L iterature
p a rtic u la rly o rig in al S everal th< isand m en. » o m e n ,
and ch ildren of various color« and n a tio n a litie s were
killed in a s ta rtlin g num ber o f creative ways, and in
th e end th e In d ia n nations th at had ruled th e plain«
and m oun tain« for a thousand year« had Iveen deci
m ated T h e G host D ance W ar was the laat fu rio us
struggle uf I he N a tiv e A m erican against th e colonu
mg w hite«, an d w hen It was over the tribes were
only m em o nea, S e v e r to retu rn
l m no« an In d ia n I'm a doctor, horn and raised in
New York C ity I w rite th is account of the Ghost
Dance W ar because I have a patient who waa in th a t
w ar Ilia nam e is Red S h irt lie s uf in d e te rm in a te
age. although my prnfeaainnal opinion puts him
somewhere in hla e a rly ;*>• H e t as health y aa he
ra n h r for a m an of such advanced year». h it only
real m edical problem i t a r th ritis in the ya n ta M y
in itia l rs a m in a tio n o f h im revealed a hearty in d ivid
u a l in all respects, w ith th e esreption of hla semes
o f touch and taste He's lost hoth. although his hear
mg. sight, and sense of sm ell are a ll rem a rk a b ly
keen
I firs t m et Red S h irt when he appeared at mv
office in th e sp rin g of 1 M 2 H e rnrnplam ed of joint
pa in , especially in his knees and an kles I did a fu ll
physical w o rk u p and discovered his u n usual sensory
d e p riv a tio n , for which he at firs t provided no n p ls
n atio n It w asn't u n til later du rin g his series of
Weekly rh e rk u p s th a t he esplam ed m a tte rs to me
and it i t th is story
the story of the Ghoat Da nee
W ar
which lead« me to com m it the account to
paper
T h e Ghoat D ance W ar waa an end w ith m any
beginning«, an d m any a la i r is w rapped up in the
tu m u ltu o u s tu r n of events which e v e n tu a lly erased
a whole n a tiv e people Red S h irt tells me the war
had no official leaders, no official prophets, none of
th e usual b u re au c ra tic or pnpuhat generation th at
often arc. on pa mew or propels civil u n real Instead
th e w ar le g a n at a visionary level and spread
alm ost w ordlessly th ro ug hou t the western I'm te d
S late s spreading ‘ lik e dust on w ind, like loneliness
through w idows, lik e da w n through tree«.* as Red
S h irt say«
I know lit tle o f the politics of the west I'm a
surgeon and a physician, aa I've said, and I've
alw ays Iveen m ore concerned w ith run flir t at the
m icrobial level I have never m astered th e m tn
canes of politic». preferrin g Instead to .teal w ith
con flir t on th e v«ry personal fro n tiers of my
p a tien ts Fur year« I avoided even a cursory read
m g o f new spapers, and although c e rta in mem
tiers of m y fa m ily c n tir u e d me for m y c iv il apa
thy. I found m ore fu lfillm e n t in cu rin g gout and
whooping cough th an I did in listen ing to street
co m e r hara n g u e« from blustering ch arlata n s
Red S h ir t changed aN th a t I learned from him
th a t th e pruress We . sly pu*«l 1 • is s coal f many
rotors. and some of ll w^egl .rs are hhaid red I
learn ed th a t tw in g y c iliijj,u i« ld > e a the aw fu l
resp onsibility of m ayirto » • * J ^ p r w m patru da
*
w» W . ' V '
ih. 9 1 • - ♦ « pA
and colleagues adh
t M strictures of
ou r collective gudi • i '« v ’y V 1* 1
• ■• the
laat and g reatest wea
our Ilve»
iri a d re a m . going throng1
m otiona of
sleep, w o rk, and love aa i
» a » ^ .p |« -t» rare
fu lly s tru n g from th e t w i n ’
7 an d aa i
d re a m , people die I r a n i
iflljt). and
only a fool w ould try, or wee
« V Ì1C ¡ - h i t
try Hut ja-rhapa I t • ild have I v r j scans of the
dead, and th e ir voices i a ll to
I 00 ths W nil. O il
d a rk nights w h en I'm too tire d
visions of th e past
lb »
1 ov 1 i l l l» g ^ n as an
eager Imy. grew to m anhood. started a fitpuly. was
cast in to a fifty year w a r w ith a new W d *
becam e a prop het w rapped in rags and skins, and
