Account of the Northern Cheyennes Concerning the Messiah Superstition

These are virtually contemporary accounts of the rising belief amongst northern Cheyennes and Arapahos in 1890 of the likely restoration of an Indian golden age, as before the coming of the white man, through the appearance of a Messiah and encouraged by the performance of a special dance. The movement was syncretistic, combining a Christ figure with Native American rituals and was reported by a sympathetic and knowledgeable white observer. George B. Grinnell (1849-1938) was an editor, publisher, author and collector of Indian folklore and had considerable experience of Native American peoples from the 1870s onwards.