Ghost Dance facts for kids
The Ghost Dance was a special religious movement among Native American people. It happened mostly between 1860 and 1890. Native Americans had been forced to change their way of life. They had lost much of their culture and identity. The Ghost Dance offered them hope. It promised that if they did the "Dance" and lived well, they could reunite the living and the dead. They believed they would get back what they lost to the white settlers. They also hoped the people causing them trouble would leave their lands. There were real dance rituals they performed as part of their spiritual journey.
The First Ghost Dance Movement
The Ghost Dance movement was very active twice. The first time was around 1860. A Native American man from the Paiute tribe, named Wodziwob, had a vision. He saw that white people would leave. He also saw that Native Americans would reunite with their ancestors' spirits, called "ghosts." Wodziwob was also shown how to do the special dance ritual. This first movement spread quickly among many tribes. Each tribe added its own unique parts to the Ghost Dance. This first phase ended around 1872. It ended because the promises did not come true. Wodziwob himself said he might have been wrong.
The Second Ghost Dance Movement
The second wave of the Ghost Dance started about twenty years later. This was around 1890. A man named Wovoka began this new phase. He worked at a Mormon ranch. Wovoka was influenced by the Mormon faith. He was also inspired by ideas like sending people to spread a new belief. This second movement spread even wider than the first. Again, each tribe changed it to fit their own culture.
The Lakota tribe also adopted the idea of a special leader, or a messiah. The Lakota lived on a reservation. Local authorities became worried when they saw 25,000 Native Americans dancing. They saw this as a threat. This fear led to the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. Many Native Americans were killed during this event.
Wovoka wrote a letter in 1892 to other tribes. He told them that Jesus had returned to Earth that year. He said that if they lived good lives, they would get their lands and culture back someday. He also promised that the dead would live again. Wovoka stayed out of public view for the rest of his life after sharing this message. He lived until the 1930s.
Images for kids
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Cyperus esculentus, a root that the Northern Paiutes used to eat
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Wovoka – Northern Paiute spiritual leader and creator of the Ghost Dance
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An Arapaho buckskin ghost shirt, ca 1890
See also
In Spanish: Danza de los espíritus para niños
