The Ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890 : $b Fourteenth annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology, part 2.Mooney, James
Religion
The Ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890 : $b Fourteenth annual report of the Bureau of Ethnology, part 2.
Mooney, James
Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1890-1891; Ghost dance
Tenth. Some of the Indians were greatly opposed to the census which
Congress ordered should be taken. The census at Rosebud, as reported
by Special Agent Lea and confirmed by a special census taken by
Agent Wright, revealed the somewhat startling fact that rations had
been issued to Indians very largely in excess of the number actually
present, and this diminution of numbers as shown by the census
necessitated a diminution of the rations, which was based, of course,
upon the census.
Eleventh. The Messiah craze, which fostered the belief that “ghost
shirts” would be invulnerable to bullets, and that the supremacy of the
Indian race was assured, added to discontent the fervor of fanaticism
and brought those who accepted the new faith into the attitude of
sullen defiance, but defensive rather than aggressive.
Twelfth. The sudden appearance of military upon their reservation
gave rise to the wildest rumors among the Indians of danger and
disaster, which were eagerly circulated by disaffected Indians and
corroborated by exaggerated accounts in the newspapers, and these and
other influences connected with and inseparable from military movements
frightened many Indians away from their agencies into the bad lands and
largely intensified whatever spirit of opposition to the government
existed.
EX-AGENT McGILLYCUDDY’S STATEMENT
[_Letter of Dr V. T. McGillycuddy, formerly agent at Pine Ridge,
written in reply to inquiry from General L. W. Colby, commanding
Nebraska state troops during the outbreak, and dated January
15, 1891. From article on “The Sioux Indian War of 1890–91,” by
General L. W. Colby, in Transactions and Reports of the Nebraska
State Historical Society, III, 1892, pages 176–180._]
+Sir+: In answer to your inquiry of a recent date, I would state that
in my opinion to no one cause can be attributed the recent so-called
outbreak on the part of the Sioux, but rather to a combination of
causes gradually cumulative in their effect and dating back through
many years—in fact to the inauguration of our practically demonstrated
faulty Indian policy.
There can be no question but that many of the treaties, agreements, or
solemn promises made by our government with these Indians have been
broken. Many of them have been kept by us technically, but as far as
the Indian is concerned have been misunderstood by him through a lack
of proper explanation at time of signing, and hence considered by him
as broken.
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