The Ghost Dance, a religious movement prophesying the coming of a Native American paradise, spread rapidly among tribes in the late 19th century. The Ghost Dance preached peaceful co-existence with Euro-Americans, but the Sioux interpretation of the religion foretold that the Ghost Dance would remove non-Indians from their lands.

Indian agents on the Sioux reservation banned the Ghost Dance religion and used the military to enforce the ban. Tensions led to the Wounded Knee Massacre and the loss of hundreds of Sioux, including the elderly, women, and children. Native Americans were outraged, but with the fear of more violence, the practice of the Ghost Dance declined sharply afterward.