The Lakota is a tribe that lives in the Northern plains of North America. They are often referred to the "Sioux" or "Teton". The Lakota hunted herds of buffalo in South Dakota and Minnesota, but were forced by the U.S. government to relocate to reservations after the Great Sioux War of 1877. Once the tribes were moved to reservations, they were prevented from hunting buffalo and forced to accept government food distribution. Essentially the Lakota way of life was forever changed by the US government policies.
During the fall of 1890 a spiritual movement was being preached a Pauite shaman, Wovoka. He taught that if the Lakota wore "ghost shirts" they would be protected from the military bullets. Part of his prophecy was that the dead would join the living, new soil would cover the earth, bury the whites, and restore the prairie. To make the prophesy come sooner, he believed that the tribesmen and women should perform the Ghost Dance. Most dancers wore brightly colored shirts that had images of eagles and buffaloes. They gave hope to the Lakota people. The Ghost Dance spread through the Sioux villages of the Dakota reservations. The dance stirred fear in the white people because they didn't understand the dance, the religious meaning, and worried that it would cause an uprising.
During the fall of 1890 a spiritual movement was being preached a Pauite shaman, Wovoka. He taught that if the Lakota wore "ghost shirts" they would be protected from the military bullets. Part of his prophecy was that the dead would join the living, new soil would cover the earth, bury the whites, and restore the prairie. To make the prophesy come sooner, he believed that the tribesmen and women should perform the Ghost Dance. Most dancers wore brightly colored shirts that had images of eagles and buffaloes. They gave hope to the Lakota people. The Ghost Dance spread through the Sioux villages of the Dakota reservations. The dance stirred fear in the white people because they didn't understand the dance, the religious meaning, and worried that it would cause an uprising.