. To teach women about themselves is rather important. To not be ashamed of yourself and to build up the self-worth that everyone should have about themselves.

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 “Many years ago I was in a bad relationship and I didn’t have the feelings of self-worth to get out of it,” Risling Baldy said. “When I was telling my mom about it, she said ‘Oh, Cutcha, we should have danced for you.’”

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 The dance itself has been out of practice, but is making a comeback. The women being interviewed and actively researching the Flower Dance has found out that at the being it was a first a private affair that has grown over the years into a large place of celebration or parties. The dance is slowly being a larger part of the Native people, as they move back towards their traditions. There is a project or movement going around that the dance would shed light on a woman's empowerment and their roles in their communities. It is to help explain what Native women want to be doing, what they should be doing and that there shouldn't be an harm or shame in being what they want. It will teach society of what they have done and will somewhat shame society itself for the way of thinking that has become so powerful or dominate.

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"...hopes the project will shed light on how the important roles women played in traditional culture were suppressed and even erased by anthropologists, government officials and missionaries."

 

 

“It’s important for people to see the women singing our songs together, to see that we did sing and to understand why it’s important we continue to sing.”