Growing up in South Dakota, Josh Garrett-Davis knew he would leave. But as a young adult, he kept going back -- in dreams and reality and by way of books. With this beautifully written narrative about a seemingly empty but actually rich and complex place, he has reclaimed his childhood, his unusual family, and the Great Plains. Among the subjects and people that bring his Midwestern Plains to life are the destruction and resurgence of the American bison; Native American "Ghost Dancers," who attempted to ward off destruction by supernatural means; the political allegory to be found in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; and current attempts by ecologists to "rewild" the Plains, complete with cheetahs. Garrett-Davis infuses the narrative with stories of his family as well -- including his great-great-grandparents' twenty-year sojourn in Nebraska as homesteaders and his progressive Methodist cousin Ruth, a missionary in China ousted by Mao's revolution. Ghost Dances is a fluid combination of memoir and history and reportage that reminds us our roots matter.

" This is a compellingly nuanced and sophisticated study of Indian peoples as negotiators and shapers of the modern world."—Richard White, author of The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815

In this fascinating ethnohistorical case study of North American Indians, the Ghost Dance religion is the backbone for Kehoes exploration of significant aspects of American Indian life and her quest to learn why some theories become popular. In Part 1, she combines knowledge gained from her firsthand experiences living among and speaking with Indian elders with a careful analysis of historical accounts, providing a succinct yet insightful look at people, events, and institutions from the 1800s to the present. She clarifies unique and complex relationships among Indian peoples and dispels many of the false pretenses promoted by United States agencies over two centuries. In Part 2, Kehoe surveys some of the theories used to analyze the events described in Part 1, allowing readers to see how theories develop, to think critically about various perspectives, and to draw their own conclusions. Kehoes gripping presentation and analysis pave the way for just and constructive Indian-White relations.

Classic of American anthropology explores messianic cult behind Indian resistance, from Pontiac to the 1890s. Extremely detailed and thorough. Originally published in 1896 by the Bureau of American Ethnology. 38 plates, 49 other illustrations.

First published a century ago, The Ghost Dance is a unique first-hand account of a messianic movement against white subjugation that arose among Native Americans of the West and the Plains in the latter part of the 19th-century.

On the eve of his 40th birthday, Patrick Gallager, a New York documentary film producer, retreats to the mountainous river regions of Central Vermont to get away from his faltered past life to fish. In the shallows of the river, Gallagher's line catches on a submerged body.