Ghost DanceGreat Basin Chronology

Circle dances, men and women (traditional)

Tavibo—Paiute Prophet (1870s)

Wovoka—Paiute, begins the Ghost Dance (Jan. 1889)

Wovoka

Elements of the Ghost Dance

• Syncratism (blending of traditions from dominant culture with traditional beliefs)

• Revitalization (backward-looking, rebuilding)

Great Basin elements: Circle, 2 sexesUto-Aztecan: layered worldChristian: God, Jesus, 2nd Coming

Ghost Dance among the Lakota

Kicking Bear

Transition to fit Plains Culture

Immunity to bullets, return of the bison, parallels to sun dance (central pole, visions quest)

Lakota Ghost Dance Chronology

• June 1890 Kicking bear brings GD to reservation

• July-Aug. 1890 GD gatherings reach 3,000

• Nov. 1890 Sitting Bull murdered

• Dec. 29, 1890 Wounded Knee

WHY???

Ghost Dance, Southern Plains

John Moon-Head Wilson,Caddo

Survival/Legacy of the Ghost Dance

• Bole Maru Religion, Pomo (California) (1880s-present)

• Warm House Dance (NW Coast) (1880s-1940s)

• PanIndian movements

• Native American Church (1890s-present)

Native American Church

Quannah Parker