For centuries Native people have used symbols to communicate across tribes and throughout generations. Whether Navajo or Lakota, age five or 105, Native people recognize the eagle as a symbol of wisdom, strength, power, and protection. The logo for the Native American Outreach Center depicts a father presenting an eagle feather to his son. This image represents the passing down of a father’s vision for his son’s future, a vision of success - an education, a family, a career…happiness.
Every tribe has its own rites of passage that transition pre-teens and young-teens from childhood to adulthood. These coming-of-age ceremonies are a traditional time for family members to give instruction and to prepare their children for the responsibilities they will assume as adults.
By following these traditions, parents and other family members can use this opportunity to share their vision for their child’s future, to talk about waiting to have sex and to talk about the direction of their child’s life. The Native American Outreach Center extends the eagle feather to Native parents in the form of this resource. It is our hope that this website will help bridge the gap between you and your child so that your vision can become their future.
The Apache Sunrise Ceremony, a rite of passage handed down from generation to generation, marks the transition of an Apache girl into womanhood. The 4-day ceremony takes place during the summer after a girl's first menstrual period. Sponsoring a Sunrise Ceremony is a serious commitment for the girl’s family and requires an enormous amount of preparation and expense. The girl’s aunts and other extended family and friends also contribute their time and money to assist with the preparation and completion of the ceremony.
In preparation for the ceremony, the family selects a godmother for the girl. The godmother will be the girl’s role model and will have a special relationship with her, providing teaching about sexuality and other important life issues.
The young girl must prepare physically to endure four days and nights of dancing, prayer, and song that are meant to instill the characteristic of the White Painted Woman.
During the ceremony the girls reenact the story of White Painted Woman (also called Esdzanadehe or Changing Woman), the Apache culture's first woman. The girls' skin is painted and covered with a sacred mixture of pollen and clay, which she must leave on her body throughout the entire ceremony. At dawn the girls run east toward the sun and in each of the four directions to symbolize the four stages of life.
The first woman, called White Painted Woman, Esdzanadehe or Changing Woman, survived the Great Flood by floating in an abalone shell. When the waters receded, she began wandering the land. Upon reaching a mountain peak, she was impregnated by the Sun, giving birth to a son, called the Killer of Enemies. Soon after, White Painted Woman gives birth to a second son, fathered by the Rain, called Son of Water.
The people lived in a dangerous world. White Painted Woman sent her sons to kill the Owl Man Giant who had been terrorizing the tribe. Guided by the spirits, the White Painted Woman devised the Sunrise Ceremony, administered to Apache girls, as the rite of passage to womanhood.
When she became old, White Painted Woman walked east toward the sun until she met and merged with her younger self. She became young again, and is now reborn with every generation to provide guidance to Apache women.
Adapted from www.webwinds.com/yupanqui/apachesunrise.htm
Copyright 1999 by Tika Yupanqui (Tracy Marks)
Last updated January 15, 2001
