Smiling Badger

The Memphis Tia Piah Society is a daughter society of the Kiowa Tia Piah Society, one of the oldest warrior societies in the Americas. Our traditions are therefore Kiowa.

The literal meaning of Tia Piah is debatable. The creed of the Memphis Tia Piah Society is TY-Piah-AH-Gaw which translates:
"UNAFRAID OF DEATH". One could translate Tia Piah as "unafraid".

Researchers indicate that the Gourd dance was revived by the Kiowa in the middle 1950s as a way to honor Tribal members who had served in WWII and Korea. It was instantly imbraced by the Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho and the Ponca. Historians have said that many of the Kiowa Gourd Dance Societies were originally made up of descendants of Satanta (White Bear)

It would be a stretch to say that the Gourd Dance is similar to the Sun Dance. It is a dance for warriors, but even the sun dance is observed in various ways by different tribes.
Hope this helps. Smiling Badger

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Smiling Badger