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Why did the Ghost Dance appeal to Oceti Sakowin people living on reservations?

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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 held profound appeal for the Oceti Sakowin because it offered a spiritual vision of hope and restoration during a period of extreme suffering and systemic oppression on reservations.12

By 1890, the Oceti Sakowin were facing dire conditions:
* Severe Deprivation: Game animals had largely disappeared, and the people frequently lived on the verge of starvation.2
* Broken Promises: Treaty-guaranteed supplies and annuities were often stolen by corrupt government officials.2
* Cultural Erasure: The movement promised the return of traditional ways of life, the restoration of buffalo herds, and the reunion with deceased loved ones.32
* Millennial Hope: The religion prophesied the disappearance of European settlers and the restoration of Native American lands, providing a powerful sense of agency to a people whose autonomy had been stripped away by confinement.12

While the U.S. government viewed the movement as a threat to its authority and attempted to suppress it, the Ghost Dance served as a desperate, non-violent attempt to revitalize a culture under siege.12