Emma Shinker
Chief Copy Editor
As an artist who relies on in-person shows, the year 2020 threw Eugene Tapahe into the depths of COVID-induced uncertainty. It was a dream that finally brought him some clarity—standing in Yellowstone, he was surrounded by bison and the sound of the Jingle Dress Dance. In the morning, he couldn’t shake the sense of peace and hope it had given him, and while speaking of it to his wife and daughters, the idea for “Art Heals: The Jingle Dress Project” came to life.
Tapahe visited the College on Feb. 5 to speak about the project, which is on display until April 3 at the Ebert Art Center. With him came three of the dancers featured in his photographs: Dion and Erin Tapahe, and Sunni Begay. JoAnni Begay, another dancer, and Sharon Tapahe, their logistics manager, were unable to be there.
While the members of the “Art Heals” project are Navajo, the Jingle Dress Dance traces its origins to the Ojibwe people and the 1918 influenza outbreak. The story goes that a man saw the dance in a dream, and brought it to life in order to cure his young daughter. The Ojibwe have since given the dance to all indigenous tribes so that they can share in its healing power.
“One jingle doesn’t make a sound but together they can heal,” Eugene said, not only of the power of the connections he tries to create in his art, but of the jingle dresses themselves. The jingles that adorn the dresses—not costumes, as Dion clarified—are not bells, as one might think, but thin, rolled pieces of metal. Dresses from the beginning of the tradition carried 365 of these, though dancers today don’t wear nearly as many. Even so, each dress weighs about ten to fifteen pounds. For the “Art Heals” project, the outfits are completed with a red scarf to raise awareness for missing and murdered indigenous women throughout America.
During the event, Eugene, Dion, Erin and Sunni spoke about their first photoshoot on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. None of them guessed the endeavor would eventually take them across the United States, accepting the invitation of tribes around the country and dancing at a range of natural locations. The dancers, who are all recent graduates of Brigham Young University, emphasized the importance of being able to connect with so many different people.
Before the end of the event, Dion, Erin and Sunni changed into their dresses and performed. Since the Jingle Dress Dance is a prayer, they asked that the audience stand for its three minute duration. During the performance, they explained, each dancer can choose who or what they want to think about.
Speaking after the event, Brianna Lyman ’23 was especially moved by the stories of people around the country who had asked the “Art Heals: Jingle Dance Project” to dance for their family members. With that in mind, she said “the performance itself was very beautiful to see,” and she was inspired by the dancers’ words about everyone’s ability to make an impact.
In his photographs, Eugene Tapahe tries to make his own impact by uniting the dancers and the landscape as a way to feel “the spirit of the ancestors who were there before us.” The project has helped him feel less alone over the last couple of years, and he wants to spread that hope, love, and happiness to others.
To learn more about the project, you can visit the exhibit in the Ebert Art Museum or check them out on Instagram @jingledressproject and @tapahe.
Here is a link to the PBS short documentary about the project: https://www.pbs.org/video/jingle-dress-project-m4uw86/