A New History of the Ghost Dance

FAIN: FEL-288787-23

Jennifer Graber
University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX 78712-0100)

Research and writing leading to a book on the history and cultural influence of the Ghost Dance (1870s – 1970s).

In 1890, Native Americans danced to renew their world. They experienced visions of massive buffalo herds, deceased relatives, supernatural beings, and bright futures. Euro-Americans called it the “Ghost Dance” and focused on the movement’s potential to delay Native people’s transition to “modern” life. Many contemporary historians share this approach, differentiating primitive and hostile dancers from forward-thinking, accommodating ones. In contrast, my book centers Native people by way of four departures from earlier work. I expand the cast of Native actors, push the historical timeline backward and forward, rely primarily on Native sources, and structure the narrative around key themes in Indigenous Studies, including kinship, land, and sovereignty. In sum, I portray a pan-Indian ritual movement to save a beloved and threatened world, an effort that resonates with contemporary Native activism to improve tribal life, defend sovereignty, and protest environmental degradation.