One thousand years ago in Southwest Nebraska, there lived small groups of Native Americans known to archeologists as the Upper Republican Culture. These farming people were probably ancestors to the Pawnee Tribe. Some may feel their way of life was harsh, but their ability to live as one with nature gave them a spiritual outlook on life that few have ever experienced. It is in a setting of rolling prairie hills along the banks of Medicine Creek that Dancing Leaf has tried to recapture a feeling of closeness to nature and inner strength that can best be experienced through the simple way of life.
Dancing Leaf Cultural Learning Center offers a unique blend of educational and recreational opportunities. An earthen lodge from the time period of 800 - 1300 years ago has been reconstructed. Four-hundred man hours go into the construction of these earthen structures. Native trees are set in holes dug in the excavated living floor to provide main support for the over 200 rafter poles which support Sandbar Willows and Prairie Hay which is then covered with earth. These igloo shaped structures provide cool refuge from the summer heat and warm dry shelter from the winter wind and snow. A central fire hearth with a smoke hole overhead is the heart of these cozy homes.
A tour of this and other archaeological information and artifacts is covered in a 90-minute daily tour. Dancing Leaf is located on 115 acres of cedar covered canyons along the Medicine Creek and includes a spring fed lake, many scenic trails and natural springs.