Native+American+Ghost+Dance

By: Pieter Appel Am In 210 Section C   ** __  Background  __ ** The Ghost Dance was a religious movement that had reached many of the Plains Indian tribes by 1890. The dance, taught by a Paiute shaman Wovoka, was a sign of hope for the Indians who had been forced onto reservations and suffered from disease, poverty, and cultural genocide at the hands of the White man. The movement spread quickly through Indian camps and reservations alike because of the prophecy that by doing the dance, dead relatives, the buffalo and the old way of life would be restored. The Ghost Dance was the most popular amongst the Lakota Sioux who were also more militant in their practice. Wovoka also taught that the tribes had to be peaceful and not war against the whites or each other and disease and the Whites would be wiped form the Indian’s lands. Delegates would travel from their tribe’s camps and go to visit Wovoka to learn the Ghost Dance. When they returned with the core values of the dance, they often adapted it or included beliefs of their own tribe’s religion. ** __ Wovoka the Shaman  __ ** Wovoka was a Paiute Indian born around 1856, in western Nevada. At about the age of fourteen, his father died and Wovoka was raised by a nearby white rancher named David Wilson. Wovoka lived and worked for Wilson into his early adulthood. While with the Wilson family he was given the name Jack Wilson and had a great deal of contact with Christianity. In the late 1880s he was making his own prophesies which could be attributed to his relationship to the holy man Tavibo who was a mystic and medicine man. There is some debate as to whether or not Tavibo was Wovoka’s father but he had strong influences on him nonetheless. Additionally in 1887, Wovoka had a vision where he met God. He was told to teach the people to live well, love each other, live in peace with the Whites, and to dance the dance given to him by God. Wovoka took the dance and began to include other cultural practices from his tribe and others. As he taught the dance, it spread like wild fire across the plains to the conquered Plains Indians. ** __ The Ghost Dance Ritual __ ** As delegates from surrounding tribes came to Wovoka to learn about the dance, he taught them the steps, what songs to sing, what practices to perform for purification, what clothes to wear, and how to live outside of the dance. The most important aspect of the Ghost Dance movement was the dance itself. Unlike other dances which included fast steps and drumming, the Ghost Dance relied on the songs being sung to keep the beat. The dancers formed large circles while holding hands and sidestepped from right to left which symbolized the movement of the sun. The dance was to last for five days and four nights with men, women and children participating led only by singing and chanting. They were to perform the dance every six weeks and prepare enough food before the dance so that everyone could eat. To prepare for the dance, the participants were supposed to purify themselves by bathing in the river or sweat lodge then they wore Ghost Dance dresses or shirts that were painted with spiritual or mystical symbols. Some tribes, particularly the Lakota, believed that these Ghost shirts could make the dancers bulletproof so they did not fear white retaliation to the dance. After the dance was completed, the dancers were supposed to bathe again and then return to their homes. Occasionally during the dance some people fell unconscious but the dance continued. When they woke up they spoke of how they had seen and met their dead relatives and other things they had seen. After the dance the dancers would sit in a circle and tell the others of the visions they had. Along with teaching them the dance, Wovoka taught how the Indians should live their lives to fulfill the prophecy. In order for the buffalo to return and their old way of life to be restored without the whites and their diseases, the “people” had to live right. Wovoka preached peaceful living not only amongst all Indians but also the whites. By following these practices and believing in them, the old way of life would be restored along with all of their dead relatives and the buffalo. Often the Ghost Dance movement is seen as being heavily influenced by Christianity. The messages of peaceful living and Wovoka as a messiah have striking similarities to Jesus and his teaching of peace and love. Between 1891 and 1892 Wovoka stopped teaching the Ghost Dance because of its misinterpretation by many of the tribes and their move towards militant action. ** __ White Reactions  __ ** The rapid spread and popularity of the Ghost Dance made many white officials and settlers in the Great Plains region nervous about an Indian uprising. They saw the dance as fuel for the fire that the Indians who practiced it would use it to unify and attack the whites. In 1890, the Ghost Dance was outlawed in many reservations including the Pine Ridge reservation. When the Indians continued to dance the Ghost Dance the Army was called in over fears of an uprising. All of the tension came to a head after Sitting Bull was killed while being arrested and the massacre at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. On that day after 300 Lakota had been relocated there all of their weapons were to be confiscated. During the process a shot was fired and the massacre followed with 290 Indians being killed by the Army. This effectively marked the end of the Ghost Dance movement. Wovoka’s prophecies proved to be false and the Ghost shirts failed to be bulletproof. A few tribes did hold on to the dance though and the last know Ghost Dance was held in 1950 by the Shoshone tribe.  1. Liggett, Lori. "Ghost Dance Religion." //BGSU :: University Home Page :: Bowling Green State University Home Page//. 1998. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. .  This source gave good information about Wovoka and his vision where he learned about the dance form God. It also shows strong connections to Christianity.   2. Mooney, James. "PBS - THE WEST - Mrs. Z. A. Parker, the Ghost Dance at Pine Ridge Reservation (1890)." //PBS: Public Broadcasting Service//. 1894. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. .  This source has a very good description of the dance from the author who was in attendance of a dance in 1890.   3. Michaela. "Ghost Dance - The History." //Support Artisans Crafting Indian Gifts, Native American Art and Crafts//. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. . This source has very good pictures of Ghost shirts worn by dancers. It also explained how and what they were made of.  4. "Ghost Dance." //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online //. