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Native American Ghost Dance - What, Why, The End, The Beginning
Ghost Dance The Ghost Dance was, for the Plains Indians, a cult or movement. The dance itself was the "coming together" of those who believed in the visions of Wovoka. It found its roots in the holocaust taking place throughout the West. Wovoka, a Paiute holy man, had a series of religious visions that were the inspiration behind the movement. In 1889, he proclaimed that if Indian people lived peacefully, danced the new Ghost Dance that he introduced, and sang the it's songs, their world would be transformed into an ideal place populated by buffalo herds and and the ancestral dead. Most importantly, white people, their goods and the troubles they had caused would disappear. This message of hope spread across many Western tribes, and was adapted according to the cultural practices of each group. Snippets from YouTube.com...check them out!! The Powerful Native American History And the Dance Of The Ghost Dance With ITs powerful Beat Of The Drums!! Soaring With Uplifting Spirit!
Beautiful painted clothing was made for the participants. The designs included many celestial and bird symbols. Among the Arapaho, the rejection of white men's goods dictated that the Ghost Dance shirts and dresses should be made from tanned deer skin. The Lakota, in contract, had garments made of painted muslin. Believing in the protective power of visionary imagery, the Lakota believed that these shirts and dresses would render their wearers impervious to the bullets of white soldiers. But when the Seventh Calvary gathered at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota in December, 1890 and massacred more than 300 Lakota men, women and children who were participating in the Ghost Dance, it was clear that such a religious movement could not stave off the brute force that backed up official US policies of assimilation.
To many, December 1890 marked the end of an era on the Great Plains. Yet resistance, in the form of artistic practices, has persisted as an important element in the survival of Plains Indian cultures. Today, art remains a vital force in people's lives. The annual Crow Fair in Montana provides expert beadworkers with a opportunity to sell their finest dance accessories and horse regalia. There has been a revival of quillwork, particularly among the Lakota. All across the country, the powwow, dancing and coming together, remains an important value for competitive dancers and costume-makers to exhibit and make money from their work, and to convey artistic traditions to the next generation. A magnificent Crow beaded and fringed man's coat that the catalogue notes was "possibly inspired by a European frock coat, decorated overall with yellow ochre, thread sewn innumerous shades of opaque and outline white glass beads, in sport-stitch and contour techniques, with stars and floral elements, trimmed down the front with brass button and red silk ribbon pendants against a green wool band edged in dark blue silk, red and blue cloth trim on the cuffs and hemline. The 37-inch-long coat has an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. It sold for $20,400 If Native American Indian Ghost Dance items are an art form you're interest in for collecting or either buying for yourself or giving as an Indian gift, become familiar with it. Visit museums to study the various items, materials, tribal affiliations and designs. Go to art shows that showcase these Native American items. Antique shows are also a good venue - go through the booths of vendors selling these items. If they are passionate about what they have for sale, they will answer your questions. And, of course, inter-tribal powwows are excellent venues to look and ask. You can also go the The Indian Arts and Crafts Association for a listing of registered and certified Native American Artisans. Above all, anything being marketed as genuine Native American Ghost Dance regalia must legally be just that. The spirit of the law is that any artwork or craft fashioned by a Native American, the artisan must be a member of an Indian Tribe, and their membership has been verified and certified. These Native American artisans are practicing their art perhaps as a livelihood. And, through their art, they are keeping their culture, history and spirituality alive. Native American Arts has free e-books covering the subjects of Collecting and Fraudulence that are excellent! Let me know if you are interested in contacting a Native American source. I can help with historic items as well! Use my contact form and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Return from Ghost Dance to Native American Powwow
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