One religious movement incorporated by the Native Americans belief system is the Ghost Dance. Along time ago the practice swept the Western US in areas like California and Oklahoma. The prophet Jake Wilson was the influencer behind the Ghost Dance. The daqnce quickly spread to various American Indian nations and even started to take on different meanings. It was originally believed that if you performed the ceremonial dance, you could visit relatives who had left their bodies. It was healing for people who had lost friends or relatives. Later, people started to believe it could also protect in battle or ward off fears and suspicions. This ritual dance unified the Indian people even if two tribes were conflicting at the time. Unlike most other Native American dances, drums or instruments don't accompany the Ghost Dance. The rhythm of the chanting is all that guides the dancers' steps. Each song begins slowly and then rises in volume and speed each time it is sung. By the time the song is repeated for the fourth time, it is loud and fast. Throughout the dance most people would fall into trances and would claim to see their dead relatives.
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Perhaps the government was frightened of the dance's spiritual power. They reacted to this outburst of Indian behavior by gunning down ceremonial dancers at wounded knee during a peaceful ceremony. Women and children were shot in the back trying to escape. Approxiamtely 125 people at the beginning of the dance, and twice that number at the end. This day would go down in history as the Wounded Knee Massacre.
lastoftheindependents.com-Chief Big Foot
legendsofamerica.com
Works Cited
http://www.google.com/imgres?
http://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-ghost-dance.html
lastoftheindependents.com
legendsofamerica.com
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