A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country: Lakota Voices of the Ghost Dance

Abstract

Rani-Henrik Andersson’s A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country makes an invaluable addition to an already impressive literary catalog concerning the Ghost Dance. The author’s impressive contribution lies in his translation and inclusion of heretofore unpublished Lakota accounts of the Ghost Dance. Until now, no one had provided a clear and detailed picture of how the Lakotas perceived this new spiritual opportunity. The Ghost Dance’s arrival in Lakota country coincided with increased tribal division and a severe shortage of food, both products of American colonialism. These shaped how the Ghost Dance was perceived by a divided Lakota population. At that time, the Lakotas had diverse strategies and opinions of how to plan for life under American domination. What Andersson’s translations reveal is that for the Lakotas, the Ghost Dance’s appeal crossed “progressive” and “nonprogressive” boundaries. Ultimately, the Ghost Dance provided an alternative strategy, or option, to life under American domination and the institutional controls of forced assimilation. Rather than the last gasp of a primitive people hoping to remain in the past, the Ghost Dance promised a brighter future and a better way of life.The author divides his study into four parts, each examining the perspective of a different segment of Lakota society. Part 1, “We the Tribe of Indians, Are the Ones Who Are Living a Sacred Life,” looks at accounts of those Lakotas who participated in the Ghost Dance. These include descriptions of the ceremony itself and the progression of events during Lakota involvement with the Ghost Dance. Part 2, “We Did Not Think We Were Doing Any Harm by Dancing Our Religious Dances,” provides the larger context of Lakota life under American colonization, and gives insights into what made the dance attractive to so many Lakotas. It does so by examining statements from those who tried Ghost Dancing, but eventually left the movement. Part 3, “They See Their Relatives Who Died Long Before,” gives accounts from those who did not participate in the dance, but who witnessed its events. This includes biracial Lakotas and white husbands of Lakota women who lived on the reservation. Part 4, “The Lie of the Messiah,” looks at the perspective of “progressive” Lakotas. This includes white-educated and Christian Lakotas from many walks of life, such as two brief letters from George W. Means to Captain Richard Henry Pratt at Carlisle Indian Industrial School, which I found personally enlightening.While the introduction and afterword are the only narratives concerning the Lakota experience with the Ghost Dance, the author provides commentary for each translated entry so the reader can engage more effectively with each Lakota’s statement or document. These new sources provide historians vitally important new insights into the Lakota worldview about the Ghost Dance, and into the factors that shaped individual choices regarding participation in what was at the time a promising new spiritual movement. While this is not a book written for a popular audience, it will be of great interest to any scholar of indigenous ways of knowing, culture, and Lakota history. Moreover, by presenting the Lakotas’ own words regarding the Ghost Dance, this book is an excellent source for any ethnohistorian looking to provide a Native perspective, or a theoretician of settler colonialism. And while A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country was not explicitly written for a broader audience, the stories told by Lakota witnesses to this seminal event are engaging and informative, a true joy for anyone interested in the topic.