What is the purpose of Ghost Dance?
What was the purpose of the Ghost Dance? The Ghost Dance was associated with Wovoka’s prophecy of an end to white expansion while preaching goals of clean living, an honest life, and cross-cultural cooperation by Native Americans.
What is the Native American Ghost Dance?
The Ghost Dance (Natdia) is a spiritual movement that came about in the late 1880s when conditions were bad on Indian reservations and Native Americans needed something to give them hope. This movement found its origin in a Paiute Indian named Wovoka, who announced that he was the messiah come to earth to prepare the Indians for their salvation.
What did the Ghost Dance do?
The Ghost Dance (Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems.According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilson), proper practice of the dance would reunite the living with spirits of the dead, bring the spirits to fight on their behalf, end American westward ...
Who started the Ghost Dance?
The original Ghost Dance movement (1870) The original Ghost Dance began on the Walker Lake Reservation in Nevada, in 1870. It was initiated by Wodziwob (Gray Hair), a Northern Paiute Indian, as a result of his visionary experiences in the late 1860s. He told of having traveled, in a trance, to another world, where he was informed that an Indian renaissance was at hand, and declared that Indians could create a new paradise by performing a series of rituals.
What was the main idea of the Ghost Dance?
The Ghost Dance was a spiritual movement that arose among Western American Indians. It began among the Paiute in about 1869 with a series of visions of an elder, Wodziwob. These visions foresaw renewal of the Earth and help for the Paiute peoples as promised by their ancestors.
What was the events of Ghost Dance?
TimelineNovember, 1890Reports of massive Ghost Dances appear in US newspapers.December 29, 1890Wounded Knee Massacre, estimated 200 Native Americans killed.1892Ethnologist joins in during Ghost Dance and describes the dance as having “ecstatic stages.”1910Tickets are sold to watch the Ghost Dance.1 more row•Jul 20, 2022
Why is it called the Ghost Dance?
During a solar eclipse on January 1, 1889, Wovoka, a shaman of the Northern Paiute tribe, had a vision. Claiming that God had appeared to him in the guise of a Native American and had revealed to him a bountiful land of love and peace, Wovoka founded a spiritual movement called the Ghost Dance.
What happened after the Ghost Dance?
It resulted in the Wounded Knee Massacre wherein the 7th Cavalry killed over 250 Lakota, primarily unarmed women, children, and elders, at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. The end of the Ghost Dance War is usually dated January 15, 1891, when Lakota Ghost-Dancing leader Kicking Bear decided to meet with US officials.
Why did they ban the Ghost Dance?
Practice of the Ghost Dance movement was believed to have contributed to Lakota resistance to assimilation under the Dawes Act.
How long did the Ghost Dance movement last?
In September 1890 some three thousand Indians, virtually all of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Wichita, Caddo, and Apache tribes, gathered on the South Canadian River and danced every night for two weeks.
What was the purpose of the Ghost Dance quizlet?
Terms in this set (6) The ghost dance was a religious revitalization uniting Indians to restore ancestral customs, the disappearance of whites, and the return of buffalo.
What significant event happened at Wounded Knee?
Wounded Knee Massacre, (December 29, 1890), the slaughter of approximately 150–300 Lakota Indians by United States Army troops in the area of Wounded Knee Creek in southwestern South Dakota. The massacre was the climax of the U.S. Army's late 19th-century efforts to repress the Plains Indians.
Where was the first ghost dance held?
The first Oklahoma Territory ghost dance was held at Watonga in April 1890. Because the ghost dance emphasized traditional ways, many earlier dances were revived at that time.
When did ghost dances start in Oklahoma?
The ghost dance continued uninterrupted in Oklahoma until at least 1914. During 1891 and 1892 the ghost dance spread to the Pawnee, Otoe-Missouria, Iowa, Osage, and Quapaw. Each tribe composed its own songs and adapted the dance in accordance with participants' own visions, reviving old-time clothing, weapons, dances, and hand games.
When did ghost dancing spread to the Great Plains?
The ghost dance spread to the Great Plains in 1889 as a four-day round dance.
Where was the ghost dancer massacre?
After the massacre of ghost dancers in December 1890 at Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Thomas J. Morgan visited Oklahoma Territory and, seeing no signs of violence as a result of the ghost dance, made no attempt to prohibit it.
