Wovoka was considered by Native American tribes across western America as the Messiah of the First Peoples. Wovoka was born about 1854-56 in western Nevada, a member of the Paiute tribe. When Wovoka was only fourteen, his father died, leaving him alone in the world. A nearby rancher, a white man named David Wilson, took Wovoka in and continued raising him. Wovoka learned to speak English, worked at the Wilson's ranch and learned about Christianity, but never forgot his heritage of traditions rich in mysticism. He was known to the white community as Jack Wilson.

A Paiute man named Tavibo,who was thought by many to be Wovoka's father, had a great influence on the early years of Wovoka's childhood. Tavibo was considered a prophet by his people and preached to them. He had a special ritual, a religious dance, that would bring about the promise of the lands of Mother Earth to be inherited back by the People. Tavibo claimed to have spoken with the Great Spirit on several occasions and thereby learned of this concept, that the white man would disappear and the People would survive, with all the Native dead being brought back to be together again. This was strong in Wovoka's memory and ingrained in his heart. David Wilson also had a very strong effect on Wovoka's theological training and beliefs. Settlers from the east brought with them the Christian faiths and this too was very prevalent and influential in Wovoka's life as he grew up.

Wovoka grew up with criticism from both his own people and the whites. It was said that the name Tavibo, apparently Wovoka's father, translated to mean "white man". Because Wovoka had light skin and was being raised by a white family, rumours spread that Wilson was his real father and his own people often scorned him. This motivated Wovoka to claim that he would do something to save his people, the Paiutes. Although he was a member of the Wilson family after they adopted him, he would never forget who his people truly were. Rather than allowing these conflicts to destroy his life, Wovoka became determined to uphold Tavibo's beliefs and status as a prophet, which was also sometimes questioned.

During the late 1880's, Wovoka himself began to make prophecies on the same lines as Tovibo had done years before. The dance that Tavibo described and promoted to his people had become a tradition with some tribes in parts of Nevada, California and Oregon. Wovoka stressed to his people that the dance should be a ritual of moral conduct, a ritual to greet and welcome salvation. He also stressed that this dance was to be of righteous behavior and not to make any trouble with the white peoples.

Because the dance was to help bring about the salvation of the People and to bring back the dead to once again populate the Earth and partake in it's abundance, it became known as the Ghost Dance. Not surprising, Wovoka's interpretation of the dance carried some strong parallels to Christianity. He used the term "Messiah" and "Supreme Being" and spoke of the Messiah who came to Earth to save man but was killed by them. He seemed to be merging Christianity with Paiute mysticism.

The dance spread from the west to throughout the tribes of the Great Plains. Each tribe began incorporating their own songs and dance movements, but kept the core of the message that Wovoka prophesied. When it spread into the Lakota territory, it brought about fear, confusion and misunderstanding with the U.S. Army stationed there, who misinterpreted the dance as a form of uprising.

When Wovoka spoke of how his vision came about he told his people, "When the Sun died, I went up to Heaven and saw God and all the people who had died a long time ago. God told me to come back and tell my people they must be good and love one another, and not fight, or steal or lie. He gave me this dance to give to my people." This vision took place when there was a full eclipse, New Year's Day, 1889. Wovoka believed that Jesus was upon the Earth at that time.

Wovoka, like the Ghost Dance, vanished into obscurity after the movement provoked military fear and action that resulted in killings and massacres of the People Wovoka had wanted to save through salvation. One can imagine how Wovoka must have felt when these tragedies occurred. This was not supposed to have happened. The dance was to be a ritual of celebration and welcome of the long dead ancestors, a request to the Great Spirit, to God, for salvation and peace, for the end of hate and killings and the beginning of life everlasting. It was a promise of hope.

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Wovoka died in September of 1932, alone and forgotten by his own peoples and the whites. His dream had vanished. Today, however, Wovoka and the Ghost Dance again live in the hearts of the People.