The ghost dance movement arose at a time when the native american tribes of north america, after prolonged contact with the white man immigrants, were losing. T a vibo had been an active participant in the 1870 ghost dance led by the paiute shamanprophet wodziwob. During a solar eclipse on new years day, 1889, wovoka experienced a revelation that promised harmony, rebirth, and freedom for native americans through the repeated performance of the traditional ghost dance. This is the best book about wovoka and the ghost dance that i found, and includes extensive interviews and comments by. Wovoka, a shaman mystic, is best known for starting the ghost dance movement that many native american tribes in the west adopted at the end of the 19th century. The history of the ghost dance religion native american paiute tribe medicine man wovoka jack wilson had a vision that if the tribes would dance and sing, their spirits would rise again to greatness. The minneapolis institute of art put on the first and only exhibit of ghost dance shirts and dresses worn by men, women, and children. Learn more about the history and significance of the ghost dance in this article. In 1869 or 1870, tavibo, a northern paiute and first. The ghostdance religion and wounded knee native american. Wovokas teachings spread quickly among many native american peoples, notably the lakota. The first ghost dance developed in 1869 around the dreamer wodziwob d. Paiute shaman wovoka, whose visions inspired the ghost dance father paul steinmetz s. Scott peterson, author of native american prophesies, explains, wovoka s message of hope spread like wildfire among the demoralized tribes.
Wovoka taught that in order to bring this vision to pass the native americans must live righteously and perform a traditional round dance, known as the ghost dance, in a series of fiveday gatherings. Central tenets of this earlier ghost dance were related to the later teachings of wovoka, which in turn led to the ghost dance movement of 1890. He grew up in the area of mason valley, nevada, near the present walker lake reservation. James mooney, an ethnologist with the bureau of american ethnology, was sent to investigate the ghost dance movement in 1891. Contemporary movement language inspired by the bears ears will never be americas national dance as is the native american circle dance. This is the best book about wovoka and the ghost dance that i found, and includes extensive interviews and comments by people who knew him. I read and reread this book as part of an extensive research project i engaged in for the current book i am writing, in which wovoka is a main character. Akasha star healing haven, 2 church buildings main street.
The main connections appear to be that the knowledge of the use of peyote spread through some of the same mechanisms and institutions that spread the ghost dance practices across the northern united states and that some who participated in the ghost dance. This vibrant, energising, circle dance, often called we circle around derives from the arapaho sioux ghostdance uprising a 19th century spirited revival religion led by wovoka. The ghost dance a promise of fulfillment legends of america. Wovoka and the ghost dance ebsco information services. Agency, box 314, copy book 1, 8081, records of the commissioner of indian affairs.
The ghost dance religion and the making of modern america, which describes the panindian ghost dance nanissaanah religious movement led by the paiute american prophet wavoka or jack wilson that swept across the west and the great plain as a form of resistance and reconciliation. A paiute medicineman, wovoka originated the ghost dance which spread throughout the native american tribes of the west, causing white settlers and officials a great deal of consternation. Part one describes the four major primary sources used to compile the biography, as well as the life of wovoka and his personality 5. Wovoka, a southern paiute, founds the ghost dance religion, which soon spreads to other native peoples throughout the west. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The second ghost dance movement 1890 from vision to religion. The religious fervor known as the ghost dance movement was precipitated by the prophecies and teachings of a northern paiute indian named. Nanissaanah, also called the ghost dance of 1890 was a new religious movement incorporated into numerous native american belief systems. Shiloah bender, direct descendant of wovoka, speaks about paiute indian medicine man wovoka, creator of the ghost dance. Wovoka, also known as jack wilson, was born to a religious leader in nevada and raised by a rancher david wilson after the death of his father. Among these earlier revelations was the prediction of the return of the ancestral dead.
A paiute medicineman, wovoka originated the ghost dance which spread throughout the native american tribes of the west. Indispensable for understanding the prophet behind the messianic movement, wovoka and the ghost dance addresses for the first time basic questions about his message and life. Dec 31, 2006 shiloah bender, direct descendant of wovoka, speaks about paiute indian medicine man wovoka, creator of the ghost dance. Kpfa host mitch jeserich letters and politics speaks with louis s. Jun 23, 2010 the basis for the ghost dance, also called the circle dance, is a traditional form that has been used by many native american tribes since ancient times, but this new ceremony was first practiced among the nevada paiute in 1889. With these words, spoken by a paiute rancher named wovoka to describe a dream he experienced during a full eclipse on new years day of 1889, the native american ghost dance religion came into being. Photographs promote the native american tribes culture he ghost dance movement was a manifestation of native americans fear, anger, and hope regarding the onslaught of white invaders, u. Warren locates wovoka in his nevada setting, showing how the paiutesdevastated by the environmental and economic changes wrought by military conquest and colonization. Among wodziwobs assistants was a noted shaman named numutaivo, whose son. List of books and articles about ghost dance online.