Where did the Indians dance in 1890?
After the massacre of ghost dancers in December 1890 at Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, ...
Who wrote the ghost dance religion?
Donald N. Brown, "The Ghost Dance Religion Among the Oklahoma Cheyenne," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 30 (Winter 1952–53).
What was the stimulus for Oklahoma's Indian heritage?
Tell them if they refuse troops will be sent to compel obedience.". Most important to Oklahoma's rich American Indian heritage was the stimulus this late-nineteenth-century religious movement provided to revive old traditions and to compose new music.
What is the ghost dance?
The Ghost Dance – A Promise of Fulfillment. The Ghost Dance (Natdia) is a spiritual movement that came about in the late 1880s when conditions were bad on Indian reservations and Native Americans needed something to give them hope. This movement found its origin in a Paiute Indian named Wovoka, who announced that he was ...
Where did the ghost dance take place?
Mrs. Z.A. Parker observed the Ghost Dance among the Lakota at Pine Ridge Reservation, Dakota Territory on June 20, 1890, and described it: We drove to this spot at about 10:30 o’clock on a delightful October day. We came upon tents scattered here and there in low, sheltered places long before reaching the dance ground.
How long does the dance last in Wovoka?
The dance as told by Wovoka went something like this: “When you get home you must begin a dance and continue for five days. Dance for four successive nights, and on the last night continue dancing until the morning of the fifth day when all must bathe in the river and then return to their homes.
Why did the Lakota make ghost shirts?
They claimed that the Lakota developed a militaristic approach to the dance and began making “ghost shirts” they thought would protect them from bullets. They also spoke openly about why they were dancing.
What was the Natdia dance?
Central to the Natdia religion was the dance itself – dancing in a circular pattern continuously – which induced a state of religious ecstasy. Paiute Indians. The movement began with a dream by Wovoka (named Jack Wilson in English), a Northern Paiute, during the solar eclipse on January 1, 1889.
When did the Paiute dance begin?
The Paiute tradition that led to the Ghost Dance began in the 1870s in the Western Great Basin from the visions of Wodziwob (Gray Hair) concerning earth renewal and the reintroduction of the spirits of ancient Numu (Northern Paiute) ancestors into the contemporary day to help them. Central to the Natdia religion was the dance itself – dancing in ...
Who was the leader of the Lakota tribe who was arrested for the dance?
The BIA agent in charge of the Lakota eventually sent the tribal police to arrest Sitting Bull , a leader respected among the Lakota, to force him to stop the dance. In the struggle that followed, Sitting Bull was killed along with a number of policemen. A small detachment of cavalry eventually rescued the remaining policemen.
What is the ghost dance?
The Ghost Dance was a spiritual movement that arose among Western American Indians. It began among the Paiute in about 1869 with a series of visions of an elder, Wodziwob. These visions foresaw renewal of the Earth and help for the Paiute peoples as promised by their ancestors.
What was the ghost dance movement?
Mooney traced the beliefs of the Ghost Dance movement to earlier spiritual prophesies among many Indian groups that predicted a restoration of their land and the return of life as it was lived before Europeans settled the Americas.
What did Wovoka dream about?
On January 1, 1889, a Northern Paiute named Wovoka (born Quoitze Owalso, he also took the name Jack Wilson) had a dream during the eclipse of the sun. His prophesy was similar to that of Wodziwob. He said that he saw the European settlers leaving or disappearing, the buffalo returning, and the land restored to Indian peoples all across the continent. In this vision, ancestors would be brought back to life and all would live in peace. Wovoka had been raised by the European American family of David Wilson after the death of his father. His teachings emphasized maintaining a peaceful relationship with white Americans. He had had some exposure to Christianity and so it is not surprising that there are mentions of Jesus or a messiah in his teachings. He said that by practicing the circle dance ceremony his vision of a peaceful world would be made to come about.
Why did James Mooney write the ghost dance?
James Mooney wrote a book about the Ghost Dance, hoping it would help to counter newspaper articles about it that were inaccurate and promoted prejudice toward the Indians.
What is the pattern of ghost dance?
The Ghost Dance songs had a common pattern of a line repeated twice, then another line repeated twice, and so on. According to Judith Gray, the American Folklife Center’s expert on American Indian music and song, this pattern was common among the Paiute and other peoples of the Northwest Plateau, but was not used among the Plains Indians or many of the other peoples who took up the Ghost Dance. But the people adopted this song form that was new to them and used it as they made Ghost Dance songs in their own languages.
