The Origin of the Jingle Dress

The origin of a popular dance style across Indian Country is said to have come from Minnesota. Deanna StandingCloud tells us the story.

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Editor: Britt Aamodt

Producer: Deanna StandingCloud

Editorial support: Emily Krumberger

Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood

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Transcript

Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

The origin of a popular dance style across Indian Country is said to have come from Minnesota.

It all started when a young girl was struck down with terrible sickness during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. It is told the girl was very weak when her father had a dream of four women dancers with metal cones that would heal his daughter’s sickness.

He shared this vision with his family and together, they made the dresses, just like his dream. They brought the little girl and four women dancers to a drum ceremony near Mille Lacs Lake. There, the women danced for the young girl. A soft, shimmering sound of metal cones clashing together with the beat of the drum filled the air. By the end of the dance, the little girl had healed.

Today, the jingle dress style dance is popular across Indian Country. If you’ve ever been to a powwow, you probably have seen it, a distinct sound we all know today as the jingle dress traces its origins back to the land of 10,000 lakes.

MN90 is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at MN90.org.