Dancing on common ground

Dance, a vital expression of community and spirituality for Native Americans, has been the traditional metaphor for resolving conflict among Southern Plains tribes. The Wichita, Caddo, Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Apache, Arapaho, Delaware, and others brought together by choice or adversity have achieved harmonious coexistence through imagination, mythology, art, dance, commerce, and conservation. Looking toward the future by assessing that legacy, Howard Meredith argues that the Southern Plains Indians need to reestablish self-determination, traditional practices and values, and their native languages to overcome the adverse effects of federal paternalism, strengthen tribal relations, and improve economic and social conditions for all people in the Southern Plains.