MuckFlash

Albuquerque, NM -29 May 2009- Staff. A freak lightning storm during a Pueblo Zuni Rain Dance injured four people when a bolt of lightning struck a tin shed used for storing fuel and dry goods. Although the tribe’s leadership continues to investigate the exact sequence of events, eye witness reports indicate that the strike ignited the contents of the shack, resulting in an explosion substantial enough to damage three structures and send four dancers to the hospital with 2nd and 3rd degree burns.

Chief Lester Wa-Tahnee, the tribal official who organized the dance expressed his concern for the victims, but emphasized that participants knew the risks associated with the dance before they agreed to participate. “We honor the great spirit with our dances, but the Wolf Brother often injects jealous energy into the journey of the sun,” he said. “While we can give up our song and movement to the Great Spirit, it is not often we can escape the consequences of Wolf Brother’s treachery.”

The Pueblo Zuni Rain Dance stretches back thousands of years in Native American tradition as a seasonal ceremony to appease the series of gods who control the natural forces that the Pueblo Zuni tribes depend on for sustenance and survival. If done properly, the rain dance is a cornerstone of Zuni theology and a regular fact of life for the tribes-people. Occasionally, however, the rain dance can be a source of cutting tragedy.

Those present at the dance were shocked at the violent end to a normally peaceful and exuberant event. Letita Fo-Seetah, one of the tribal dance leads whose daughter was injured during the incident, was angry that leaders didn’t do more to prepare for an emergency. “Who stores whiskey, motor oil and gasoline-soaked rags in a shack full of ammunition and fertilizer ?” she said. “It’s insane enough but for the fact they then paint the shack like the rain god Wo-Tayna-Hah and have the dancers gather around it. I am just so angry that the elders didn’t take safety into consideration as the first priority.”

Chief Wa-Tahnee disputed any suggestion that tribal elders had overlooked safety as they planned the dance. “Mother Earth and the Great Spirit provide for and nurture their children, but the needs of the Four Winds are fickle and shifting like the sands of the river,” he said. “What more could we do?”

All of the injured dancers remain hospitalized with moderate to severe injuries. The Pueblo Zuni tribal police continue to investigate the accident for any indications of negligence or foul play.