Ghost Dance

by David Humphreys Miller

From the Native American point of view, the 1890’s were disaster after disaster. The buffalo, their mainstay was disappearing because of overkill and what few crops they did have failed. Wokova told the Lakota that if they danced and lived in their faith they would recover the lands taken by the white man. They reached deep into their faith and the second Ghost Dance appears. When the U.S. Government saw 25,000 participate in the dance they panicked and the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred. The author took the telling of this story very seriously and researched widely including interviewing many Ghost Dancers.

Genres: History

318 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1985

Reviews

[Susan Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another part of history told by the Native Americans. The stories are true. Each of the characters is laid out as they really were, interviewed by Mr. Miller. The chapter on Wounded Knee is heart-wrenching. Well worth reading.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taken from the back of the book. "Mourning the end of the buffalo and their reduced estate, suffering severe privation in the wake of droughts and crop failure, the Sioux were swept up in the ghost dance. It was a moving expression of faith in an Indian Messiah who would banish white people and restore the Indians and their dead to a terrestrial paradise. This widely misunderstood religious movement ended in 1890 when Indians under its spell faced the guns of soldiers at Wounded Knee." Good book but deeply troubling on the fact that some think it is necessary to control others and if not able to, eliminate them.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

first written in 1959 - based interviews with people who were actually there, who participated, who witnessed these events; people who survivied.