Eagle Dance, Pueblo Indians Trailer (1898)

12 February 1898 1 mins

Filmed in 1898 by Edison cameramen, this actuality records Pueblo dancers performing the traditional Eagle Dance. The performers, clad in feathered regalia and accompanied by drumming and chanting, move in rhythm to mimic the movements of the eagle. Intended to showcase Native American ceremonial life for early motion picture audiences, it is among the earliest surviving films of Indigenous rituals, though staged for the camera in keeping with late-19th-century ethnographic spectacle.

Watch the official Eagle Dance, Pueblo Indians 1898 trailer in HD below.