essay

The Cherokee Ghost Dance movement of 1811-1813

Cherokee ghost dance : essays on the Southeastern Indians, 1789-1861[Macon, Ga.] • Published In 1984 • Pages: 111-151

By: McLoughlin, William Gerald, Conser, Walter H., McLoughlin, Virginia Duffy.

Abstract
This essay attempts to coordinate the few documentary accounts that are available concerning the Cherokee movement known as the 'Ghost Dance' and to match them with models that A .F .C. Wallace, Peter Worsley, and Kenelm Burridge have devised to delineate such movements. The accounts presented here vary greatly both in their details and in the interpretations they place on the movement. Although the Cherokee Ghost Dance movement was clearly a traditionalist revival resulting from the grave psychosocial stress of the years 1789-1810, it can also be seen as a celebration of the Cherokee victory over the efforts to remove them from their homeland in 1808-1810. From this victory they achieved a new sense of unity and national pride. In addition the rumors of war in the West, natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and the wondrous sign of the comet of 1811, all contributed to this many-sided movement (pp. 111-112).
Subjects
Acculturation and culture contact
Sociocultural trends
Political movements
Revelation and divination
Prophets and ascetics
Missions
culture
Cherokee
HRAF PubDate
2000
Region
North America
Sub Region
Eastern Woodlands
Document Type
essay
Evaluation
Creator Type
Historian
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
John Beierle ; 2006
Field Date
no date
Coverage Date
1811-1813
Coverage Place
North Carolina, United States
Notes
by William G. McLoughlin with Walter H. Conser, Jr. and Virginia Duffy McLoughlin
Includes bibliographical references
LCCN
84014880
LCSH
Cherokee Indians