0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Reveal or Conceal?
As Gloria knew all along, and as I learned through ecstatic experi-
ences, the teachings I received from Carolla, Naatsohsowaatsis, and
many other Elders and dancers, and my subsequent participation in
the Sundance, flux or change is always transformative; even the tragic
death of a child or the acquisition of a major disability, whether one’s
own or that of another. That such transformative events may be pos-
itive (moral) or negative (immoral) depends entirely upon the indi-
vidual agent experiencing that flux or change. Attending to my own
physical, emotional, intellectual, moral, spiritual, and ecstatic expe-
riences since Elena’s death has enhanced my perceptions and concep-
tions of the Kainai, and their spirituality, soteriology, and worldview.
Thus,my story, and my own transformations, both as individual and
as ethnographer, reflect the fact that ecstasis is both an acceptable form
of knowledge production and transfer among the Kainai, and a use-
ful research tool for the production of ethnographic knowledge in a
manner that is accessible to and reflective of the worldviews and ex-
periences of those we represent.
Notes
1. This behavior varies by tradition and is not indicative of all Sundances.
