He saw a scar on Wovoka’s wrist, but could not see his feet for the moccasins he wore. Kicking Bear went to see if this messiah had the scars of the crucifixion upon his body. Those assembled began singing and dancing until late at night. They were to return to their tribes and dance this dance for five consecutive days. He told them he would teach them to dance a dance and he wanted them to seriously perform it. Wovoka claimed he had died and visited God in heaven. He appeared to be a gentleman, quite husky, and in his early 30s. The Piautes (“Fish Eaters”) told Kicking Bear and Short Bull that Jesus Christ had returned to earth in the form of a native.Ī native appeared and spoke to the gathering. He had gone to Walker Lake Agency where hundreds of natives of different tribes had gathered to see this Messiah. Kicking Bear and his brother-in-law, Short Bull, had traveled to see and hear the “Piaute Messiah” at the Pyramid Lake, Nevada, but he was not there. He told Sitting Bull about a “Piaute Messiah” named Wovoka who had founded the religion associated with the Ghost Dance. A depiction of the Ghost Dance, by Amédée Forestier, originally published in The Illustrated London News in 1891.
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