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. < [] >. The Britannica source gave information about Wodziwob who was a shaman who started a similar Ghost Dance movement a few years before Wovoka but it did not gain the popularity that he did. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 5. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Bonvillian, Nancy. "Ghost Dance Movement of the Plains Indians." //Index//. 2006. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://native-americans-of-the-southwest.info/ghostdanceplainsindians.htm>. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">This source gives a few more details about Wovoka’s teaching. It also tells about the role the dance played in the Wounded Knee massacre. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 6. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">"PBS - THE WEST - Wovoka/Jack Wilson." //PBS: Public Broadcasting Service//. 2001. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/wovoka.htm>. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">This source talks specifically about Wovoka. It covers his life from beginning to end and what influences he had in his life and how it affected his prophecies. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 7. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> "Burns Paiute Tribe." //Welcome to the Frontpage//. 15 Sept. 2008. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.burnspaiute-nsn.gov/index.php?option=com_content>. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> This source talks mostly about Wovoka. It also has some direct quotes from him and they sound very Christian in nature. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 8. Legal. "Wovoka, Paiute Indian, Ghost Dance." //Stage Coach - American Western History Museums - Bronze Stagecoach//. 1999. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.linecamp.com/museums/americanwest/western_names/wilson_wovoka_jack/wilson_wovoka_jack.html>. This source provides information about Tavibo. He is believed by some to be Wovoka’s father but he had a great deal of influence on Wovoka and the prophecies he made. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 9. Black, Elk, John Gneisenau Neihardt, and Raymond J. DeMallie. //Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux//. Albany, NY: Excelsior Editions, State UP of New York, 2008. Print. This book is about the life of the Lakota holy man Black Elk. At one point in the book he talks about the time when he is a boy and he is part of a Ghost Dance. He tells how everyone had to be purified and the Ghost shirts they all wore. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 10. "Native American Ghost Dance." //Native Americans Online//. 2002. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-ghost-dance.html>. This source talks about the militant nature of some of the tribes as they adopted the Ghost Dance. It also tells a very special story about an art display of Ghost shirts. The Museum leaves the doors open for Native Americans at night so they can come in and sit around the shirts and be close to the spirits in them. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 11. Amen, Melissa. "The Native American Ghost Dance." //The DQ Times//. 2000. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. <http://thedqtimes.com/pages/castpages/other/Indian%20Customs/ghostdances.htm>. This source gave more information about the death of Sitting Bull and the effects it had on events leading up to the Wounded Knee massacre. It also provides details about the massacre. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 12. Zhang, Xiao. "Native American Ghost Dance." //Reynolds School of Journalism//. 13 Oct. 1999. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost/community/com.zhang.ghost.html>. This source is a news report about a Ghost Dance recreation in which members of the Paiute tribe held the ceremony in remembrance of their dead relatives. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 13. Blume, Michael. "The Native American Ghost Dance Movements - And Their Evolutionary Success | Biology of Religion." //Scilogs.eu//. 18 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.scilogs.eu/en/blog/biology-of-religion/2010-12-18/the-native-american-ghost-dance-movements-and-their-evolutionary-success>. This source has basic facts about the dance but it also talks about revitalizing the dance. There is a video of the dance and commentary about stating the movement again. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 14. Handbook of American Indians. "Indian Ghost Dance History." //Access Genealogy: A Free Genealogy Resource//. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/history/indianghostdance.htm>. This source has links to other topics that relate to the Ghost Dance. With these further research was possible about certain practices or people. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 15. Strom, Karen. "Ghost Dance." //Welcome to Hanksville//. 1995. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.hanksville.org/daniel/lakota/Ghost_Dance.html>. This source provides information about prominent Lakota chiefs during the era of the Ghost Dance and what part they played in influencing or leading their bands. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 16. "Native American Ghost Dance." //Native American Art: Review of Sandpainting, Baskets and Indian Pottery//. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://nativeamerican-art.com/ghost-dance.html>. This source provides Native American artwork mainly of the Ghost Dance. There are pictures of the dance, a video, and some Ghost Shirts. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 17. Minshal, Gary. "The Wounded Knee Massacre - December 1890." //Last of the Independents - An Independent Web Designer//. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.lastoftheindependents.com/wounded.htm>. This source talks mostly about the Wounded Knee massacre and the events that led up to it. There is also a poem that relates to the Ghost Dance. <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 38.25pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 18. "Wounded Knee Museum." //...::: WOUNDED KNEE: THE MUSEUM :::...// 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2011. <http://www.woundedkneemuseum.org/main_menu.html>. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">This source is an interactive museum site dedicated to the memory of Wounded Knee. It is full of information about the massacre.
 * Native American Ghost Dance  **