Long the hunter had roamed the desert hills and brush, looking, waiting, listening, but all for naught. – No sigh of deer could he find, no sign at all. Discouraged, tired and thirsty, he came at last to a little wash running with cold, refreshing water. He stooped down to drink and as he put his face to the water he drew up in surprise - there in the sand on the bottom of the wash were tracks - deer tracks - clear and distinct, leading upstream. Quickly he drank, and followed upstream with his eyes fixed on the telltale tracks. They left the water and, as he expected, led up to the Palo Verdi thicket. Stealthily he followed, but only for a few yards - for there in the opening stood the buck in plain view between two giant saguaros, his antlered head erect and stately. Long the hunter froze, then cautiously, oh so cautiously, raised his bow and shot….

With joy in his heart and the deer on his back he headed homeward, for now there would be meat in the wikiup and hide for many moccasins.

The Deer Dance had a two functions, expressed in a single, unified experience: the Indians sought permission from the hunting deity to kill the deer, in order to obtain vitally needed food and clothing, while at the same moment they sought forgiveness from the deer, who must die to provide these necessities.

The dancer's costume portrays the physical characteristics most notable in the deer: the antlers are mounted on top of the dancer's head, while in his hands he holds a pair of “forelegs” made of wood, ornamented with fur. Rattling seashells strung on ropes are wound about his legs and blend their tones with the background chants as he dances.

The dancer moves in quick, light steps, using the “forelegs” to imitate the delicate motions of this beautiful animal. With a grace that makes the deer itself a living presence. The dancer jumps and runs, dodges and twists, dramatizing the plight of the hunted deer as the singers and drummers in the background chant the hunter's tale. He seems to have the sympathy of the spectators until the chanters wail to remind us of the hungry children in camp. One sorrow is met by another, greater sorrow; the hunt must succeed.

Today the dance has lost much of its meaning because the Indian obtains his food from the trading post or market. The dance is now a tourist attraction at weekend pow-wows, but what spectator can watch this elemental drama and not experience the poignancy of this struggle between two of the Great Spirits creatures? One must die, but which?