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Why did the Ghost Dance contribute to fears that led to the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890?

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A dancer in a bright pink shawl with fringe, wearing traditional regalia adorned with blue and black accents, performs at an outdoor cultural event. — Native American November is the traditional time of harvest, gathering, and celebration in Native communities.

The Ghost Dance movement contributed to the fears leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre because U.S. government officials misinterpreted the religious practice as a militant uprising.123

While the movement was a peaceful, messianic religion that promised the return of traditional lands and ancestors, it emerged during a period of extreme hardship for the Lakota, who were suffering from starvation, disease, and the forced loss of their culture. Some government agents, such as Daniel F. Royer at the Pine Ridge Agency, viewed the dance as a direct threat to federal authority and the government's efforts to assimilate the Lakota.341

This fear led to aggressive government intervention, including the decision to arrest the influential leader Sitting Bull, whose death further escalated tensions. The military subsequently targeted other groups, such as the band led by Sitanka (Big Foot), out of a misplaced belief that they were hostile combatants. These mounting anxieties and the resulting military mobilization culminated in the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee, where hundreds of Lakota were killed.23451