Ghost Dance religion
The Ghost Dance religion emerged in 1890, inspired by the visions of Wovoka, a Northern Paiute leader. Wovoka's messages envisioned a future where Native Americans would return to their pre-contact lives, with the white settlers either removed through a cataclysm or transformed in a new world of peace. Central to the movement was the ritual of the Ghost Dance, which served as a meditative practice aimed at spiritual purification rather than direct resistance. The movement gained traction among various Native American tribes in the western United States, though responses varied, with some fully embracing its teachings and others integrating elements into their existing beliefs.
Despite its peaceful intentions, the Ghost Dance was met with suspicion from white settlers and the US government, leading to its prohibition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Tensions culminated in the tragic Wounded Knee Massacre in December 1890, where hundreds of Lakota Sioux were killed. Wovoka's vision included themes of resurrection, restoration of wildlife, and an era free from suffering, while some influences from Christianity were also present. As time passed and predicted events did not unfold, the movement's fervor diminished, but it eventually evolved into a focus on ethics and daily living among some tribes. The Ghost Dance remains a significant part of the spiritual landscape, reflecting a blend of Native American traditions and responses to historical challenges.
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Ghost Dance religion
The Ghost Dance religious movement began in 1890 as a result of the visions of the Northern Paiute leader called Wovoka, or Jack Wilson, who was based in Nevada. Wovoka began delivering a series of prophetic messages that described a future which would see the restoration of Native Americans to their lives as they had been before contact with the European American settlers and the destruction or removal of the settlers through an apocalypse, though Wovoka encouraged pacifism. The movement's practice was based around a circle dance and other meditative ceremonies meant to purify the spirit in preparation for the new world rather than any active resistance against white settlers. The belief spread quickly through various tribal groups in the western United States, with some embracing the movement fully and others co-opting certain elements with their own beliefs.
The Ghost Dance movement was typically viewed with suspicion by white settlers and the US government, who saw it as a potential source of unrest and rebellion. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) banned practice of the Ghost Dance, and fear of the movement's influence was deeply implicated in the massacre at Wounded Knee in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, in December 1890, in which three hundred Lakota Sioux were killed.
Included among the visions of Wovoka were such basic ideas as the resurrection of tribal members who had died, the restoration of game animals, a flood which would destroy only the white settlers, the necessity and importance of the performance of a dance ritual (the Ghost Dance itself), and a coming era which would be free of suffering and disease. Of these major ideas, the primary focus seemed to be on resurrection and the restoration of important elements of the old ways, as well as the performance of the dance itself. Related developments of the Ghost Dance movement were certain ethical precepts and, at least among the Sioux, the creation and wearing of distinctive “ghost shirts,” which identified adherents to the movement and were used in the performance of the ritual dancing itself. Some of the movement's elements, such as the belief in a single god, were influenced by Christianity.
As predicted dates for the cosmic events described by Wovoka came and passed, the initial fervor of the Ghost Dance and Wovoka’s teachings in general began to dissipate. The Wounded Knee Massacre also suppressed the spread of the religion. Among some tribes, however, the focus shifted from apocalyptic expectations of events to a longer-term stress on daily ethics. In short, the movement became partially institutionalized, which is not uncommon for religious groups whose roots lie in visionary experiences.
Bibliography
Hittman, Michael, and Don Lynch. Wovoka and the Ghost Dance. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1998. Print.
"Let's Dance: The Ghost Dance Movement." Teaching American History in Maryland. Maryland State Archives, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2015.
Smoak, Gregory E. Ghost Dances and Identity: Prophetic Religion and American Indian Ethnogenesis in the Nineteenth Century. Berkeley: U of California P, 2008.
Vander, Judith. Shoshone Ghost Dance Religion: Poetry, Songs, and Great Basin Context. Urbana: U of Illinois P, 1997. Print.
Young, William A. Quest for Harmony: Native American Spiritual Traditions. New York: Hackett, 2006. Print.