(I tried embedding recordings of the Ghost Dance, but was unsuccessful, so you can listen here<\/a>.2<\/sup><\/a>)<\/p>\n But naturally, when white people learned about the spread of this dance across different native groups and the meaning behind the dance, they felt threatened.<\/p>\n An article published on Oct. 28, 1890 in the Chicago Tribune, found through the American Indian Histories and Cultures database, illustrates the fear that white people were trying to stir up about the Ghost Dance. The article begins by discussing the visions that led to the dance, saying of the visions, \u201cthey promise\u2026 that the white man will be annihilated and the Indian restored to his former power and prestige\u201d. The article then goes on to describe the \u201cEvil Influences of Sitting Bull\u201d, a Lakota chief in South Dakota. The article quotes Agent James McLaughlin, a US Indian Service Agent, who says of Sitting Bull, \u201cHe is a man of low cunning, devoid of a single manly principle in his nature, or an honorable trait of character\u201d. The article also informs readers that McLaughlin sent a Lieutenant to tell Sitting Bull \u201cthat his insolence and bad behavior would not be tolerated longer and that the \u2018ghost dance\u2019 must not be continued.\u201d Sitting Bull told the Lieutenant \u201cthat he was determined to continue the ghost dance\u201d, since the Great Spirit said they must do so. McLaughlin seemed determined that he could change Sitting Bull\u2019s mind3<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n On Dec. 15th, 1890, less than two months later, when police came to put an end to the Ghost Dance ceremony, Sitting Bull disagreed and was killed. Between 150 and 300 Lakota men, women, and children who tried to escape to safety were killed in what is known now as the Wounded Knee Massacre, but referenced in many outdated history books as \u201cThe Battle of Wounded Knee\u201d. The U.S. soldiers who killed Lakota men, women, and children received the Congressional Medal of Honor4<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n All of this violence occurred over what? A dance. A dance that seems to have been effectively smothered over time, as I could not find any sources of it still being performed today.<\/p>\n What can we learn from this? We can learn to be wary of news sources which describe people or cultural practices in heightened, emotional language. We can learn to ask ourselves when we feel threatened, and why. We can learn to ask what musical practices we have suppressed in the past because they made us uncomfortable, and what musical practices we suppress today.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Footnotes<\/p>\n 1 <\/a>Hall, Stephanie. \u201cJames Mooney Recordings of American Indian Ghost Dance Songs, 1894.\u201d James Mooney Recordings of American Indian Ghost Dance Songs, 1894 | Folklife Today<\/i>, 17 Nov. 2017, https:\/\/blogs.loc.gov\/folklife\/2017\/11\/james-mooney-recordings-ghost-dance-songs\/.<\/p>\n 2 <\/a>Mooney, James, and Smithsonian Institution. Bureau Of Ethnology.\u00a0James Mooney recordings of American Indian Ghost Dance songs<\/cite>. [Washington, D.C.: E. Berliner, 1894] Audio. https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/2014655251\/.<\/p>\n 3 <\/a>Parker, Ely Samuel (1828-1895). 1828-1894.\u00a0Ely Samuel Parker scrapbooks: Vol 10<\/i>. Available through: Adam Matthew, Marlborough, American Indian Histories and Cultures, http:\/\/www.aihc.amdigital.co.uk\/Documents\/Details\/Ayer_Modern_MS_Parker_VL10 [Accessed November 01, 2021].<\/p>\n 4 <\/a>Hall, Stephanie. \u201cJames Mooney Recordings of American Indian Ghost Dance Songs, 1894.\u201d James Mooney Recordings of American Indian Ghost Dance Songs, 1894 | Folklife Today<\/i>, 17 Nov. 2017, https:\/\/blogs.loc.gov\/folklife\/2017\/11\/james-mooney-recordings-ghost-dance-songs\/.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let\u2019s talk about the Ghost Dance. The Ghost Dance began as the result of a series of visions by a Paiute elder around 1869 that the Earth would experience healing and the Paiute people would receive help. Twenty years later, … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/593\/2021\/11\/Screen-Shot-2021-11-01-at-4.13.50-PM-300x109.jpg\")
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