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War Dance

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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This photograph by Frances and Mary Allen was probably taken for the 1910 Pageant of Deerfield, Massachusetts. Early in the program, the actors playing Native Americans conducted an "Indian Hunt Dance." The actors are wearing long "union suits," a single-piece uniform often worn by workers that were probably dyed brown to simulate the organizers' idea of what Native American skin looked like. They have long, shaggy wigs, another simulation of their idea of Native American hair. But they are not wearing brown make-up on their hands and faces. The implements they hold are clearly made for the event. These costumes and the incidents that were portrayed in the 1910 pageant found their way into the 1910 Edison Company movie, "Ononko's Vow."

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