The Prophet Dance and Reactions to White Contact

F OR SOME YEARS I have been concerned with the problems posed by Leslie Spier's work on the Prophet Dance 2 and have wanted to do further research on the topic. Wayne Suttles' recent scholarly article3 has made me realize anew that I cannot accomplish this task without several years' residence on the West Coast with opportunities for field work and access to archives. Nevertheless, the issues raised by the work of both Spier and Suttles seem to me important enough to warrant a short paper, even though it cannot be buttressed by the sort of empirical data necessary to settle the questions raised here. If this paper leads to further analysis of materials now collected but as yet unpublished, or to the assembling of new materials--or to examination of other cult movements in the light of these comments-it will have served its purpose. Spier's fundamental position in The Prophet Dance is a very cautious one, which leaves the reader with the possibility of drawing at least two quite different conclusions from his work.