Wovoka Miniature

Wovoka, a Paiute Medicine Man, or Shaman, was extremely influential among the Plains Indians.

Around the mid-1800s he successfully predicted a solar eclipse and created the Ghost Dance as a means of peacefully strengthening tribal members by forging a link and bond to their ancestors.

Years later, Sitting Bull used the Ghost Dance as a means of rebellion against reservation brutalities. But Wovoka's Ghost Dance was peacefully spiritual. Plains Indians would journey for miles to hear him speak. Wovoka epitomized the introspection, strength and wisdom of the old American West.