The Ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890 : $b Fourteenth annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology, part 2.

This volume delivers a vivid snapshot of the Plains peoples as they faced profound change in the early 1890s. Drawing on the Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, it compiles official testimonies, soldiers’ statements, and first‑hand accounts from Sioux leaders, missionaries, and ethnographers. Interwoven with the report are transcribed songs, prayers, and descriptions of the Ghost‑dance ceremony, letting listeners hear the rhythm and meaning that animated the movement.

The material traces how a hopeful, pan‑tribal prophecy spread from the Nevada desert to the Sioux reservations, inspiring gatherings, fasting, and trance‑like dances. Readers hear the urgency in voices pleading for food, peace, and the return of lost ancestors, as well as the skeptical perspectives of government officials trying to assess the unrest. By the end of the first act, the groundwork is laid for the dramatic confrontation that would soon follow, offering a rich, human‑scaled portrait of belief, survival, and cultural clash.