Ghost Dancers

Film-maker JoAnne Peden examines the life and legacy of Wovoka (aka Jack Wilson, 1856-1932), the Northern Paiute religious leader who founded the second episode of the Ghost Dance Movement. The Ghost Dance swept across Native American populations in the West in the late 19th century. It was a messianic movement that unfortunately resulted in tragedy at a place called Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. At Wounded Knee, the 7th Cavalry under the command of Col. James W. Forsyth massacred a group of Lakota men, women, and children, while attempting to disarm them. The Lakota were Ghost Dancers, and were seeking safety along with their leader, Chief Spotted Elk (aka "Big Foot"). Spotted Elk and about 300 of his people were slain on December 29, 1890 in what is now known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. In the second half of Peden's film, she follows along on the Big Foot Memorial Ride, which the Lakota participate in every winter to honor those who died at Wounded Knee.