now tie's an a r th ritic old m an w o rking at th e local
lib ra ry, kn ow n locally o n ly for his udd sensory
d e p riv a tio n Those are th e facts o f h it life w h at
do th ey te ll you'*
Ito th ey h in t at the red ocean o f lig ht he awam
th ro u g h as a boy* H e tells me th a t he was boro in
a villa g e r a ile d G oat H a u n t, which perched at the
confluence o f th re e sm all n v e r» This m eeting of
th e w ater« provided a rich h u nting and fishing
grounds for Red S h irt s fa th e r and uncles, who
settled w ith th e ir fa m ilies and eite n d e d fam ilies,
an d a sh am an , and b u ilt a village on a th ic k ly
wouded h ill am id th e w aters
Facta in and of them selves are prosaic. not
poetic W hen I say th a t Red S h irt m a rrie d his
th ird cousin once removed, does th a t h in t at th e
ta ll, te rrifie d hoy who, he art in m outh, w en t to
propose m arriag e one w in te r m o rn in g ’ D ora the
fact of th e ir m arriag e revea l th e le n d e r sm ile of
his 16 year old b rid e ’
A ctually, I th in k , it s th e moat offhand facta
th a t reveal th e tr u th 'W e had th re e sons.’ Red
S h irt tells me in ray office, as he sits th e re on the
es am im n g ta b le w ith o u t hla s h irt ‘ tin e d i e d 'lle
looks out the w indow in to 1952 and area 1MM2.
the vear h r had to Ash hia lit tle hoy from the
n v e r and carry home hia tin y sodden body
M onth« la te r I sat in Red S h ir t ’« kitchen and
touched the tin y b u ckskin a h irt th a t his «on had
worn th a t day. an d th e sh ark o f a lost «on aud
denly twvraine c le ar to me
*1 h u n ted , I fished, I stole horses from my
rouaina,* aaya Red S h irt "Then we began to fight
the w h ile s * H e never aaya m uch about these hat
ties, but I u n d e rs ta n d th e re a a whole docum ent
ed histo ry and lite ra tu r e devoted to th e "In d ia n
W arn ’ I u n d e rs ta n d fu rth e r th a t th e history
law ks are fille d m ostly w ith th e courage of the
w h ite soldiers an d the savagery of the red
I cannot condone or es p lain aw ay th a t aav
agery. nor w ill I try Some of th e atones th a t Red
S h irt has told m e have lite ra lly te rrifie d me
reve a lin g as th ey do the oft u n im ag in ab le «sten t
o f h u m a n violence Yet I believe both aides fought
«equally savagely in those wars, and both «idea
suffered enorm ously, and havur waa visited upon
lh » In d ian a in la rg e r and bloodier doors. it aeema.
th a n they brought upon others
T h e end resu lt, p rrh ap a. tall« the real story of
those w ar» m ore accurately th a n any history
boob w ill T h e m u te testim on y o f vanished races
th a t once hu n ted th e plains and forests, the
silenced cnea o f new born In d ia n babes the disap
pearance of th e fa m ilies an d clans th a t once pop
u lated th e w a te rw a y s , a ll these are th ing s th at
te ll in a to ng urless eloquence th e fin a l chapter of
the firs t A m erican race
T h a t race is no m ore T h e Ghoat Dance W ar
waa th e ir laat flu rr y of sound and fury before
silence overcam e th em Red S h irt tells me th a t
th e skirm ish es and battles and clashes and
am bushes and m assacre« w ent on for years and
years, for hund reds o f reason« and for one rea
«on because th e new people a a k rd the old to
leave, and th e old refused P erhaps the hundreds
'•V
'l l
00
< / sm all b attles were the fir»< w«rs of a ttritio n . aa
•a rh In d ia n lows bri»u<bt the e n tire rare ctoarr tn
eatinctAon
H i the la ta l»VW>» the In d ia n tn h ea were
reduced to ra<s and ta tte r« Proud brave« ate
du«t and nettle« (a survive the « in te r W om en
and ch ildren tfrrw th in , aa th in aa w ra ith a
"There »< « no wund to b u m no an im a ls to eat
rw h o rw a to nde ’ says Red S hirt “T h en th e
message r ame and I was r h ta r n to re«eive it *
The o n < in o i th a t mesaage is unclear to th ia
day Red S h irt m ain tain s th a t he « a s aum m oned
