Stomp Dance

The Stomp Dance is performed by various Southeastern tribes and Native American communities, including the Muscogee, Euchi, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Delaware, Miami, Ottawa, Peoria, Shawnee, Seminole, and Natchez tribes. Stomp Dance communities are active in North Carolina, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.

The Stomp Dance is a ceremony that contains both religious and social meaning. To the Muscogee Creeks, Cherokees, and other Southeastern Indians the Stomp Dance is affiliated with the Green Corn Ceremony.

Stomp Dance 1 minute 21 seconds

The term “St Dance” is an English term, which refers to the “shuffle and stomp” movements of the dance. In the native Muskogee language the dance is called Opvnkv Haco, which can mean “drunken,” “crazy,” or “inspirited” dance. This usually refers to the exciting, yet meditative effect the dance and the medicine have on the participants. In the native Shawnee language, the dance is called Nikanikawe which refers to a dance involving friends or nikane. It is also called the Leading Dance by many Shawnees, but most simply call it the “Stomp Dance.” Kituwah stomp dance grounds are encircled by seven clan arbors. These are influenced by the traditionalist revival among Cherokees during the late 19th century, inspired by Redbird Smith. In 1907, 22 ceremonial grounds were active on Cherokee lands in Oklahoma. Ceremonial grounds typically consist of a square dance area where the sacred fire is located, arbors that surround the dance area and provide seating for the ground's male members, and families' camps on the periphery where food is prepared and served. Stickball games are often played at stomp dance grounds. Euchi stomp dances are held in conjunction with their ritual football games. Especially in Oklahoma, different tribes will participate in each other’s dances.

The Stomp Dance itself is a group dance for both men and women. In each performance, a man is asked to lead the singing for one round of dancing. The leader may be chosen for his skill in singing or to recognize the visiting ceremonial ground he represents. When he is announced as the next leader, he files into the town square and begins circling its sacred fire. Those wishing to participate in the dance line up behind him in a single file that spirals counter-clockwise around the fire. The leader and other dancers move forward throughout the dance, alternately walking (before and sometimes between individual songs) and dancing (while singing), in a stomping step from which the dance takes its English name.

Women and men alternate in position behind the leader and organize themselves according to age and skill with the youngest and least experienced dancers, including children, at the end of the line. The men answer the call-and-response songs of the leader, and the women establish a rhythm appropriate to the singer's performance by shaking paired sets of leg rattles. These rattles are customarily made from terrapin shells or more recently empty tin cans, and women tie them around their calves. Women also wear long skirts or dresses and sometimes a yarn belt. Men's attire for a stomp dance is almost indistinguishable from everyday clothing and can include a Western-style hat or ball cap adorned with a feather and beadwork and a yarn belt. Songs are often shared widely among the various groups, but the vocal style used by singers varies among both individual singers and communities. For example, Cherokee singing during stomp dances has qualities that set it apart from Creek singing.

Stomp Dance Intro 49 seconds

These videos were recorded by Joanne Brophy at Moundville, Alabama during the annual Moundville Native American Festival (2019) which takes place every October at the Moundville Archeological Park in Alabama

- White Cloud Woman of the Four Winds

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