The problem of pain and suffering from a psychological point of view might seem like an intellectual endeavour when trying to express the "why" behind becoming a sundancer. Most of us old enough to experience the pain and suffering of losing a loved one really dreaded the thought of ever having to go through the experience again. Being a sundancer is not really like this type of pain and suffering. What is it like?
There is a desire to suffer through enduring whatever nature might throw at sundancers for those that are loved, living and passed on. There is the self imposed fasting by denying the body food or water. Imagine then, dancing in place or formation almost all the day under the sun with few breaks. A marathon runner might come to mind. There is constant focus on prayer. When the body is fatigued this focusing becomes difficult. Adding more difficulty to the sundancers is the purposeful desire to sacrifice their flesh through pain and suffering. This is a physical commitment which is not made by all dancers. It is not even required. But, what is required by all dancers is to try their best to fulfill their personal vows/promises.

Nature is not a sundancer's foe, but nature will do everything to test the limits a person may think they have. The summer months can be unforgiving to sundancers. This summer across the Northern Indian Countries there have been record triple digits heat waves for days and weeks. Sun strokes are common in the sun just playing golf. Sundancing in triple digit heat without food and water is a way to test the limits of the strongest dancers. This is then a way to test your faith in the Creator.
There is no shame to any sundancer in being beaten down by the forces of nature.
Strange phenomenons of nature often occur during Sundances. Any kind of weather can surprise the most seasoned sundancer. In mid-August it would be expected to be hot. Damn hot! It can snow and be 107F on the same day. Hail can fall during the night and not a cloud will be seen all the rest of the days of a sundance. Rain can fall for two minutes, teasing the dancers thirst, followed with temperatures to make air conditioning one of mankind's greatest inventions. Winds can come out of nowhere and make duststorms strong enough to blow down arbors. The four seasons can hit a Sundance within an hour. I have been a witness to all of this over the span of 14 years.

There are so many stories to tell regarding Sundances and sundancers. This passed summer I watched men and women fall to the ground in pain and suffering for the people they love. A commitment to a vow/promise to do the best they could before the Creator. There was no pass/fail system put into effect under the hottest conditions the sun could produce. Standing strong and being humble may have been the greatest lesson for all of the sundancers who stood together on the ridge over looking Two Medicine River in the south, below the Rocky Mountains in the west.
Some times our pride is in our humility.

Arbor: a structure used to house sundancers and their supporters. The Lakota usu have a shaded area built as an outter circle from
pine branches for the supporters only. While the inner area is shadeless and for dancers. But, there is a shaded area for dancers while they rest or sleep at night. The Blackfeet, Crow and other tribes may have a structure of 12 poles with crossbars and then 12 reach poles that fit into a center pole shaped like a Y. On the outer side of this whole structure are aspen branches with leaves to provide shading.