The Spirit Dance

The Spirit Dance is a modern version of the old Ghost Dance of the late 1800’s with some changes in form, song, and prayers including the name.

It would be impossible to make it like the old Ghost dance simply for reasons of familiarity as we have accounts of it in books but no one alive today really knows or have been there to give us directives on the dance itself. The dance was snuffed out as quickly as it rose with some unsavory elements that many Indians whose grand parents may have been involved do not discuss much about the dance, (ex. Wounded Knee Massacre).

Changes were needed the old Ghost Dance was tainted with a desperate mood and a different set of circumstances unlike our times but no less critical as will be explained further on.

The Ghost Dance has inspired many Native Americans, Wovoka, a Paiute Medicine Man and his father were the ones to bring it more to the Native American tribes during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s as well.

It’s believed that doing this in the right way will bring about powerful results like a new way of life or bring back the old ways again like the buffalo returns and the free life of the land. Purportedly, you can contact a deceased loved one or relative in the protective seal of the ceremony or create a sort of medium where the those who have passed over and the living can meet even crossing over to the other side and back. The Ghost shirts used in the ceremony were reportedly immune to the white mans bullets. During the time when many Native Americans lost their love ones in war with the U. S. this made the Ghost Dance most appealing and powerful ally but with a disastrous outcome.

The reasons for such a bad outcome among the plains Indians was the misinformation of the shirts being impervious to bullets and the speculation of the prayers recited in songs. One in general was the prayer of, “the disappearance of the white man and his ways and bringing back the old way of life”. To understand why this prayer was used is to know the desperate times they were in, that the plains Indians had just come off of war with the U.S. lost many relatives and loved ones, put on reservations, not to mention losing their way of life.

Hopefully we have learned not to pray in such a manner for it is our understanding that such things are not in our power to do or pray for and left for a greater scheme beyond our comprehension to unfold.

This brings us to the present day in which all people not just the Native Americans whose existence and life is in jeopardy realize the need to come together make change and create a new way of life by praying and dancing it into existence is at our disposal provided we do it with true intentions. We are in critical times now with war looming over us, the threat of terrorism at our doorstep, natural disasters from hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Even global warming adds to this while disease like the flu will hold our interest not to mention a threat from the sky in the form of a meteor is likely to hit the earth with reverberating force.

We need to look at what is going on here and are we up to the challenge or have we just become to apathetic to care?

The Ghost Dance vision has been brought into play again through the Spirit Dance for the time is now for all peoples to begin to dance, pray, and heal their hearts. Look through the eyes of a child for they are the meek. Time to recognize we are all children on this Great Grand Mother we call earth and understand our connection and relation to all things on her. It is believed and as crazy as it may sound to do this as some of the old ones (the ones that did the old Ghost Dance) believed could alter if not bring about a change. Perhaps not in the same dramatic fashion that the old ones believed it could but nothing comes that easy either another lesson still learning.

We invite you to share with us your thoughts and prayers in ceremony.
We welcome all no matter what faith you are or race this is not a religion just a way.

After we have done ceremony everyone goes back to being who they are it is their right whether they are Catholic, Buddhist, or Christian we respect all paths and hope for forgiveness and the letting go of all wrongs and be with your brother and sister in a great ceremony for the future of our kind.

Our time is short here let us all come together in one big ceremony for life.

Kam Night Chase