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Show THE FllSTORY BLAZER ArEII'S OF lrTrlH ' S PAST FRO. 31 THE Utah State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande Salt Lake City. I'T 84101 ( 801) 333- 3500 FA]( ( 801) 333- 3303 The Sw Dance Opera Wowed Audiences in Utah and New York WHENW ILL HANSON V I S ~ DTH E SUND ANCEC EREMONIES at a Ute reservation in 1910 he was amazed at the beauty of the age- old traditions and music. As a music teacher at Uintah High School and ~ t eof rNati ve American traditions, he was inspired by the visit to write an opera that would depict the sacred melodies of the Sun Dance ceremony. For the next three years Hanson worked to compile the songs he had heard at the Sun Dance into a musical score. He could never have completed the project without the help of Gertrude Bonnin. As a musician, academic, and full- blooded Sioux, she had the skills necessary to make the opera successful. Before she and her husband arrived in Fort Duchesne, Utah, in 1908, Bonnin had worked at the New England Conservatory of Music. She was a talented musician but decided to put aside her musical career for what she considered a more noble pursuit- to educate European Americans and her own people about the importance of maintaining the culture and traditions of Native Americans. She wrote a book entitled Old Indian Legends and gave frequent lectures about issues facing the Indians. In her public appearances she boldly wore traditional Sioux clothing- complete with buckskin, beads, and feathers-- and condemned American history for its treatment of Native Americans. As a spokesperson for her people, Bonnin had filled important positions, first at the Dakota Reservation and later at Fort Duchesne where she relocated in 1908. There she met Will Hanson and became intensely involved in writing the Sun Dance Opera* In 1913 Bornin and Hanson finally completed the musical score for the opera. The first performance took place in the small auditorium of Uintah High School on February 20, 1913. The audience was stunned by what they saw. Not only was the music uniquely Native American, but Ute and Sioux tribesmen performed as the principal actors and dancers. Dressed in full ritual clothing, the Native Americans danced the Sun Dance that had been performed on their lands for generations. Hanson later noted that the event was the first time some of the older Indian performers had been inside a European- style building. One older Sioux Indian looked at the audience before the performance began and said, ' Too much white man sit downs." The perfor-mance must have created ' culture shock" for both the Indian performers and the largely Caucasian audience. Following the initial success of Sun Dance, the opera was performed for several years throughout the state. Known as the Hanson Wigwam Company, the traveling crew was composed of six Sioux and Ute Indians. One of the most famous actors was an elderly man named Old Sioux who had fought alongside Sitting Bull during the Custer battle. Since the Sioux people were ( more) restricted from worming the Sun Dance by the U. S. government, Old Sioux found his final years enriched by the opportunity to perform the sacred dance on stage. During a Salt Lake City perfor-mance Old Sioux finally broke his silence when he spontaneously took center stage and began to sing traditional songs af his people. Shocked by the outburst, the wnductor remained frozen with his baton in the air. To the surprise of Will Hanson, who initially thought the performance was doomed to failure because of the interruption, the audience joined in by repeating the words of the chant. By the end of the performance many were impressed by the profound message of the Native American experience that Old Sioux had conveyed. Another impressive character in the Hanson Wigwam Company was Red Pipe, the son a revered chiefbin among the Ute people. Sitting motionless at the back of the stage, Red Pipe seemed a mysterious figure. To the Native American performers, however, he had the important role of providing them with courage. Sun Dance was revived in 1926 and 1935. The traveling crew performed in Salt Lake City and Provo. During 1926 the Hanson- Wigwan-- Company- stayine d- a large. tent set up at 800 North and 300 East in Provo. It was home for several months as the crew traveled to schools and community centers in towns such as Heba City, Eureka, American Fork, and Price to perform the Opera* In 1937 the New York Light Opera Guild chose to produce Sun Dance for the annual American Opera performance. John Hand, the director and wnductor, had played a leading part in the BYU production in 1914. Convinced that the performance would be successful in New York, Hand had encouraged his colleagues to give the Utah opera a chance. Some members of the Hanson Wigwam Company traveled to New York to be part of the production. The rest of the cast was chosen from regular actors and Native Americans living in New York. Proud of the chance to share their traditions and knowledge, some Indians attended rehearsals in N1 dress to supervise the songs and choreography for its authenticity. Yowlache, a Yakima chieftan and Hollywood actor, played the leading role. Each performance of the Sun Dance, whether at New York's Broadway Theater or the small Uintah High School auditorium, was significant because of the message it brought to the audience about the value and importance of maintaining Native American traditions. See Will Hanson, Sun Dance Land ( 1967); Deseret Naus, March 29, 1913. HISTORYB LAZERis produced by the Utah State Historical Wiety and funded in part by a grant from the Utah Statehood Centennial Commission. For more information about the Historical Society telephone 533- 3500. |
