Honoring the Past by Dancing Today

Learn about Jingle Dress Dancing!

The Jingle Dress Dance began with the Mille Lacs Band of the Ojibwe Tribe in the early 1900’s around the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. Legend says the dress was first seen in a dream. A medicine man’s granddaughter grew sick, and as he slept his Indian spirit guides came to him and told him to make a Jingle Dress for the little girl. They said if the child danced in it, the dress would heal her. More than a century later, this ritual continues to bring healing and solace to those in need. Join UMS artist facilitator Ashinique Soney-Wesaw as she guides us through the origins of this important tradition and teaches us how to honor history through dance.

To learn more about the jingle dress and the Ojibwe, explore the accompanying slides and worksheets.

About the Artist

Ashinique Soney-Wesaw is a Great Lakes-based Anishinaabe kwe contemporary dance artist from Walpole Island. She majored in dance performance at the University of Michigan-Flint with a minor in fine arts. During her collegiate career she was selected to participate and perform at the American College Dance Association conference for four years, membership in the Student Dance Organization, Native American Student Association, and the National Society of Leadership and Success.

She is passionate about being expressive and artistic through many different forms such as being a self-taught beadwork artist, traveling across the country, painting, the practice of yoga, meditation, gardening, volunteering and being on the powwow trail with family and friends.