Rani-Henrik Andersson’s A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country makes an invaluable addition to an already impressive literary catalog concerning the Ghost Dance. The author’s impressive contribution lies in his translation and inclusion of heretofore unpublished Lakota accounts of the Ghost Dance. Until now, no one had provided a clear and detailed picture of how the Lakotas perceived this new spiritual opportunity. The Ghost Dance’s arrival in Lakota country coincided with increased tribal division and a severe shortage of food, both products of American colonialism. These shaped how the Ghost Dance was perceived by a divided Lakota population. At that time, the Lakotas had diverse strategies and opinions of how to plan for life under American domination. What Andersson’s translations reveal is that for the Lakotas, the Ghost Dance’s appeal crossed “progressive” and “nonprogressive” boundaries. Ultimately, the Ghost Dance provided an alternative strategy, or option, to life under American domination and...
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July 1, 2020
Issue Editors
Book Review|
July 01 2020
A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country: Lakota Voices of the Ghost Dance
A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country: Lakota Voices of the Ghost Dance
. Edited by Andersson, Rani-Henrik, foreword by DeMallie, Raymond J.. (Norman
: University of Oklahoma Press
, 2018
. xv + 416 pp., introduction, illustrations, acknowledgments, appendix, bibliography, afterword, index. $39.95 cloth.)Ethnohistory (2020) 67 (3): 527–528.
Citation
Jeffrey D. Means; A Whirlwind Passed through Our Country: Lakota Voices of the Ghost Dance. Ethnohistory 1 July 2020; 67 (3): 527–528. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00141801-8266598
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