Evidence Analysis: The Significance and Survival of Indigenous Dance Rituals
While conducting online research about different kinds of Indigenous North American dance rituals, I came across a video about the ghost dance movement of the nineteenth century. Originating in California, the ghost dance was a ritual in which tribes would dance in a circular formation while leaders sang and beat drums, which quickly spread across the continent. Performing this ritual was believed to call upon ancestors to help restore North America to the plentiful and free place it had been before European colonization. The thought of Native peoples performing this ritual frightened colonizers, and as a result hundreds of men, women and children of the Lakota tribe were massacred by the American government for assembling to perform the dance.
The information learned from watching this video is very relevant to my big idea project, as the ghost dance was not only a dance but also a political movement. It was a movement which showcased the strong spirit of the Native peoples of North America which can still be seen today, even after centuries of enduring cultural genocide. I have never researched this form of dance before, so when I discovered the deaths that occurred as a result of this movement I was absolutely disgusted. Learning about the ghost dance can make one imagine the desperation that Indigenous North Americans must have felt to create such a prayerful dance. The Ghost dance is
evidence that art has the power to evoke change and inspire thousands. Its significance is also a reflection of the violent and genocidal history of North America. The ghost dance movement was one in which hundreds would gather to defend and preserve Indigenous cultures against the oppression of the white government.
For my big idea project I am looking to compare the significance of Indigenous dance rituals to those of other cultures. The significance of the ghost dance movement can resemble the American civil rights movement of the twentieth century, in which thousands of African- Americans marched in Washington to defend themselves against anti-black policies set in place by government. Unfortunately, the ghost dance movement did not have the same success as the civil rights movement. This comparison can lead to the greater question of why Indigenous movements and injustices have historically been given far less attention than those of other cultures. The act of physically performing the ghost dance can also lead to the question of why expressing one’s self through dance has also been feared historically (the ghost dance in the1800s, rock ’n roll in the 1960s, Hip-hop dance in the early 2000s).
video: Johnfitzpos2041. “Ghost Dance.” YouTube. YouTube, 02 Sept. 2015. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
