Wovoka and the Ghost Dance

Abstract

Hittman's book should be read by every student of the Ghost Dance revival and by all those interested in bringing tribal history into discourse with conventional history in such a way that Indian voices and visions may be heard...Imaginative in its presentation and essential in its information.--American Indian Quarterly. By interviewing members of Wovoka's family and others who knew him, Hittman has secured some valuable information...[He] offers a wealth of material concerning Wovoka's descent, family and relations, and personal development through the years...[T]his is an ambitious work with much valuable documentation.--Ethnohistory. 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. The Ghost Dance phenomenon is well known, but 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 life. 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.