Who performed in ghost dances?

Answer 1

The Ghost Dance started with the Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka. Some historians believe the dance started before that and that Wovoka elevated it to a religious movement. By 1889, conditions on the reservations had deteriorated to such a degree that the Ghost Dance, if properly performed, would bring back the spirits of the dead to help the people fight their enemies. Although, as with all American Indian ceremonies, the Ghost Dance was banned, it spread as an underground movement throughout the west. As the dance spread and hope within the Indian nations grew, other tribes took portions of the dance and incorporated their own spiritual beliefs and traditions.