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Lithograph entitled "The Indian Bear dance invoking the aid and protection of the bear spirit." The special powers of the bear was celebrated each year by Native American tribes that practiced the "Bear Dance." Practiced by many tribes in western North America, at its core lay the belief that Native Americans are bears in human form. These "bears shaped like men" would perform the ritual dance each spring to rouse their furry relatives from hibernation. In exchange for this service, Native Americans received friendship and protection from their more animal-like kin, the bears. As the Bear Dance commenced, it was believed that spirit messengers traveled from bear den to bear den, gently coaxing the snoozing inhabitants from their slumber. With the ceremony underway, the loud chanting of the singers, the relentless pounding of the drummers and the violent stomping of the dancers fully awakened the groggy bears.