GHOST SHIRTS AND DRESSES

So, now, said the Father

I have given you the strength

to keep yourselves safe

from the white man's bullets and guns

So, now, said the Father

you will be able to live

and raise warrior daughters and  sons...

When you do the Ghost Dance

raise your voices

and sing

you are protected

from the white soldiers' sting

Ah, my proud people

Lakota and Sioux

I will make the whites

disappear from view

and they cannot kill you

there will not be any hurt

For I am the Father

and I have given you

the Dress and the Shirt.

© Christina 6/27/07

Ghost shirts and dresses were specially prepared garments worn by adherents of the new religion. This example from the W.H. Over Museum has the painted V-shaped neck, fringes, and feathers typical of Lakota shirts.

Only the Lakotas believed them to be bulletproof. Whites viewed this as evidence of the Lakotas' warlike intentions, choosing to ignore the primarily defensive character of a bulletproof garment. Although many Indians owned weapons, they would not be needed for an offensive war since the whites would disappear through supernatural means.

Songs sung at the ceremonies included one about the Messiah's, or Father's, gift of the garments to the believers.

Verily, I have given you my strength,
Says the Father, says the Father.
The shirt will cause you to live,
Says the Father, says the Father.
(Mooney, The Ghost Dance, 1073).