to see the Messiah and historical accounts con
cur th a t one chief from each o f th e <me or tw o
rem a in in g tribes in the West waa sent to iS r a m id
l«ahe in N eva d a to meet th e S avior W h a te v e r
tran sp ired at th e I.a k r
and acrounta d iffe r
•nldJy
the chiefs retu rn ed w ith a new message
for th e ir people and th a t m e s u g r began to
spread secretly ’,hr<»ugh the f s m jx and agerx tea
a ll over the country
• Pray. I told my people * says Red S h ir t "Sing
and dance th e ghost dance. th< most po w erfu l
dance of all It « il l bring back th e buffalo, th e
a n trlo p r the elk and th e deer It w ill b rin g back
the trees and n v er» to us ft w ill d n * f th e w h ite
men away never to re tu rn W ear the ghoat dance
shirts | told them and the b u llets ««f th e arddiera
• ill bounce harm lessly to th e gn*und Hand
together you tu bes and together we w ill w in
hack our land and *»ur h ie « Th e shirts w ill p ro
te rt us and *he dance w ill give us the fire to
defeat the enem y A ll the sick shall he healed and
w ill jo in in the Holy W ar Poes w ill be friends,
and the w orld « ’II I * restored to us
Red .Shirt • prophecy spread like w ild fire It
•lip p ed th ro ug h the te rrib le ram p « lik e w ind
going as far
.th a* Mesico w here the Yaqui
Indian s sent w*»ed th a t they would jo in th e la s t
H attie and A laska w here th e In u it prepared
them selves for war by fa stin g and p ray in g It was
carried by the chiefs A m erican llo ra e and Past
T h u n d er it was in the m outh of the fam ous chief
H a tin g H ull It spread as far east as W ashington.
I) C . w here the War I departm ent issued an edict
banning the Ghost I dance
H ut it could not he banned The dance raged in
the w estern night for a m onth, tw o m onths th ree
m onths and the various lo b e s began to m arch
tow ard sswret m eeting po int* P verv night fires
sprang up and figures danced m adly around
them , and the pure w h ite buckskin gh<«st shirts
were handed fm m m an to wom an to child P-ach
boy was given a sh irt to protect him from stray
bullets each g irl was given a short dress <>f the
•am e m a te ria l Red S h irt b t*« srd the ghost shirts
by the hundreds saving p rayers uf b a ttle and for
giveness over each H e pa in ted him self w h ite
from head to U«e to signify his p u n t « and he n*de
from cam p to cam p to o i r r w r th e m idn ight
dances and th e sh irt blessings
In ea rly I MIO the w ar fin a lly burst f<»rth W hen
it came it < am e w ith s fury un m atch ed in the
annals of the West The In d ian s attacked at Pine
Ridge at W ounded Knee at the R<»*< f»ud Agency
and at the ta ttle W h ite R i^ rr The soldier« h»re
w arned by the m onths of b u ild u p slaughtered
th e In d ian a by the dotens by the hundreds, by
l»attle sites not one
the thousands A
In d ia n was left
ch ildren were m und ed up
and shot Ir c a u
shirts
The great Holy
‘ “ »" ’
and abject fa ilu re
it was th a t Red S h irt a
natio n pa
any of the dead were
buried in
m ounds o f th e
res preti
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M im a . u | xk it v for ju stic e nak c« d c o o e n ic v
pOAAible. but man'» inclination to injustice m akes
d em oertk v nccr»w n v D icnhold Ncbuhr
ECOLA SQUARE
BOOKS
123 S Hemlock. »11 • P () Box 693
C annon Beach. OR 97110»<503) 436-0805
J______
P e o p le have o n e thin¿ in common, they are all
d iffe re n t D o b c rt Zend
anil m a n h e d i ff
hi« (b o a t ah irt went ann.n< the
| the fallen » a m o r » w ith hoth
ting the eye« of the women and
lay in heap« on the battle field s
A fter each ble«ain< he put hi« hand to hia m outh
ao aa to taste the soul of the departed A fter
about a week he lost hla sense of taate T h e re
were too m any souls In rem em ber, he aaya and
hla t.mtfue forgot th e ir names
In the same »«> he lost hia arnae of tu urh
There were too m any dead In the heaped fields
the bodies lay »trew n like m a lr h a t ir k .
