A Ritual in American History, the Ghost Dance

The Ghost Dance began in 1888 with a with a holy man called Wovoka who received a

message during a solar eclipse that a messiah would come and the world will be free of white

man. The Indians could then return to their lands and Wovoka new that all this would happen

during the spring of 1891. He and his followers meditated and had visions and then chanted and

performed which became as the known “Ghost Dance.”

The ghost dance soon began to spread all throughout the rest of the south and west which

became a movement that many Indians started to follow and everyone performed it. The dance

was said to bring back their ancient ancestors, the buffalo, and that it would get rid of all te white

people in the world. Although Wovoka preached nonviolence, whites feared that the movement

would start a great Indian rebellion. The Ghost Dance followers seemed more rebellious than

other native Americans and the rituals seemed to work its participants in to a frenzy.

As the ghost dance kept spreading throughout the land, tragedy struck when the ghost

dance movement reached the Lakota Sioux. Local residents of south Dakota demanded that the

Sioux end the ritual of the ghost dance. When the Indians ignored their command, the residents

contacted the United States army and they were called in for assistance. Some of the Indians

were afraid that a fight might break out so about 300 Sioux left the reservation.

He army had heard about the stories of torture endured by the dancers and were sickened

by it, but they were not fearful against it. On the other hand the residents were afraid of the

dance. They didn’t like how the dance would get rid of all the whites and how the dance would

bring the Indians so much power. W...

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... and that they will no longer be interfering with each other.

So overall the Indians had made up a dance trying to make their lives better and easier

and wanting to get rid of the white who have been terrorizing them and wanting to bring back

their ancestors and the buffalo. They also made clothing that was said to stop the bullets fired

from the whites weapons and they will not penetrate the Indians bodies. But the whites kept

coming and disturbing their way of life and complaining about them so the later the ghost dance

was said to be ineffective and faded away from their culture. But then later Wovoka’s son

brought it back and the ghost dance was brought back. Because it came back residents started

complaining about it again and the US army got involved. A fight broke out and all the Indians

had died which stopped the Indians fighting the whites.