Was the Ghost Dance the Reason Behind Wounded Knee?
Since I began my academic journey back in 2012, I have been on a path of absorbing information and knowledge on a whole range of topics relating to the United States. This is down to the fact that I completed a BA degree in American Studies at a UK university (as I happen to be British, but now residing in the US). What my course has given me over the years, is the knowledge, the passion, and the understanding of American History.
At times, like you’ll find with this article, is that I have the tendency to discuss issues of America’s past that most of you may not have learned in school. For instance, history which relates to Native Americans, you may have to delve deep into researching yourself, or perhaps enroll in classes that teaches their history and culture. This is something that I have come to learn during the last several years of my studies, and it’s an issue I want to be able to put forward to the public.
In this article, you will get an insight of the meaning behind the Ghost Dance, which was formed by the Sioux tribe in the late 19th century. However, there were devastating consequences of this ritual. A tragic event in the name of Wounded Knee took place, and it continues to affect the Native Indian community.
During the late 19th century, one of the most famous battles took place on American soil. Wounded Knee symbolizes the historic war between Native Americans, and Western-European Americans. Many historians describe the event as a massacre, as many were bloodied and killed during a multiple mile stretch.
The year of 1889 brought the Ghost Dance to the Great Plains, which ultimately ended with hundreds of supporters dying in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre.
The Ghost Dance originated in Nevada during 1870, although it did not hit its best form until 1889. This was when the ritual reformed, where it was preached that white people would vanish from the world and the Indians who died in the past, would return to enjoy a new life.
There was a Paiute Indian named Wovoka, who envisioned a better world for his people. A world that existed long before white people stepped onto Native land. He let it be known that his vision was to see natives living in a peaceful and respectable word forever. In the book he edited, Holler explains Wovoka’s vision, and what the Ghost Dance had meant for him and his people;
What we can take from Holler’s statement, is that the Ghost Dance was heavily influential for all of their mindsets going into war with those who were white. It tells us that when Indians danced, it frightened white people, and this was crucial for Wovoka’s dream. A dream that would help give Indians everything they wished for. A life in which they had already known. The life before the invasion of the powers from Europe.
The importance of the Ghost Dance was that it gave hope to the Indians. Hope that everything would return to the way it was and that no more interruptions would be made from the government. However, as the dance began to spread, it took on additional meanings, in which included the belief of visiting friends and relatives after performing the ceremonial dance. Due to the Indians losing huge numbers of relatives, this ceremony eventually worked as a performing healer for them.
Those additional meanings and beliefs were embraced by the Lakota’s, where religion was an inseparable part of their lives. Religion is what signified the history of the Lakota’s, and when they discovered the Ghost Dance, they were immediately drawn to it.
For the Lakota tribe, visions have always played an important part that has shaped their actions and culture. There has always been variety with their visions too, from spontaneous to induced. Their visions brought them knowledge, aid, and protection. So in light of their reservations status, Wovoka’s dream appealed to them, greatly.
Subsequently, when the Lakota’s began performing the Ghost Dance, they felt more secured. Furthermore, the dance acted as a way for the Lakota people to enhance their belief system, which began to serve them better protection from imminent danger. Ultimately, as a symbol of their religion, the ritual was utilized to improve their way of living.
However, this notion was criticized and abused by white society. They referred to the ceremony as a ‘delusion’ and the ‘messiah craze’. It can be suggested that the Euro-Americans did not welcome the Ghost Dance. They feared it, and could not understand the reason for it. The Lakota’s tried to continue this ritual as it halted harassment from white settlers. This was a huge benefit to them until serious complaints were made and the government’s sudden intervention. With this, their sacred spiritual journey became harder to pursue, which led to the massacre at Wounded Knee.
On December 29, 1890, over 500 U.S soldiers seized fire on Chief Spotted Elk’s band of 370 unarmed Lakota refugees. The horrific scenes which then took place included the soldiers’ quest to hunt down fleeing men, women, and children over a two mile stretch, killing everyone they caught.
