ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ghost Dance

The Ghost Dance was a dance that some Native American tribes in America believed could bring back the spirits of their ancestors and return their lands to them. They thought that if they all danced together and believed really hard, their ancestors would hear them and come back to help them.

The dance was started by a man named Wovoka, who was a member of the Paiute tribe. He had a vision in which he saw the spirits of the dead coming back to life, and they told him he needed to share this message with his people.

The dance itself involved the tribe members holding hands and moving in a circle, while singing and chanting. Some people wore special clothes or painted their faces in special ways for the dance.

The Ghost Dance became popular among many different tribes, and some even believed that it could make them invincible to bullets. This wasn't true, though, and unfortunately, the dance was associated with a lot of violence and conflict between the Native Americans and the American government.

In 1890, the US government banned the Ghost Dance, believing it was a threat to their authority over the Native Americans. This led to the tragic events at Wounded Knee, where more than 200 men, women, and children were killed.

Even though the Ghost Dance is no longer widely practiced, it remains an important part of the history and culture of many Native American tribes today.