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How did the Ghost Dance movement spread among the Oceti Sakowin?

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A Cheyenne River Sioux dancer in colorful traditional regalia performs during the Grand Entry at a powwow, with an American flag and other participants in the background. — Oceti Sakowin A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe performing during the Grand Entry at the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Fair Rodeo and Powwow, Eagle Butte, South Dakota, September 4, 2016.

The Ghost Dance movement reached the Oceti Sakowin (Sioux) in early 1890, spreading rapidly as a message of hope during a period of extreme hardship. Confined to reservations, the Oceti Sakowin faced severe poverty, starvation, and the loss of their traditional food sources, making the movement’s promise of a restored lifestyle, the return of the buffalo, and the reunion with ancestors deeply appealing.12

While the movement was founded by the Northern Paiute prophet Wovoka, who preached a message of peace and moral conduct, his teachings were interpreted differently by some among the Oceti Sakowin. Many, particularly within the Lakota tribe, adopted the movement with a more militant perspective, viewing it as a promise of liberation from American colonial control.31

The U.S. government, fearing the movement threatened its authority and efforts to assimilate the Oceti Sakowin, responded with hostility. This tension led to the death of Sitting Bull and culminated in the Wounded Knee Massacre, where U.S. troops killed hundreds of Lakota men, women, and children.1243