The motive behind this onslaught originates from the frustration that the whites endured, leaving them with a decision to hunt down those involved with the Ghost Dance proceedings. With what happened during that two-mile stretch, with men, women, and children being gunned down, it indicates how vengeful the U.S government were to end these rituals performed by the Lakota’s, and how serious the consequences were.
The devastation at Wounded Knee took place on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation based in South Dakota. It left over a hundred Native Americans dead, in what was the last clash between national troops and the Sioux. The consistency of this religious ceremony drove the government to take this action, as it terrified them, and worried them into making such tragic decisions.
From the information we gain from Andersson, it becomes clear that the conflict should be regarded as a massacre. It was an attack which led to 150 deaths, predominantly made up of women and children. Regardless of which generation you explore, this is seen as a tragically insane affair, and completely beyond acceptable. Congress and the U.S Army were right to face such devastating accusations of this decision.
During the aftermath, the heavy criticism led to an investigation of the Wounded Knee matter. Newspaper reports were known to contemplate such characteristics of the event that signified a massacre, especially in the early period of 1891. However, sadly, this did not lead to any justice for the Lakota people. The U.S Army did not have to face any charges, resulting in the Lakota’s to surrender on January 15th, 1891. This was made up of negotiations between the army and the ghost dancers, but these talks only led to the banishment of the Ghost Dance ritual.
In recent times, there have been strong debates as to why Wounded Knee took place. Although historians discuss the meanings behind the Ghost Dance as the prime motive for the U.S Army to take brutal action, others are quick to suggest that the reason for the tragic event was down to revenge for the death of Custer at Little Bighorn in 1876.
Moreover, this was also a particular notion during the time right after Wounded Knee. Many members of the public blamed the U.S Army for killing innocent people as an act of revenge for a previous defeat to the Indians in 1876. However, despite what the real reason was behind the attack, pressure was beginning to mount on the U.S Army, as more newspapers were continuing to bash the decision to attack the members of the Lakota tribe. General Nelson Miles later became the supreme commander in which he automatically held Colonial John Forsyth responsible for the onslaught of both women and children.
This decision to remove Forsyth from this position, was then followed by many others who were responsible for Wounded Knee. What this shows, is that by forcing these investigations, and removing people from their roles, it can be said that Wounded Knee had a huge impact on the United States. With this, the public, alongside the media at the time, were right to describe the attack as inappropriately devastating and should never have happened.
Referring back to the initial point, and the point in which is mainly considered as the sole reason for Wounded Knee, the controversy surrounding the U.S government and the U.S Army was simply down to the Ghost Dance movement. The impact that this dance had was extraordinary, which shows how religion and culture of complete difference can cause so much commotion. It is clear that it unsettled, and terrified many members of the white settlers, which ultimately led to the governments sudden intervention in order to prevent it spreading further across the country.
In terms of the Wounded Knee Massacre, the conflict over the event remains today. Since that tragic affair, the Lakota tribe have expected a formal apology from the U.S government.
In 1989, a member of the Pine Ridge Wounded Knee Survivors’ Association called Claudia Iron Hawk Sully, decided to take action in regard to this historic event. She called a meeting to see if the Lakota tribe were willing to work to obtain an official apology from the U.S government. With this call for action in 1989, you can see that there are still people in this world who remain affected by the proceedings of Wounded Knee. It is clear that the Lakota’s have never been able to overcome the devastation in 1890, and still await a real justification for what happened. With other campaigns related to Wounded Knee, there was finally an agreement to;
Although it had taken a hundred years for a memorial to be agreed, the efforts from people associated with the Lakota’s was extremely outstanding. It seems like nobody was willing to give up on hope, but although there was some positives with the monument, on the flip side, not receiving an apology can be considered an undeniable negative. Despite this the Lakota’s continued to acquire as much as they could out of the U.S government. This included the work to get funding for the memorial, and subsequently, it was reported that there was huge support from Congress.
There are many events of the past which continue to haunt the Native Indian community, but the tragedy of Wounded Knee remains a major thorn in their history. For them, true justice continues to linger…
But the fight goes on.
