Ghost Dance On Western Wednesday...!

One of the ceremonial dances feared most by the white settlers was the ghost dance.

The dance was a little like a curse being acted out in the form of a dance, and was considered to be very spiritual to the Native Americans.

The Ghost Dance

Photo credit: Legends Of America

In 1870, the Ghost Dance, a Native American religious movement, was believed to restore tribal life. Supposedly, the buffalo would return to the Plains, the dead would rise, and all white men would vanish from the land. The movement was enthusiastically received by Native Americans, specifically the Lakota, and spread to California and Oregon over the years.

As word of the ritual reached neighboring white communities, officials felt threatened by the ceremonies, believing that the Lakota intended to start a war. The US government dispatched the army to stop the dancing and apprehend key leaders such as Sitting Bull and Big Foot.

Sitting Bull was killed as police attempted to arrest him. Two weeks later, members of the 7th Cavalry killed Big Foot and 145 of his followers in the Wounded Knee Massacre. The Ghost Dance died out among the Lakota, and historians believe that this atrocity signified the beginning of the end in the West’s Indian Wars.

The advance of white settlers into the lands of the West marked the ending of many Native American religious ceremonies, sad to say.

Coffee out on the patio this morning...