The Ghost Dance has a much more complicated history than I will share here. In short, the dance was part of a spiritual movement in the 19th century that brought together many Native American peoples hoping to bring back spirits of the dead who would make peace on earth and remove the White colonizers. Many thought of this new world as coming through the peaceful transition back to traditional and wholesome ways of living but others considered the movement as in line with armed resistance to White domination. I decided that a dozen of the Playmobil toys that I’ll give to my son will be a crew called the Ghost Dance Resistance because they are each adamant about keeping their traditions and protecting themselves–with spiritual or physical force–against White domination. About half of them are historical figures with a connection to the real Ghost Dance Movement.
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