Why do ethnographers learn to reproduce songs and stories from the cultures they study?
Even today ethnographers often learn to reproduce songs and stories from the cultures they study as part of participant/observation and because much can be learned by memorizing and repeating them. This recording is an example of a Caddo Ghost Dance song.
How many people died in the Ghost Dance?
He estimates that about 300 people were killed, died later of their wounds, or died of exposure. [4] In atmosphere of the fear of the Ghost Dance of these times, this event was called a battle, the soldiers were called heroes, and they received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
What is the ghost dance?
The Ghost Dance ( Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a new religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilson), proper practice of the dance would reunite the living with spirits of the dead, ...
Where did ghost dance originate?
The basis for the Ghost Dance is the circle dance, a traditional Native American dance. The Ghost Dance was first practiced by the Nevada Northern Paiute in 1889. The practice swept throughout much of the Western United States, quickly reaching areas of California and Oklahoma.
Why did Kehoe believe the movement did not gain traction with the tribe?
Kehoe believed the movement did not gain traction with the tribe due to the Navajo's higher levels of social and economic satisfaction at the time. Another factor was cultural norms among the Navajo, which inculcated a fear of ghosts and spirits, based on religious beliefs.
Why did Wodziwob dance the circle dance?
Wodziwob's peers accepted this vision, likely due to his reputable status as a healer. He urged the populace to dance the common circle dance as was customary during a time of celebration. He continued preaching this message for three years with the help of a local "weather doctor" named Tavibo, father of Jack Wilson.
What was the purpose of the Ghost Dance?
The Ghost Dance was associated with Wovoka's prophecy of an end to white expansion while preaching goals of clean living, an honest life, and cross-cultural cooperation by Native Americans. Practice of the Ghost Dance movement was believed to have contributed to Lakota resistance to assimilation under the Dawes Act.
Why did the Ghost Dance movement decline?
Following the Wounded Knee Massacre, open participation in the Ghost Dance movement declined gradually for fear of continued violence against practitioners. Like most Indian ceremonies, it became clandestine rather than dying out completely.
Why was Sitting Bull arrested?
On December 15, 1890, Sitting Bull was arrested for failing to stop his people from practicing the Ghost Dance. During the incident, one of Sitting Bull's men, Catch the Bear, fired at Lieutenant "Bull Head", striking his right side.
What is ghost dance?
Robert McNamara. Updated June 15, 2019. The ghost dance was a religious movement that swept across Native American populations in the West in the late 19th century. What started as a mystical ritual soon became something of a political movement and a symbol of Native American resistance to a way of life imposed by the U.S. government.
What was the ghost dance movement?
As the 1890s began, the emergence of the ghost dance movement was viewed by white Americans as a credible threat.
What religion did Wovoka practice?
Wovoka developed a wide-ranging interest in religions. He was said to be familiar with Mormonism and various religious traditions of native tribes in Nevada and California. In late 1888, he became quite ill with scarlet fever and may have gone into a coma.
What did Wovoka say about the dead?
The dead of his people would be restored to life. Game which had been hunted nearly to extinction would return. And the white people would vanish and stop afflicting the indigenous peoples. Wovoka also said a ritual dance which had been taught to him in his visions must be practiced by native populations.
What did the Little Wound say about the ghost dancers?
In "It Looks More Like War," the New York Times claimed that Little Wound, one of the leaders at the Pine Ridge reservation, "the great camp of the ghost dancers," asserted that the Indians would defy orders to cease the dancing rituals. The article said the Sioux were "choosing their fighting ground," and preparing for a major conflict with the U.S. Army.
How did white society view the ghost dance?
An example of how white society viewed the ghost dance appeared in the form of a lengthy story in the New York Times with the subheadline, "How the Indians Work Themselves Up to a Fighting Pitch." The article explains how a reporter, led by friendly Indian guides, trekked overland to a Sioux camp. "The trip was extremely hazardous, owing to the frenzy of the hostiles." The article described the dance, which the reporter claimed to have observed from a hill overlooking the camp. 182 "bucks and squaws" participated in the dance, which took place in a large circle around a tree. The reporter described the scene:
What happened to Sitting Bull?
