This is an original circa 1890, albumen photograph from James Mooney showing the Ghost Dance amongst the Arapaho and Cheyenne people. This is from the Jim Aplan, Piedmont, South Dakota collection and the back is marked, “James Mooney Ghost Dance”. James Mooney (1861-1921) was an American ethnographer and photographer who focused on Native Americans. In 1885, Mooney began working for the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE) under John Wesley Powell. For the next 30 years, he was considered one of the prominent ethnographic researchers and was an early adopter of photography. In December 1890, he was documented as visiting Oklahoma Territory to complete research with Western Cherokee and witnessed the Ghost Dance at the Cheyenne Arapaho Reservation for the first time. Further, during 1891-1893, he studied the Ghost Dance movement by observing the Arapaho, Sioux, Kiowa, and Cheyenne. He photographed the Kiowa Mescal Peyote Ceremony and Oglala Sioux Ghost Dance in 1892 and later returned to Oklahoma Territory to observe and record Arapaho Sun Dance and also studied the Hopi Kachina Dance, the Wichita Corn Dance and possibly the Arapaho Ghost Dance. Later in 1896, publishing “The Ghost Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreaks of 1890”. (See the Smithsonian National Museum of National History: James Mooney photographs, circa 1872-1920 by Eden Orelove and Gina Rappaport, October 2021). This is truly an extremely important and rare image captured by James Mooney which documents the famous Ghost Dance movement. Viewing the Ghost Dance among the Lakota as a threat, the U.S. Army killed Sitting Bull, and soon after, spotted Elk. This threat also led to the Wounded Knee Massacre. The Ghost Dance came from the teachings of Jack Wilson, known as Wovoka, making the Ghost Dance an integral part of their religion and system of mystical beliefs.The image shows several Arapaho and Cheyenne Native Americans performing the Ghost Dance with many onlookers having curved edges in the image on a boudoir card, marked on the back as being taken by James Mooney and the Ghost Dance. Some slight edge damage, but overall, it is well kept. After reviewing the Ghost Dance Photographs by James Mooney 1890 with curved border in the Ghost Dance US collection as well as the Ghost Dance photographs from PBA Galleries 2023, valued at $20,000-$30,000. This image, being not only marked as such, is confirmed to be by James Mooney. Provenance: From the Jim Aplan collection, Piedmont, South Dakota. Measures 8.5”L x 6.5”W.*

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