From tenements to sun dance lodge

[Erthona]

Yeah, I got that from the silver foil, still it seemed as though you were getting your idea of sun dance from the movie of "A Man Called Horse" where he was "hung above the smoke and the skewers were torn", which was complete fictionalization, but great drama. First off, if the "skewers" were through the skin, they would tear before a person could be hoisted, the bone, if it did not break would have to be placed deep into the muscle, then it would take more than just the weight of the body hanging there to tear him free. Several people would have had to jump on him before it would finally tear free. I know this because I was at a sun dance where a big (egotistical) buck had them put the bone deep through the muscle (he wanted to feel pain for the people, he sure got to). When it was time to break free after three days, he could not, no matter how hard he tried. After many, many times, six other guys (and they were not small) would push him and even then it took several times before the bone tore through the muscle and flesh. To hang the human body the bone would have to be driven to a similar depth into the muscle to hold the body up. It is of course very dramatic, it is also probably very offensive to any Lakota who would read the poem, as it takes a sacred ritual, and changes it either for dramatic effect, or simply out of ignorance. Either way I do not think it would go over well. Thankfully I am half Seminole, and we are not nearly so sensitive as the Lakota.  However, I think if you are going to use something, even as a metaphor, use it correctly, but it is a good joke on the Lakota, all 103,255 of them 

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