The Ghost Dance Messiah blends Native American spiritual themes with with modern environmental activism. An unemployed Vietnam veteran on a trip to Reno has a near-death experience which leads to him joining a group of activists on a journey around Nevada. In a vision he learns he must revive the Ghost Dance, a native American religious movement of the 1890's. The group protests at the nuclear test site, trespasses on a bombing range and visits several reservations. As they reach the sacred mountain of the Paiutes, a religious revival blossoms in the desert, much to the authorities' chagrin.