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The Ghost Dance movement looked to a millennial renewal of the land and the return of the buffalo and past ancestors. Images of stars, sun and moon figured prominently, along with the birds - who would carry the good people to the heavens to witness the floods cleanse the earth of disease and corruption. The Dance was performed as a devotion to speed the arrival of this new world. The Ghost Dance images were believed to protect from all harm - even bullets. This belief was tragically ended by the massacre at Wounded Knee, where some 340 Hunkpapa men, women and children lost their lives the morning of December 29. 1890.
The Ghost Dance Shield is made of split tanned leather over a willow hoop. A leather strap allows the shield to be flung over the shoulder or around the neck - as often worn by warriors on horseback - and an arm hold permits it to be carried, as in battle or during a dance. It also has brass bells, dark turkey tail feathers, and imitation eagle feathers.
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