History and Details About the Ghost Dance
Origins and Spread:
The Ghost Dance originated with the Paiute Prophet Wodziwob, a Paiute prophet in the late 19th century, who initiated an early version of the Ghost Dance movement (1869-1872). He preached that performing a ceremonial dance would bring back deceased Native Americans and restore their lands. Though his movement declined, it influenced the later Ghost Dance led by Wovoka in the 1890s, which became a major symbol of Native American resistance to U.S. expansion.
The 19 century Ghost Dance movement, which this course will be focusing on, is believed to have originated in 1889 with the Paiute prophet Wovoka, who received a vision foretelling a world where the dead would return, the buffalo herds would be restored, and the white settlers would disappear. The practice of the Ghost Dance spread rapidly across the western United States, particularly among the Great Plains tribes, who saw it as a means to revitalize their cultures and resist further encroachment on their sovereignty.
https://apps.lib.umich.edu/online-exhibits/exhibits/show/great-native-american-chiefs/group-of-native-american-chief/wovoka
Rituals and Beliefs:
The Ghost Dance typically involved a large group of participants, both men and women, dancing in a circle for days at a time. They wore specially designed "ghost shirts," believed to offer protection from the bullets of the white soldiers. The dancers entered trance-like states, seeking visions of the future and communicating with their ancestors.
Wounded Knee Massacre:
Prior to Wounded Knee, Lakota chief Sitting Bull fought Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in 1876, which led to the defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn. This battle further spread anti-Native sentiments, as the news of Custer’s defeat “outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty.” (History.com* citation). While Sitting Bull wasn’t arrested, he was kept under watch as the U.S. government viewed him as a harsh adversary (Philbrick 2011). When Sitting Bull let Ghost dancers perform their ceremonies on his land, the government took action to prevent the Ghost Dance’s spread. In an attempt to arrest Chief Sitting Bull, the U.S. army met resistance from the local community, which ended with a U.S officer assassinating Sitting Bull (Dockstader 1977). This event sparked an event that saw other Lakota tribes headed to Pine Ridge in fear that the U.S. government may kill more chiefs. However, on the way to Pine Ridge, they were intercepted at Wounded Knee.
On December 29th, 1890, 500 U.S. soldiers gathered outside Wounded Knee, South Dakota where a Ghost Dance circle was forming. There, perhaps as revenge for the humiliation the 7th cavalry regiment received at Little Bighorn, soldiers began to fire on the gathering Lakota(“Wounded Knee: Massacre, Memorial & Battle - History.”). General James W. Forsyth asked for the Lakota to hand over their weapons. The leader of the Lakota, Chief Bigfoot, complied, but some warriors still held onto their weapons. One Lakota man refused to turn in his weapon - and set off the shot that would change the course of American history (Phillips 2006). As the Lakota warrior Turning Hawk describes, “[one of the Indian warriors] fired his gun, and of course, the firing of a gun must have been the breaking of a military rule of some sort, because immediately the soldiers returned fire, and indiscriminate killing followed” (Bateman 2018). Though there was an exchange of gunshots at first, the conflict soon turned into a one-sided massacre, with the soldiers chasing down women and children on horseback to complete their mission. The conflict was treated as a battle, and surviving soldiers were awarded medals of honor (“Wounded Knee: Massacre, Memorial & Battle - History.”).
https://www.history.com/news/wounded-knee-massacre-facts
The Wounded Knee Monument in the modern day.
https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/wounded-knee
Legacy and Resilience:
Despite its decline following the Wounded Knee Massacre, the Ghost Dance remains a powerful symbol of Native American resilience and the ongoing struggle for cultural preservation. Certain branches, such as the Kiowa Ghost Dance, would persevere through different forms for decades to come. The lessons of resilience and resistance taught by the Ghost Dance became an integral part of the perseverance of first nation individuals during a period of religious intolerance.
The events in 1890 at Wounded Knee stemmed from a systemic racist system that the federal government actively supported and encouraged. It took a genocide of over 200 indigenous natives and a full century of protest to finally break through into the American Imagination, demonstrating the extent of U.S. suppression of indigenous ideas. Though this same suppression still exists today, avid demonstrations to amend historical wrongs are in progress. Currently, Senators Warren and Merkley and Congressman Kahele are supporting a bill to rescind the medals of honor granted to those who fought at Wounded Knee (“Warren, Merkley, Kahele Lead Bicameral Letter Urging Biden to Rescind Medals of Honor Awarded to Soldiers who Perpetrated Wounded Knee Massacre”). Though this is little more than a sign of regret and a symbol of appeasement, it does demonstrate how this event shifted this country from ignorance of indigenous culture to finally recognizing its existence. In conclusion, the massacre of Wounded Knee must become a nationally recognized event and should be taught at all education levels. To stand on the right side of history, this country must take steps to recognize its wrongdoings and actively work to better its systems in the future. Both of these start with education as only through education can society work to improve a generation of racial and cultural expression.
There are no comments for now.