Som etim e« th e arm y patrol» retu rn ed to the field
and bu ried th e dead In d ian a, aum elim ea they
didn't, and a fte r the soldier« took souvenir« the
budtM were left to the raven«
Red S h irt w andered in th e field« for m onths
Som etim es be slept among the fallen w a m o rs ,
sometimes be slept w ith his feet in runn ing
w ater for p u rifica tio n He touched everyone who
died H ia finger» bu nted and onre he tried to cut
hi» hands off in despair, but an arm y sergeant
atoppe.1 him and for some reason never reported
him to th e au th o rities
They ail died he aaya, all th e m en he gave the
shirts to. and all th e ir women, and all the t h il
dren who stared at him aa though he were a god
T h e bu llets w ent righ t through the ghost ah irt«.*
lie said *1 w alked among all the fallen and saw
the hole« from the bullets I rem em ber the red
holes in the pure w hite ahirta
*
R« il S h irt came into the office thia m ornin g for
hla reg u lar w eekly checkup H e hops on my table
w ith a s ta rtlin g spryneaa for a m an ao old H e alts
on the ta h le and stares out the window as though
he secs bodies heaped like firewood in the field»
I teat him ca refu lly to are if he s really lost hla
arose of taste H e has, be can no longer d is tin
guish among flavors H r has some d e ite n ty in
his fingers, and he can usr hts bands to g n p
th ing s but he d o a n l know w hat thosr th ing s
are unless he lia.ks at th em carefully He com
plains of « cold riumbne«« in hi» hands, and tell«
me th a t hia fingers no lunger feel fa m ilia r
Tests show some a rth ritic degeneration, but
otherw ise be « in aurp naing h e alth for such an
old man He's clear eyed and hia m em ory ia
intact He tends to s ta r* directly at hia question
ers which ia a little u n nerving hut he has devel
oped some confidence in me and answer« my
questions prom ptly
M e d n a lly, hia only real dangers are burns to
the mouth a rea and the Angers I counsel him to
slay away from fires and hot liq uid s We stare at
each other in silence "W hat do I do about the
dead be asks suddenly I m um ble a reply and
stand th ere asham ed
I don't know w hat to do about the dead
Ilie y ve gone from the e a rth never to re tu rn , and
there are more dead every day I don't know
where they go or w hat they do I don t know if
th e ir souls are healed by g rea ter doctors th a n I or
if they re left, like th e ir bodies, in aw fu l piles in
nameless fields I hope th a t we re blessed w hen
we die. and th a t an etern al m em ory rem em bers
us
The men and women and c h ild ren who died in
the tib oat D ance W ar left th ia e a rth believing in
Hed S h irt, and he »as wrong H ow he bear» th e ir
souls in his h e art I I I never know, nor can I ever
m ake it any easier for him A ll I can do is rem em -
ber them , too So I do. and I close th ia account
w ith a praver for th e ir poor souls, pierced by
Worldly bullets wrapped in th e clean w h ite ahirta
th a t brought them down P rey for th em IV a y for
me •
f t ">3 £foaa P S U fyVlEW Sa—
TURNAROUND
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e a r t h t id e
w i w n i c a i a n o c u lin a r y h e r b s
p r o d u c t s lo r
w sstln ssw w s r x j tx s ls s n c s
h e r b a lis t / m olly s tr o m b o lt / o w n e r
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'.Hope L. LH arris
Licensed Massage 'Therapist
5O3/3iS^523
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A tu p u n tlu n * — ( K i i h - m - Herby — Mavy-tgc
B o b Rice L .A c.
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( annon Besth. (HI
♦7110
4Wv 191 J
VICTOR H. PtUCY. m.A.
Counseling Pyycho»he,cipy
•ftdhrtdtxUí. Couples 6 Families
436-9725
C a n m o W QIAC.M
*»ai7Mngtoi Slot» Itcer-se
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