Wovoka, Paiute Indian, Ghost Dance
Wovoka
Born: 1854? (1856 and 1858)near Mineral County, Nevada now Esmeralda county
Died: October 4, 1932 at Walker Lake, Nevada
Wovoka a Paiute, mystic Indian, also known as Jack Wilson, who worked as a ranch hand for David Wilson after being orphaned at the age of fourteen. He had a Christian upbringing
At about the age of thirty, Wovoka began to weave together various cultural strains into the ghost dance religion. In 1870, a Paiute Indian named Tävibo prophesied that all whites would be swallowed up by the earth. Dead Paiute Indians and all others would come back to life free in a land of material wealth, spiritual renewal and immortal life
It is not known for sure but some believe Tävibo was Wovoka 's father
Wovoka in 1889, experienced a dream like state in which he saw the coming of the Indian Messiah. The Ghost Dance was a prominent part of Wovoka 's dream
One instruction portrayed in the Indian Messiah dream: The Paiute Indians were to live peacefully with the white 's till the coming of the Indian Messiah
The Ghost Dance, which Wovoka taught, spread throughout Nevada and the North Plains
The Ghost Dance religion was feared by the whites and the U.S. government as it was viewed as a method to incite the Indians to band together and rebel against the reservations
The Wounded Knee Massacre executed by the U.S. 7th Cavalry on December 29, 1890 was the method chosen to squelch the Ghost Dance
The brutal killing of Big Foot's band at Wounded Knee was wicked proof that whites were not about to vanish, and that the end of the world was not at hand
With the Ghost Dance religion dead, Wovoka a Paiute, mystic Indian lost face and lived as Jack Wilson until 1932
Indian MESSIAH LETTER press here |
