Ghost dance religion was created by Paiutes around 1869 Woudsiewa had visions that depicted the restoration of the Turtle Island. Elements of this indicated the removal of settlers from the continent. Woudsiewab died around 1872. In 1879 A Paiute, Wovoka had simular visions. These visions include the land being restored to natives. He also prohpesied the return of the buffalo and that ancestors passed would come back. Leaders of the Ghost Dance movement sent out letters to other leaders explaining the dance and asking them to join in. Members of the Ghost Dance movement had Ghost Shirts that were supposed to protect the wearers from bullets. These shirts are yellow and blue. I remember seeing one on display in Rapid City one year when i was on my way to Wounded Knee for a resistance celebration with members of the warrior societies and others. I had some time to kill since the snow was deep and i was waiting for a ride out to the Knee. Itook this time to admire the Ghist Dance Shirt. I probably stood there and looked at it for 40 min. I knew i may never see one again. I did however see one again. It was worn by a Blackfeet Holy Man who helped me begin a resistance effort among the Paiute and Shoshone in later years. I.S.R use blue and yellow for our group colors. This is to honor the Ghost Dancers. All of our ceremonies were outlawed for 100 years from around 1878 to 1978 with the passing of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. This law is still not being enforced and it is my opinion it will never be enforced except by the original peoples themselves in an effort spearheaded by the warrior societies. The Ghost Dance spread to the Lakota who were more militant probably because of their proximity to settlers. This scared the settlers who called to disarm the Ghost Dancers but the Ghost Dancers had few weapons since they were a spiritual bunch. They had gathered to dance for 5 days at a time. The U.S still attacked them just days after their so called holy day of Christmas. The. U.S claims to be born out of persuit of religious freedoms but tests howlitzer machine guns with exploding shrapnel not yet approved for use against other colonial armies on our unarmed spiritual people. Dakota have been listed as insurgent by the u.s for hundreds of years but we know who the real terrorists are; its the most violent empire on the planet. When teaching on this i always include a quote.
“Decolonization is always a violent act”.
Frantz Fanon
All we have to do is decolonize and they will try to kill us every time. When i see Bigfoot and his band lying frozen in the snow it reminds me of the wolf slaughter by settlers. What happens to wolf happens to humankind.
Furthermore, there is much talk these days about gun control. We know what happens when they disarm us and Wounded Knee is a perfect example. We aren’t interested in the liberal view of gun control. We understand that broomsticks are a curse to our continent and if we don’t also have the boomstick we fall victim to those who do. It is abundantly clear that the colonist has come wearing the face of death described in the 7th fire prophecy. Our visionary Sitting Bull was killed with a boomstick. It was Hitler who said he was inspired partly by the uneven combat of the u.s against the natives. We understand not to let them leverage this advantage to the best of our capabilities. They speak of gun control but never to the colonist or the slave catcher only to the oppressed. They speak of gun control we see 200 of our holy people massacred. Revolution is a science and were keeping note. We also take this time to call out sellouts amongst us who may work at the B.I.A. This is the same B.I.A who had Sitting Bull killed. Your sellouts amongst us need to get on the right side of history and find a way to redeem your and your family’s name. The Ghost Dance spread to many nations. The restoration of indigenous religions is an essential part of the restoration of Turtle Island. Somewhere the ghost dancers are still dancing. Ive kept a small picture of Chief Bigfoot all these years i hung on to it even thru my homelessness. Ive spent both time in Standing Rock where my great grandmother is from and Wounded Knee and I’ve felt the energy of these places still remaining today. Sitting Bulls Warrior Society still exists.
Written By: The Invisible Warrior
Illahee Spirit Runners 