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, make the. Horn, also known as white deer of autumn, says the spirits of ghost dancers are ever present. Information on wovoka, a northern paiute who founded the ghost dance movement, is presented. Lost and found stories of native american history books. 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.
Known as the messiah to his followers, wovoka was the paiute mystic whose religious pronouncements spread the ghost dance among many tribes across the american west. The ghost dance started when paiute shaman jack wilson or wovoka had a vision that if our people would. Why were many plains indians attracted to wovokas teachings towards the ghost dance. The paiute tribe again came to the fore when wovoka c. Published on dec 31, 2006 frieda dickbrown, a descendent of the famous paiute indian shaman wovoka, says a prayer in the paiute language. The ghost dance started when paiute shaman jack wilson or wovoka. Given a ritual that, when danced, would give rise to the. Whether wovoka was a prophet and miracle worker, or simply a fraud, is a discussion left to theologians and mystics. How did government politics effect native american culture.
A complex figure, he was revered by indians while being denounced as an impostor and a lunatic by the local settlers throughout his entire life. Wovoka, a shaman mystic, is best known for starting the ghost dance movement that many native american tribes in the west adopted at the end of. Wovoka, a paiute shaman medicine man who had participated in the ghost dance of 1870, became ill with a fever late in 1888 and experienced a vision that provided part of the basis for the new ghost dance. Smith valley, nv yerington, nv aka jack wilson, was the northern pa. Few people, either native or white, could have imagined the tragedy which would arise from this new faith within two years of this jolting statement. Two remarkable examples of the native american revitalist movement are the iroquois teachings of the great spirit gaiwiio based on the visions of handsome lake in the late eighteenth century and the ghost dance songs based on the visions of the paiute shaman named wovoka near the end of the nineteenth.
People came from all around the country to talk to him, said hittman. A southern paiute of the walker river band, wovoka c. The ritual lasted five successive days, being danced each night and on the last night continued until. The ghost dance started when paiute shaman jack wilson or wovoka had a vision that if our people would dance and sing we indians would. In this vision he saw the second coming of christ and received warning about the evils of white man.
The ghost dance was part of a mystical ceremony designed to reestablish the native. Based on messianic visions by a northern paiute native american in nevada named wovoka white name jack wilson offered a shred of hope for indians denuded of their ancestral power and land, herded onto reservations, and stripped of their ability to live by the huntingandgathering and deeply spiritual methods of their native elders. Paiute native american shaman wovoka and the ghost dance. Descendent of famous native american indian shaman wovoka. The practice swept throughout much of the western united states, quickly reaching areas of california and oklahoma. However, when he grew up paiute, where he became a powerful shaman. The ghost dance religion spread like wildfire through the tribes including the great plains indians. A brief summary of the relationship between peyote use and. Jan 03, 2007 the ghost dance appeared during a time of desperation for the native american indian people. Wovoka means cutter or wood cutter in the northern paiute language. In the preface to the expanded edition of his book wovoka and the ghost dance, michael hittman states that his aim was to write an ethnohistorical biography of the founder of the last important native american millennial movement of the nineteenth century xi. However, the tide of the movement came in 1889 with a paiute shaman wovoka jack wilson.
The basis for the ghost dance is the circle dance, a traditional dance done by many native americans. The main connections appear to be that the knowledge of the use of peyote spread through some of the same mechanisms and institutions that spread the ghost dance practices across the northern united states and that. The ghost dance started when paiute shaman jack wilson or wovoka had a vision that if our people would dance and sing we indians would live again. Ghost dance, either of two distinct cults in a complex of late 19thcentury religious movements that represented an attempt of indians in the western united states to rehabilitate their traditional cultures. Paiute native american shaman wovoka and the ghost dance on youtube. Wovoka s teachings spread quickly among many native american peoples, notably the lakota. Imaginative in its presentation and essential in its information.
