The Ghost Dance

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"The great underlying principle of the Ghost Dance doctrine is that the time will come when the whole Indian race, living and dead, will be reunited upon a regenerated earth, to live a life of aboriginal happiness, forever free from death, disease and misery."

Wovoka, a Paiute Indian from Nevada, was the so-called Messiah of the Ghost Dance Religious Movement of 1888 to 180. Wovoka spent his younger years as a ranch hand. While working on the ranch, Wovoka learned some English and was exposed to bits and pieces of the white man's theology. It seems that this exposure to our theology played a large part in his teachings of the Ghost Dance.

Wovoka claimed to have received a revelation from God himself. He said, "When the sun died, I went up to heaven and saw God and all the people who had died a long time ago. God told me to come back and tell my people they must be good and love one another, and not fight, or steal, or lie. He gave me this dance to give to my people." Wovoka believed himself to be the Messiah for his people, the Indians.

The doctrine of the Ghost Dance Religion followed a simple moral code like many other religions. As stated earlier, some of Wovoka's preachings seem to come from an exposure to Christianity. He taught simple morality and honesty. "Do no harm to anyone. Do right always. Do not tell lies."

Cheap University Papers on The Ghost Dance

The Ghost Dance Religion discouraged the extravagant mourning customs of many Indian cultures. "When your friends die, you must not cry." Whenever someone died, the family would kill horses, burn teepees, destroy property, cut off their hair, or physically harm themselves with knives. They mourned very hard because they believed that they would never see their loved one again. The Ghost Dance taught that they would see each other again, so they don't have to grieve so much. The Ghost Dance also forbade war. "You must not fight." This was especially hard for most of the Indians because they were taught from birth to be warriors.

The message of the Ghost Dance was that if everyone obeyed these teachings and made themselves worthy, by discarding all things warlike, and practicing honesty, peace and good will they would benefit with a new life. The followers believed that there would be a regeneration of the earth and renewal of life somewhat like Noah and the flood. All non-believers and those not deemed worthy, such as the white man, would not survive this regeneration, and all those left would enjoy a bountiful life in paradise.

The teachings were only part of the religion. To aid in the coming of the regeneration, the followers were also to perform a dance. They were to dance for four consecutive nights with the dancing of the fourth night continuing into the morning of the fifth day. Then they were to bathe and purify themselves in the river. They were to perform this ritual every six weeks.

The Ghost Dance Religion had many followers, from many tribes, all over the United States. The largest number of any one group were from the Sioux. There were few, if any, followers from the Athabaskan cultures, perhaps because of their great fear of the dead.

The buffalo, the main support of the Sioux, was nearly exterminated by the late 1800's. The Indians were practically prisoners on reservations. Their treaties were violated, their promised supplies were constantly delayed and were never as much as promised. The Indians were starving. They were physically, economically and emotionally beaten. They had nowhere else to go. They were ready for anything as a way out. The Ghost Dance Religion gave them something to look forward to; a new life in paradise.

Events near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota during the winter of 180 played a large part in the ending of the Ghost Dance Movement. After Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn, the US Government became very wary of the Indians and was concerned that the Indian participation in the Ghost Dances would lead to an uprising. The whites did not understand the "doctrine" of the Ghost Dance and thought that it was a "war" dance.

Troops were sent to arrest Indian leaders with the hopes of quieting their followers. When Sitting Bull was killed during his attempted arrest, another Sioux leader, Big Foot, led his people to seek protection at the Pine Ridge Reservation. They were intercepted near Wounded Knee Creek. MAJ Whitside ordered his soldiers to disarm the Sioux. A shot was fired and the fighting began. When the smoke cleared there were almost 160 dead Sioux, at least half of whom were women and children, and less than 0 dead soldiers.

This incident helped to convince most of the followers of the Ghost Dance Religion that their expectations of being invulnerable would not come true. Dates for the regeneration were predicted more than once, but it never materialized. As time passed with no immediate realization of their hopes and dreams the Ghost Dance Religion gradually changed to a hope for a better life in the far unknown future.

The Ghost Dance Religion influenced more tribes than any other movement in our history. Eventually it might have changed attitudes and improved the outlook of Indians all over the United States. Without interference from the whites, with their fear and ignorance of the Indian's cultures, it might have continued to be a dream for peace, happiness, abundance - a life in paradise like the "old" days.

WORKS CITED

Gibson, Michael. The American Indian From Colonial Times to the Present.

Wayland Publishers, London 174

Laubin, Reginald and Gladys. Indian Dances of North America. University of

Oklahoma Press 177

Mooney, James. The Ghost Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 180. The

Rio Grande Press Inc. Glorieta, NM 17

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