A shoot-out occurred, and in the gun battle, Sitting Bull was shot and killed. The death of Sitting Bull was major news in the East.
What was the purpose of the ghost dance?
The Ghost Dance, introduced by the Northern Paiute tribe, was a ceremony that acted as a hope to bring back prosperity and liveliness to all of the natives who had fallen under attacks and displacements from their homelands by white American settlers . These Ghost Dances sought to unify the tribe and bring their people together in the hope of returning to their previous ways of living; it was through this Ghost Dance that a strong connection to the spirit world was maintained. Dating back to its beginning in Nevada in 1869, the Ghost Dance was introduced by the visions of the prophet Tävibo, a Northern Paiute. He spoke of a time when Indians would once again be prosperous and no longer be under the control of white people, claiming that white people would disappear altogether. This would allow native Americans to return to the life they once had before the Europeans came, and their buffalo would once again be plentiful. This was the wish many Indians held, to return and resume to act in their cultural ways with no interruption. Tävibo also claimed that in introducing the Ghost Dance, he had spoken to their deceased ancestors. He claimed that it was these dead family members who contrived and shaped the dance into a circular performance dance ceremony. This supposed interaction with the dead and their overall influence on the living is how the name of the practice came to be called the Ghost Dance. The dance grew in popularity as it spread throughout the land, over the great plains to Nevada and California, and even to Oregon. 1
How long did the buffalo dance last?
The dance would last for four days ; it was a round dance that united the entire tribe. During the dance some would take fans that were woven from the wings of eagles and fan those partaking in the round dance. This act was said to put the dancers into a trance, and while submerged, those in the trance would see their relatives who had passed on to the afterworld. The dancers would see them in a place of complete serenity. The lives they were living were the ones of the past where all were happy and under no oppression, with the supply of buffalo easily at hand. 3
What tribes did the ghost dance come from?
The Lakota version of the dance. As the dance spread throughout the Plains Indian tribes of the West, each began to fuse elements of the ritual with their own beliefs. Although violence and rebellion against white Americans was never a part of the Ghost Dance, many Lakota (a once proud warrior society) were willing to die to protect it.
What was the origin of the ghost dance?
Origins of the Ghost Dance. The Ghost Dance movement was born from a vision of the Paiute prophet, Wovoka. He prophesied that this dance would bring peace and happiness to the devastated Indian tribes - disease had ravaged the Indian population and their numbers were decimated; many of their land treaties with the white settlers had been broken ...
What are ghost dance dresses made of?
Made of animal hide adorned with fringe and feathers, the paintings decorating a Ghost Dance dress or shirt ranged from the very simple to the complex with elaborate designs that represented their mythology, such as the sun, moon, stars, as well as trance-like visions.
What is the spirit dance?
…but, this ominous spirit dance actually began as a nonviolent religious movement called "fight no one and hate no one". The Ghost Dance movement was born from a vision of the Paiute prophet, Wovoka.
Why did the Lakota make sacred shirts?
In reaction to the years of intense battle, loss of land, broken treaties, and cultural restrictions, those Lakota who practiced the Ghost Dance began to make sacred shirts that were believed to be bullet-proof. Ghost Dance shirts & dresses.
Who painted the ghost dance?
Painting of the Ghost Dance as performed by Arapahos, 1900. Image courtesy National Archives.
Who was the shaman of the Paiute tribe?
The most significant of these was the Ghost Dance, pioneered by Wovoka, a shaman of the Northern Paiute tribe. The massacre at Wounded Knee, during which soldiers of the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment indiscriminately slaughtered hundreds of Sioux men, women, and children, marked the definitive end of Indian resistance to the encroachments ...
What was the name of the spiritual movement that Wovoka founded?
The Ghost Dance. During a solar eclipse on January 1, 1889, Wovoka, a shaman of the Northern Paiute tribe, had a vision. Claiming that God had appeared to him in the guise of a Native American and had revealed to him a bountiful land of love and peace, Wovoka founded a spiritual movement called the Ghost Dance.
Where was the massacre at Wounded Knee?
A mere two weeks later, on December 29, 1890, the US 7th Cavalry Regiment surrounded an encampment of Sioux Indians near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. While attempting to disarm the Sioux, a shot was fired and a scuffle ensued. The US army soldiers opened fire on the Sioux, ...