He obtained a copy of wovokas message from a cheyenne named black short nose, who had been part of a joint cheyennearapaho delegation. Wovoka was a man of power, wrote historian michael hittman in his 1989 book wovoka and the ghost dance. The promise of the ghost dance james mooney, an ethnologist with the bureau of american ethnology, was sent to investigate the ghost dance movement in 1891. The ghost dance was first practiced by the nevada northern paiute in 1889. Much of the story of the northern paiute medicine man wovoka and the ghost dance religion he spearheaded, have been clouded by mystery, misinterpretation, and conjecture.
Wovoka had been influenced by presbyterians on whose ranch he worked, by. Book soon as places are limited for our treatments and readings. Wright based on james mooney photo from the ghost dance circle 1921 book plate. The ghost dance, a messianic native american religious movement, originated in nevada around 1870, faded, reemerged in its bestknown form in the winter of 188889, then spread rapidly through much of the great plains, where hundreds of adherents died in the 1890 wounded knee massacre.
The religious fervor known as the ghost dance movement was precipitated by the prophecies and teachings of a northern paiute indian named wovoka jack wilson. Based on a personal vision, wovoka created the ghost dance religion of the late 1880s. The ghost dance originated among the paiute indians around 1870. Apr 24, 2019 ken bender, wovokas grandson, was my friend when i lived in nevada. See more ideas about native american, native american beliefs and american. Paiute native american shaman wovoka and the ghost dance the ghost dance appeared during a time of desperation for the native american indian people. Sacred rite of passage a formal practice, procedure, or even that initiates a person or community into a new understanding of self. Wovoka was one of the most famous native american shamans. By 1900, there were fewer than 250000 remaining native americans. The native dance is indeed magical, according to gabriel horn, author of native heart.
The ghost dance appeared during a time of desperation for the native american indian people. Native american communitys holy person who uses ecstatic techniques such as trance, visions, and dreams to bring sacred knowledge and healing powers to the community. Feel free to walk in and meet like minded people for a tea or coffee or. I became entranced with his stories about wovoka and his spirtualism. The arapaho ghost dance we circle around spiritual energy. The ghost dance in ghost dance movement was initiated in by two paiute shamans and prophets, called wodziwob and wovoka c. Ghost dance, central ritual of the messianic religion instituted in the late 19th cent. Previously, the only book length study of wovoka was michael hittmans wovoka and the ghost dance 1990, which was more of a source book than an interpretive monograph. Finally, the weaknesses of wovoka and the ghost dance will be addressed. Wovoka 18561932, also known as jack wilson, was a northern paiute religious leader and founder of the ghost dance movement.
Born southwest of what is now carson city, nevada about 1856, his father, tavibo, was also a medicine man. Scott peterson, author of native american prophesies, explains, wovokas message of hope spread like wildfire among the demoralized tribes. The native american ghost dance pod 615 bonanza boomers. But a book like edge of morning and a dance like sacred landssacred waters may be important ways of honoring and illuminating our collective spiritual lives, of starting a conversation with one another that. Apr 24, 2019 ken bender, wovoka s grandson, was my friend when i lived in nevada. Before long, representatives of over thirty tribes made a pilgrimage to visit wovoka and learn the secrets of the ghost dance. Encounters with native american spirituality desert. The basis for the ghost dance, also called the circle dance, is a traditional form that has been used by many native american tribes since ancient times, but this new ceremony was first practiced among the nevada paiute in 1889.
Mitakuye according to the prophet wovoka s teachings, proper practice of the ghost dance would reunite the living with the spirits of the dead and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to native peoples throughout the region. 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. There appear to be few direct links between the use of peyote among native americans and the ghost dance movement of the late 1800s. Wovoka born southwest of what is now carson city, nevada about 1856, his father, tavibo, was also a medicine man. This board is a tribute to him and native american beliefs. Hittmans book should be read by every student of the ghost dance revival and by all those interested in bringing tribal history into discourse with conventional history in such a way that indian voices and visions may be heard. The religion prophesied the peaceful end of the westward expansion of whites and a return of the land to the native americans. The practicereligion soon swept through much of the western united states, reaching areas of california and oklahoma. The ghost dance a promise of fulfillment legends of. He obtained a copy of wovoka s message from a cheyenne named black short nose, who had been part of a joint cheyennearapaho.