Wovoka and the Ghost Dance

by Hittman, Michael; Lynch, Don

• ISBN13: 9780803273085
• ISBN10: 0803273088
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

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). During a solar eclipse on New Year's Day, 1889, Wovoka experienced a revelation that promised harmony, rebirth, and freedom for Native Americans through the repeated performance of the traditional Ghost Dance. In 1890 his message spread rapidly among tribes, developing an intensity that alarmed the federal government and ended in tragedy at Wounded Knee. While the Ghost Dance phenomenon is well known, never before has its founder received such full and authoritative treatment. 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 This expanded edition includes a new chapter and appendices covering sources on Wovoka discovered since the first edition, as well as a supplemental bibliography.

Author Biography

Michael Hittman is the author of Corbett Mack: The Life of a Northern Paiute (Nebraska 1996). He is chair of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vii	(2)
Foreword	ix	(2)
Preface to the Expanded Edition	xi	(2)
Preface to the First Edition	xiii	(2)
Acknowledgements	xv
INTRODUCTION	1	(6)
PART I	7	(172)
Chapter 1 The Four Primary Sources	7	(20)
Chapter 2 Family	27	(20)
Chapter 3 The Early Years	47	(16)
Chapter 4 The 1890 Ghost Dance Religion	63	(44)
Chapter 5 Wovoka, the Man	107	(20)
Chapter 6 The Middle Years	127	(34)
Chapter 7 Wovoka's Prophecies	161	(6)
Chapter 8 The Final Years	167	(12)
PART II	179	(52)
Chapter 9 Author's Conclusion... The Red and the White: Color Symbolism	179	(16)
Chapter 10 More about Wovoka	195	(36)
PART III	231
Appendices:	231	(129)
A. The Chapman Interview	231	(6)
B. Mooney's Visit with Wovoka	237	(10)
C. The Dyer Manuscript	247	(12)
D. Newspaper Accounts	259	(10)
E. Government Letters and Reports	269	(28)
F. The Messiah Letter	297	(2)
G. Nine Ghost Dance Songs of the Northern Paiute	299	(4)
H. Tibo'o Remember	303	(10)
I. Anthropologists (and Others) on Wovoka	313	(12)
J. The Prophet's Death	325	(6)
K. "I Remember Jack"--Yerington Paiute Tribal Members	331	(14)
L. Alice Wilson Vidovich, Andy Vidovich and Peg Wheat on Paul Bailey	345	(12)
M. On Wovoka	357	(3)
Bibliography	360