The Cause and Effects of the Obliteration of the Lakota Ghost Dance

In the late 1800s, the Lakota people practiced the Ghost Dance. The dance served as an optimistic, sacred, religious ritual and as a prayer for peace. It was believed that the dance helped the Lakota connect with their ancestors and served as a prayer for peace. The purpose of this research was to better understand the Ghost Dance’s impact on the Lakota tribe and what it says about 19th century Lakota history. The misunderstandings between the Lakota people and the U.S. government amounted in the senseless killings of about 150 to 300 Indians at the historic Wounded Knee Massacre, which left a brutal mark on the history of Lakota and U.S. relations. The disaster all but wiped the practice of the Ghost Dance from Lakota existence. Through research methodology, the results indicate that from this catastrophic event, one can piece together the painful origins of this tragedy: lack of cultural knowledge, combative misinterpretations and misconceptions of indigenous religious practices. The effects of such destruction lead to Lakota, as well as Indian history often being told from an ignorant and opposing point of view. This past history influences present day discrepancies and current unresolved issues among races