The Ghost Dance
Reclaiming Spiritual Roots: How Indigenous Wisdom and the Ghost Dance Movement Offer Healing and Unity for All Peoples.
Chapter Ten
Ghost Dance
Although the history of the indigenous has been mournful in the
past few hundred years, the events have been arranged for a
magnificent lesson. Those in sync with the wise grandmothers who
have remained close to the Earth Mother, Sky Father, Great Sun,
Spirits of the Water, Flora and Fauna, have been prepared to reveal
truths to those seeking answers regarding their spiritual origins and
a solution to the now tedious old paradigm of war. Robbie
Robertson and Jim Wilson express the solution in the lyrics of
their song, "Ghost Dance.”
Listen to the music here: youtube.com/watch?v=zwAQIao60Aw
You can kill my body, you can damn my soul
For not believing in your god and some world down below…
(chorus)
You don't stand a chance against my prayers.
You don't stand a chance against my love.
They outlawed the ghost dance…
But we shall live again...we shall live again.
My sister above, she has red paint
She died at Wounded Knee, like a latter day saint.
You got the big drum in the distance, blackbird in
the sky
That's the sound that you hear, when the buffalo cry.
(chorus)
Crazy Horse was a mystic; he knew the secret of the trance
And Sitting Bull, the great apostle of the Ghost Dance
Come on Comanche, come on Blackfoot, come on Shoshone,
Come on Cheyenne,
We shall live again…
Come on Arapaho, come on Cherokee, Come on Paiute,
Come on Sioux……..
We shall live again!
The concept of sending love and prayers out to those who have
persecuted and oppressed indigenous people is familiar to their
spiritual practices, in the old ways of the grandmothers. Much
misinformation has been taught in educational institutions
regarding the unity of first nation's peoples and of their savagery.
Their strength was in their ceremonies and beliefs. This is what
must be mended for them to regain their self respect. The words of
the Sioux Ghost Dance Song could be translated as follows:
The whole world is coming!
A nation is coming! A nation is coming! The eagle has brought the
message to the tribe.
The father says so, the father says so.
Over the whole earth they are coming!
The buffalo are coming, the buffalo are coming!
The crow has brought the message to the tribe.
The father says so, the father says so.
Many Caucasians and other races have become acutely interested
in the spiritual practices and ceremonies of the ancient indigenous
natives of the Americas. This is a sign that they are inherently
aware that true knowledge is acquired through the spiritual and
emotional bodies. The mind always works in conjunction with the
heart, spiritual and physical can not be separated in humanity.
The Earth Mother seeks balance and calls out to the indigenous
roots of all mankind to retrace the paths of the ancients to gain
healing. This applies to the individual's body as well. All healing
begins with one's self and extends outward.
Self determination, courage and a positive attitude towards all
creation brings liberation and unification. There is a true commonality
of all beings on the planet, of all species.
The ideology of all indigenous peoples has the common thread of
spirituality immersed in nature. There is no division of energies
when it comes to life, all is alive and a part of Creator.
The divisions between people and their connections to the Earth
Mother have been used as a "Divide and conquer" strategy for
those who wish to exploit all things to gain monetary wealth or
dominion of all they perceive in the material world.
Animosities and accusations are of no benefit, but to retrace the
footsteps of the conquest of indigenous peoples is necessary to
assist them in understanding the past. This is the road towards self
determination, self respect and liberation.
Fear tactics and war have been used far too frequently and far too
successfully in the past. It has not produced positive results in
mankind.
Because of the lack of empathy and understanding to the ways of
the natives, the Caucasians response was fear. In the moon of the
black cherries, the Sioux warrior, Kicking Bear, brought the news
of the Ghost Dance from the Paiute elder, Wovoka. This jubilant
dance spread across the badlands uniting tribes, rejoicing in
Creator's gifts and promises. When the Caucasians learned of this
dance their response was to outlaw it. The natives ignored their
directive so they took further measures. On December 29, 1890,
the cavalry massacred 300 unarmed Sioux, mostly women and
children, at Wounded Knee.
Hate and fear beget more of the same. "You don't stand a chance
against my prayers; you don't stand a chance against my love."
The only appropriate response to native youth losing their self
respect is to empower them with the spiritual beliefs of their ancestors,
return them to balance. This is not to say that those who hold other
religious and philosophical beliefs should diminish them, but that
the cohesion of all belief systems would bring them back to their
core strengths. Belief systems must remain in flux, growing and
expanding. Once mankind has regained more balance and self
respect it will approach education in a courageous way, as it will
all aspects of life.
When spirituality is removed from educational systems, indigenous
students and other individuals lose interest quickly. They are
sustained by gaining knowledge the way their ancestors did,
through hearing the spiritual wisdom of their elders. All tales told
by the older members of the tribes had spiritual and moral lessons.
Bringing elders into educational settings, regardless of their lack of
formal education or certifications, would quickly dissipate the
barricades of indifference with indigenous youth. Continued
interactions between elders like the wise grandmothers, and
youngsters would solidify the knowledge and bridge the gap
between generations that has left society without roots.
