Alice Beck Kehoe’s The Ghost Dance: Ethnohistory & Revitalization is an interesting amalgamation of elements. It tells the story of the ghost dance (briefly) and then roots this cultural moment into a larger historical context. Then it sidesteps and delves into the history of ethnographic practice with Native Americans in the United States. Finally, in true post-processualist nature, Kehoe shares her own perspective in diary format. This short volume is so many things. But is it too many things?

Let’s start at the beginning. In 1889, the Paiute religious leader Jack Wilson has a famous vision in which he meets God in heaven and receives the Ghost Dance. If performed properly, the dance will bring about a renewal of the Earth that would sweep away evil, replenish resources, and bring about a better life. This promise was quite attractive to many Native Americans and spread in popularity becoming a significant cultural and religious movement.

Though a seemingly straightforward story, Kehoe’s ethnohistory is much framed through the anthropologist James Mooney’s interactions with Jack Wilson. While interesting at times, it does make for a confusing (nonlinear) narrative. The presentation tries to be an intellectually honest analysis, while also being an entertaining account. Even though I feel it fails (stupendously) on the second goal, there is a breadth of information about anthropologists’ understandings of the Ghost Dance.

In fact, dry prose aside, there is a great deal I agree with Kehoe regarding the complex nature of the Ghost Dance. Specifically her observation that, “The Ghost Dance religion had reinforced Indian peoples’ conviction of the worth of their own heritages, but its focus on religious affirmation was not an effective mechanism to bring about political alliance and action” (75). Her analysis on the personal/emotional importance of the ghost dance is key in understanding how it impacted (or did not impact) the following historic events.

To further emphasize that this is truly an anthropologist’s ethnography, the second half of the book shifts from an ethnographic history, to the history of ethnography regarding Native Americans. Anyone reading this book purely to learn about the Ghost Dance, probably won’t dig this part, misplaced archaeological pun intended.

If you are interested in the history of ethnographic practice, then this is where the real meat of the text lies. Kehoe succeeds in detailing how the changes in cultural anthropology from the early ‘objective’ practices of the early 20th century take a dramatic shift towards, “…today’s acknowledgement that those ‘tribal societies’ were at least nominally colonies of major world powers” (155).

Lastly, she finishes this volume with, “That Night in the Cabin,” a first-person diary-esque account of her own experience with the Ghost Dance. She reveals uncertainties in her own memory, which are written with the literary flavor of a heightened lived experience. Kehoe felt it important to include this content as, “We are all humans socialized in particular cultural ways of thinking, we are all fallible, and putting our cards on the table makes the game more honest” (156).

So, is this book too many things? Honestly, yes, especially if you are looking for a book to learn about the Ghost Dance; keep looking. BUT, if you are looking for an introspective reflection on the history of ethnography, then this book gets my stamp of approval. I enjoyed it, but I like dry anthropological texts, so you’ve been warned.

Rating: 3.5 stars