This study of the 1870 and 1890 Ghost Dance movements among North Amer- ican Indians offers an innovative theory about why these movements arose when they did. Emphasizing the demographic situation of American Indians prior to the movements, Professor Thornton argues that the Ghost Dances were delib- erate efforts to accomplish a demographic revitalization of American Indians following their virtual collapse. By joining the movements, he contends, tribes sought to assure survival by increasing their numbers through returning the dead to life. Thornton supports this thesis empirically by closely examining the historical context of the two movements and by assessing tribal participation in them, revealing particularly how population size and decline influenced participation among and within American Indian tribes. He also considers American Indian population change after the Ghost Dance periods and shows that participation in the movements actually did lead the way to a demographic recovery for cer- tain tribes. This occurred, Thornton argues, not, of course, by returning dead American Indians to life, but by creating enhanced tribal solidarity. This soli- darity enabled participating tribes to maintain their membership at a historical point when American Indians were socially and biologically "migrating" away from tribal populations. As well as being of intrinsic interest, Thornton's findings have broad impli- cations for the study of revitalization and other social movements. They are particularly important with regard to the circumstances fostering social move- ments and the rational basis of social movement participation. Other books in the series J. Milton Yinger, Kiyoshi Ikeda, Frank Laycock, and Stephen J. Cutler: Middle Start: An Experiment in the Educational Enrichment of Young Adolescents James A. Geschwender: Class, Race, and Worker Insurgency: The League of Revolutionary Black Workers Paul Ritterband: Education, Employment, and Migration: Israel in Comparative Perspective John Low-Beer: Protest and Participation: The New Working Class in Italy Orrin E. Klapp: Opening and Closing: Strategies of Information Adaptation in Society Rita James Simon: Continuity and Change: A Study of Two Ethnic Communities in Israel Marshall B. Clinard: Cities with Little Crime: The Case of Switzerland Steven T. Bossert: Tasks and Social Relationships in Classrooms: A Study of Instructional Organization and Its Consequences Richard E. Johnson: Juvenile Delinquency and Its Origins: An Integrated Theoretical Approach David R. Heise: Understanding Events: Affect and the Construction of Social Action Ida Harper Simpson: From Student to Nurse: A Longitudinal Study of Socialization Stephen P. 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Allen Whitt: The Cooperative Workplace: Potentials and Dilemmas of Organizational Democracy and Participation The Arnold and Caroline Rose Monograph Series of the American Sociological Association We shall live again The Rose Monograph Series was established in 1968 in honor of the distin- guished sociologists Arnold and Caroline Rose whose bequest makes the Series possible. The sole criterion for publication in the Series is that a manuscript contribute to knowledge in the discipline of sociology in a systematic and sub- stantial manner. All areas of the discipline and all established and promising modes of inquiry are equally eligible for consideration. The Rose Monograph Series is an official publication of the American Sociological Association. Editor: Ernest Q. Campbell Board of Editors Andrew Cherlin Robert Hauser Daniel Chirot Virginia Hiday Phillips Cutright Teresa Sullivan Kai Erikson Jonathan Turner The Editor and Board of Editors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Thomas D. Hall, University of Oklahoma, as expert reviewer of this manu- script. We shall live again The 1870 and 1890 Ghost Dance movements as demographic revitalization Russell Thornton University of Minnesota The right of the University of Cambridge to print and sell all manner of books was granted by Henry VIII in 1534. The University has printed and published continuously since 1584. Cambridge University Press Cambridge London New York New Rochelle Melbourne Sydney Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RP 32 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022, USA 10 Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia © Cambridge University Press 1986 First published 1986 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thornton, Russell, 1942- We shall live again. (The Arnold and Caroline Rose monograph series of the American Sociological Association) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Ghost dance. 2. Indians of North America - West (U.S.) - Population. 3. Indians of North America - West (U.S.) - Rites and ceremonies. I. Title. II. Series. E98.D2T48 1986 304.6'08997078 86-4176 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Thornton, Russell We shall live again : the 1870 and 1890 Ghost Dance movements as demographic revitalization. - (The Arnold and Caroline Rose monograph series of the American Sociological Association) 1. Ghost dance 2. Demography - North America 3. Indians of North America - Population I. Title II. Series 299'.7 E98.D2 ISBN 0 521 32894 2 Transferred to digital printing 2004 For all those who danced the Dances and To Russell and Rebecca, who never did My children, when at first I liked the whites, My children, when at first I liked the whites, I gave them fruits, I gave them fruits. - Arapaho Ghost Dance song Father, have pity on me, Father, have pity on me; I am crying for thirst, I am crying for thirst; All is gone - I have nothing to eat, All is gone - I have nothing to eat. - Arapaho Ghost Dance song We shall live again, We shall live again. - Comanche Ghost Dance song