Ghost Dance

For other uses, see Ghost Dance (disambiguation).
The Ghost Dance of 1889–1891, depicting the Oglala at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, by Frederic Remington in 1890

The Ghost Dance (Caddo: Nanissáanah,[1] also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) is a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the millenarian 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 expansion, and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to Native American peoples throughout the region.[2]

The basis for the Ghost Dance is the circle dance, a traditional Native American dance.[3][4] 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. As the Ghost Dance spread from its original source, different tribes synthesized selective aspects of the ritual with their own beliefs.

The Ghost Dance has been associated with Wovoka's prophecy of an end to colonial 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. The Lakota variation on the Ghost Dance tended towards millenarianism,[5] an innovation that distinguished the Lakota interpretation from Jack Wilson's original teachings. The Caddo still practice the Ghost Dance today.[6]

  1. ^ Edmonds, Randlett. Nusht'uhti?ti? Hasinay: Caddo Phrasebook. Richardson, TX: Various Indian Peoples Publishing, 2003: 19. ISBN 1-884655-00-9.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ReferenceA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "The Ghost Dance Religion among the Sioux". Teaching American History. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Hall, Stephanie (November 17, 2017). "James Mooney Recordings of American Indian Ghost Dance Songs, 1894 | Folklife Today". The Library of Congress. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  5. ^ Rahal, Sheryl Ann. “The Ghost Dance as a Millenarian Phenomenon.” Caliban 3, no. 1 (1998): 171–81.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ Cross, Phil. "Caddo Songs and Dances" Archived August 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Caddo Legacy from Caddo People. Retrieved December 9, 2009.