Reservation life in the second half of the 19th century led to the spread of religious revitalization movements among tribes of the West, including the Wintun. Norelputus (or Nelelputa), born of a Wintun mother and a Yana father in northern California, rose to prominence as chief of the Wintun. He reportedly learned of the early version of the Ghost Dance, founded in 1870 by Wodziwob of the PAIUTE, from the ACHOMAWI (pit RIVER INDIANS) living to the northeast of his people. The Ghost Dance prophesied the end of the existing world. Norelputus added to the religion by advocating the making of underground earth lodges, where devotees would be safe until the ancestors returned from the dead and established a new world. The Earth Lodge Religion, as it came to be called, spread to tribes to the south, such as the POMO, as well as to tribes to the north on the Grande Ronde and Siletz Reservations in southern Oregon, such as the SHASTA, among whom it came to be called the Warm House Dance. Among the KLAMATH and MODOC on the Klamath Reservation in southern Oregon, it was known as the Dream Dance.
Lame Bill, a Patwin, is considered one of the founders of the Bole-Maru religion, which drew on elements of the Ghost Dance of 1870, the Earth Lodge Religion, and the Dreamer Religion founded by Smohalla of the WANAPAM. Bole is a Wintun word; maru is a Pomo word in Hokan; both refer to the dreams of shamans. The name Dreamer was also applied to Bole-Maru because revelations from dreams played a central role. Dances included the Bole (or Maru) Dance; the Bole-Hesi Dance, taken from the Hesi Ceremony of the traditional Kuksu Cult; the Toto (or Blanket) Dance; and the Ball Dance. The Big Head Religion in which dancers wore large headdresses, with devotees among the Wintun, Cahto, Lassik, Shasta, Wailaki, and YUKI, is thought to be an offshoot of Bole-Maru. Lame Bill is credited with using a flag placed on a pole in front of the ceremonial house to indicate when dances were taking place—an early use of flags by Native Americans. Flags have now become an expression of Indianness and tribal sovereignty.
World History
