Ghost Dance

The ghost dance is a Native American religious practice that began in the 1880s in the southwestern United States, as many Indian tribes had been forcibly relocated and integrated there. Ghost dancing involved dancing in a circular pattern, and the use of hallucinogenic peyote cactus.

The ghost dance was an attempt to bring about renewal of native society and the decline in the influence of the white man. Though orignially nonviolent in nature, the movement ultimately attracted militant elements who favored armed conflict as a means to fight the whites.

External Links

• Erowid's brief summary of the Ghost Dance (http://www.erowid.org/plants/peyote/peyote_history1.shtml)

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Ghost Dance is John Norman's 1979 historical fiction novel wherein a Sioux man and his tradition comes in conflict with a white woman and her civilization as the Wounded Knee massacre approaches. As with the Norman's main body of work, "The Chronicles of Gor," Norman displays both philosophical reaction and an affinity with incorporating historical events with the actions of fictional characters.