Tribal dancer to perform in Mitchell
He is covered in handmade regalia composed of bones, skins and other all-natural items, and he welcomes questions.His name is Michael Ziegler, aka Zuya-Ile, or Flaming Warrior, and he has spent most of his life dancing as a way to keep his Lakota heritage alive while sharing it with those who may know little about his people.
“A lot of people don’t know the culture,” said Ziegler, a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. “All they know is what they learned in high school and history books.”
By: Austin Kaus, The Daily Republic
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He is covered in handmade regalia composed of bones, skins and other all-natural items, and he welcomes questions.
His name is Michael Ziegler, aka Zuya-Ile, or Flaming Warrior, and he has spent most of his life dancing as a way to keep his Lakota heritage alive while sharing it with those who may know little about his people.
“A lot of people don’t know the culture,” said Ziegler, a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. “All they know is what they learned in high school and history books.”
“There’s so much more to this country than those history books,” Ziegler added.
Ziegler brings his traditional dance to Mitchell this week. He will work with area children ages 3 to 5 during a First Americans class at 9 a.m. Friday at Dakota Discovery Museum, and with children ages 6 to 12 at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Pre-registration is required.
At 1:30 p.m. Friday, Ziegler will visit the Abbott House. At 5:30 p.m., he will work with the local Boy Scout troop.
Saturday, he will greet visitors at the Corn Palace from 10:30 p.m. to noon, answering questions and sharing his knowledge of Lakota history. At 2 p.m. Saturday, Ziegler will give a free performance at Dakota Discovery Museum.
Ziegler’s introduction to Lakota dance came at age 1 at the behest of his father, Bill. What began as a powwow performance led him to traveling the world, including France, Germany and New York City.
Ziegler enjoys sharing his dancing with others, but said he gains more satisfaction from fielding questions from spectators after the performance.
“I go to a powwow and non-Indians come up to me and start asking questions about what I wear and what it means,” Ziegler said. “That’s what I get out of it.”
Ziegler is specific about the regalia he dons before performing traditional dances like the Horse Dance, Buffalo Dance, Shield Dance, Victory Dance and others. Everything is handmade with designs that date back to the 1600s.
“Everything’s from nature (and) what the natives used before the settlers came,” Ziegler said.
Although Ziegler, 49, has danced for most of his life, he only recently began performing again after taking two years off to mourn the passing of his father.
His dancing isn’t just meant to teach a historical lesson. It’s also designed to inspire people in their own lives, especially those who may be experiencing feelings of depression or sadness.
One of Ziegler’s dances involves getting low to the ground and then rising back up — an example, he said, of how anyone can pick their lives back up after experiencing adversity.
“My dance is telling a story,” Ziegler said. “It’s easy to get down in life, but it’s always hard to get back up.”
Some spectators marvel that a man almost 50 years of age can still get low to the ground. At that, Ziegler laughs and says he doesn’t plan to stop dancing anytime soon.
“I’ll be dancing when I’m 95,” he said.
Tags: dakota discovery museum, tribal dancer, news, local
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