Famous but little known people of the Great Basin should be recognized here. Wovoka was a Northern Paiute who lived in the area near Yearington, Nevada. He was also known by the name Jack Wilson. His father was a Paiute medicine man and during the late 1880s Wovoka began to develop a ritual called the Ghost Dance. In desperation, tribes from all over the United States came to Wovoka to learn this dance and many believed that wearing the Ghost Dance shirt made them invincible, though Wovoka never said that. Among these were the Lakota Sioux from South Dakota. When they returned home they began using the Ghost Dance causing fear among the settlers and military in the region. Fearing an uprising, the military attempted to ban the Ghost Dance and the result was the Wounded Knee Massacre in late December, 1890. Who knew there was such a direct connection between The Great Basin and Wounded Knee. For a more in depth historical outline see: encyclopedia/topic/Wovoka.aspx The final resting place is on the Walker River Paiute Indian Reservation in the cemetery located in Schurz, Nevada. If you visit, please be respectful as you would be in any cemetery.
Posted on: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 16:21:07 +0000
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