the Ghost Dance
/ðə ˈɡəʊst dɑːns/
/ðə ˈɡəʊst dæns/
- a Native American dance and religion that started among the Paiute people in western Nevada about 1870. The religion was based on a dance which lasted five days and which Native Americans believed would help them to get back their land. The Sioux danced the Ghost Dance before the battle of Wounded Knee. During the battle they wore 'ghost shirts' which they believed would stop bullets.