Ghost Dance history to be explored at Cherokee Village lecture

A piece of Native American history will take center stage in Cherokee Village next month when Lyon College’s Kenton Adler presents a program on the Ghost Dance, a spiritual movement that swept across the West in the late 1800s.

The lecture, hosted by the Spring River Gem & Mineral Club, is scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 5 at the Thunderbird Center, 62 N. Lakeshore Rd.

Adler will trace the Ghost Dance’s origins to Wovoka, a Paiute spiritual leader, and discuss why the movement spread rapidly among tribes, what beliefs it incorporated, and why it eventually faded. At its height, the Ghost Dance brought hundreds of Native Americans together in hopes of cultural renewal.

Adler has worked at Lyon College for 22 years, serving in roles including director of advancement for Scottish Heritage. He is a member of the Lyon College Pipe Band, a published author, and a poet. He majored in art and psychology at Metropolitan State University of Denver and also studied history at MSU Denver and the University of Arkansas. The club describes him as a “Renaissance man with varied interests, known to be a storyteller and performer.”

The Spring River Gem & Mineral Club, the oldest educational club in Cherokee Village, hosts monthly programs on topics ranging from geology and paleontology to archaeology and Native American culture. Meetings run from March through December and are held in person only.

The Sept. 5 program is free to visitors. Membership is required for access to the club’s library, monthly mineral and fossil auctions, and field trips. More information is available by calling or texting 870-847-3109.

The club’s next presentation will be Oct. 3 when Bari Hanafi, Ph.D., will speak on “Rock Salt – Studying Squeezy Rocks.”

File image: White River Now