The Ghost Dance: Ethnohistory and Revitalization

by Alice Beck Kehoe

In this fascinating ethnohistorical case study of North American Indians, the Ghost Dance religion is the backbone for Kehoe 's exploration of significant aspects of American Indian life and her quest to learn why some theories become popular. In Part 1, she combines knowledge gained from her firsthand experiences living among and speaking with Indian elders with a careful analysis of historical accounts, providing a succinct yet insightful look at people, events, and institutions from the 1800s to the present. She clarifies unique and complex relationships among Indian peoples and dispels many of the false pretenses promoted by United States agencies over two centuries. In Part 2, Kehoe surveys some of the theories used to analyze the events described in Part 1, allowing readers to see how theories develop, to think critically about various perspectives, and to draw their own conclusions. Kehoe's gripping presentation and analysis pave the way for just and constructive Indian -White relations. Visit waveland.com for a complete list of modern and classic ethnographies on Apache, Comanche, Crow, Navajo, Papago, Pueblo, Shoshone, Sioux, and other American Indian cultures.

Genres: Anthropology, Nonfiction, History, Religion, Theology, Native Americans, Ethnography

186 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1989

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, each subject in the title tries to have its own book.This was written like the Ghost Dance wasn't interesting enough to write an entire book about. It was confused, like a lengthy college thesis that nobody cared to overhaul after the 3rd draft. It also seems like several detours she makes were made purely to add length. She quickly starts pouring on the teachings of Nick Black Elk and the Navajo Peyote Church and, while relevant, muddle the picture. The book should have been quite a bit longer. Ethnohistory and revitalization comprise the second half of the book and Kehoe never really finds her legs on the topic. She begins speaking about AIM and both cannibalizes it and exhorts it and you can't really tell where her coin is falling on the matter. This should be a source to gain working knowledge, but not much else as others have done better.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book bored me to tears. And it shouldn't have, because the Ghost Dance religion was a totally interesting phenomenon. I was pissed that the person writing it was so bland.

[Mystery · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I do have an interest in Anthropology, I must say that it was hard for me to keep up with the names of the people, their bands and tribes, their religions, and all the different treaties that were made and broken during their lives. I was left confused and at times bored even, because of all of this. I wished there were notes to remind me who and what we were talking about.

But on the bright side, I have come to feel more for Native American societies. I am quiet astonished at our history and how we let such a thing happen, and partially still continue to happen. I do believe that this book has taught me a lot, though I doubt I'd read another Ethnohistory.

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, she has at least one "fact" wrong, but it's minor and not about the main topic; however, it makes me wonder about her other information... Not all of the book is about the Ghost Dance, which is a little misleading. It's about reformation and revitalization, and it uses the Ghost Dance as a great example, but she moves on to other groups and histories. The good part of this is that there is a lot of condensed history, and the information is great.

[Allison6876 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for AMIN 3301

[Francesca Calarco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alice Beck Kehoe’s The Ghost Dance: Ethnohistory & Revitalization is an interesting amalgamation of elements. It tells the story of the ghost dance (briefly) and then roots this cultural moment into a larger historical context. Then it sidesteps and delves into the history of ethnographic practice with Native Americans in the United States. Finally, in true post-processualist nature, Kehoe shares her own perspective in diary format. This short volume is so many things. But is it too many things?

Let’s start at the beginning. In 1889, the Paiute religious leader Jack Wilson has a famous vision in which he meets God in heaven and receives the Ghost Dance. If performed properly, the dance will bring about a renewal of the Earth that would sweep away evil, replenish resources, and bring about a better life. This promise was quite attractive to many Native Americans and spread in popularity becoming a significant cultural and religious movement.

Though a seemingly straightforward story, Kehoe’s ethnohistory is much framed through the anthropologist James Mooney’s interactions with Jack Wilson. While interesting at times, it does make for a confusing (nonlinear) narrative. The presentation tries to be an intellectually honest analysis, while also being an entertaining account. Even though I feel it fails (stupendously) on the second goal, there is a breadth of information about anthropologists’ understandings of the Ghost Dance.

In fact, dry prose aside, there is a great deal I agree with Kehoe regarding the complex nature of the Ghost Dance. Specifically her observation that, “The Ghost Dance religion had reinforced Indian peoples’ conviction of the worth of their own heritages, but its focus on religious affirmation was not an effective mechanism to bring about political alliance and action” (75). Her analysis on the personal/emotional importance of the ghost dance is key in understanding how it impacted (or did not impact) the following historic events.

To further emphasize that this is truly an anthropologist’s ethnography, the second half of the book shifts from an ethnographic history, to the history of ethnography regarding Native Americans. Anyone reading this book purely to learn about the Ghost Dance, probably won’t dig this part, misplaced archaeological pun intended.

If you are interested in the history of ethnographic practice, then this is where the real meat of the text lies. Kehoe succeeds in detailing how the changes in cultural anthropology from the early ‘objective’ practices of the early 20th century take a dramatic shift towards, “…today’s acknowledgement that those ‘tribal societies’ were at least nominally colonies of major world powers” (155).

Lastly, she finishes this volume with, “That Night in the Cabin,” a first-person diary-esque account of her own experience with the Ghost Dance. She reveals uncertainties in her own memory, which are written with the literary flavor of a heightened lived experience. Kehoe felt it important to include this content as, “We are all humans socialized in particular cultural ways of thinking, we are all fallible, and putting our cards on the table makes the game more honest” (156).

So, is this book too many things? Honestly, yes, especially if you are looking for a book to learn about the Ghost Dance; keep looking. BUT, if you are looking for an introspective reflection on the history of ethnography, then this book gets my stamp of approval. I enjoyed it, but I like dry anthropological texts, so you’ve been warned.

Rating: 3.5 stars

[Brumaire Bodbyl-Mast · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be, temporarily, an oddly personal review, in part because of Dr. Kehoe’s admirable choice to include some personal sections. Kehoe’s writing style reminds me all to much of my own, albeit at a more advanced level and more dense. The critiques of her work are the same I’ve heard of mine: while her historiographical work is exemplary, her historical work is muddled and often hard to properly follow. Of course, she is much more anthropologist than historian, and so a pure history of the Ghost Dance was out of the question for this book, though there are some bits and pieces of it. Rather, the focus of the book is scattershot- a mixture of some of the Ghost Dance’s history, especially its founding and spread along with comparatives with other similar Indigenous movements in what is today North America. Thus, much more of the book is spent on comparison rather than the ghost dance itself, which perhaps may very well be a choice by the editors, but I am not too sure. Regardless, she does have some interesting analysis, and though I would argue her work skews to a very banal radical liberal viewpoint, like many in the social science field, her argumentation against unyielding ‘scientific models’ of societal behaviors is rather interesting, though mostly between the lines aside from some direct statements.

[David Gowey]

I think a lot of the reviews for this book are missing the author's point in using the term "ghost dance" as a metaphor to refer to Native American revitalizing religious movements but I liked it actually

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it for school, it was alr but a little boring at times but that’s bc it’s not rlly my thing. If u like stuff about indigenous cultures you’d love it tho!