top of page
Blog: Blog2
Search

Remembering the Wounded Knee Massacre


On December 29th, 1890, the United States Seventh Cavalry surrounded a band of Miniconjou and Hunkpapa Lakota. The mostly unarmed group of men, women, and children was braving the harsh winter of South Dakota while seeking protection at the Pine Ridge Reservation. The tragic events that transpired are remembered as one

of the darkest days of American history and the culmination of almost fifty years of war and the forced removal of Native Americans from their ancestral lands during the Plains Wars.


Hotchiss guns used at Wounded Knee
Three of the four Hotchiss revolving cannons (42mm) placed on the high ground encircling Wounded Knee.

The Plains War


During westward expansion, settlers and Native Americans were in constant conflict over land rights. The United States government routinely made and broke treaties and land agreements with various tribal leaders. One of the most infamous of these betrayals was the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, signed under President Andrew Johnson, which established the Great Sioux Reservation and included the Paha Sapa (also called the Black Hills), sacred land for the Lakota and central to their religion. Numerous tribes agreed and moved onto or within the reservation system, while others refused and continued resisting government expansion.


Life on the reservation was difficult for the tribes. The federal agents stationed on the reservations controlled almost every aspect of reservation life. They built the societal structure around agriculture (foreign to the nomadic Lakota and often unsuited to the land), forced tribes to wear Western clothes, speak English, cut their hair, and abandon their traditional practices, religion, and way of life.


A government rationing system reduced Native peoples’ access to food, and their ancestral hunting grounds were further restricted. The United States sought the valuable resources the land promised to the tribes and violated the treaty. Gold was a significant motivator, as the Great Sioux Reservation was repeatedly torn apart and reduced to make way for government-approved mining.


By the late 1880s, a series of federal actions—including the 1877 seizure of the Black Hills and later allotment-era policies—had dramatically reduced Lakota-held land. In 1889, the reservation was further divided and combined with repeated cuts to rations and a severe drought, many Lakota communities were pushed to the brink of starvation.


The mistreatment and repeated government betrayals led to the Ghost Dance religious movement gaining popularity among Plains peoples by the 1890s. The movement, initiated by the Paiute prophet Wovoka, was a cultural and spiritual revival that envisioned the emergence of a renewed world and the restoration of fallen tribal members; many believers also understood it as a promise that settlers would disappear or be driven away. The movement incorporated many traditional Indigenous practices such as circle dances, sacred songs, traditional clothing, and prayers told in Native languages.


The United States government and settlers saw the Ghost Dance Movement as a prelude to a large-scale Native American uprising. Fed by sensational reporting by the Omaha Daily Bee and other influential media outlets, the fearful public and opportunistic political leaders promoted the idea that the tribes were plotting to invade settlements. This fear culminated in the deployment of the United States Army to reservations.


The Death of Sitting Bull


By the end of November, the United States Army arrived on the Lakota reservations and began cracking down on the Ghost Dance movement. Nearby, Hunkpapa Lakota chief and spiritual leader Sitting Bull lived. Although Sitting Bull was not a practitioner of the Ghost Dance Movement, many of his followers were, and officials feared his influence.


James McLaughlin, the agent at Standing Rock, ordered Sitting Bull’s arrest on the grounds that he was encouraging resistance. However, his followers resisted the arrest, and a struggle ensued in which several Hunkpapa were killed, including Sitting Bull.


The death of Sitting Bull terrified many Lakota people, who feared more violence would follow. Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud was determined to preserve his people’s cultural customs and to ensure that no further bloodshed occurred. He called others to the Pine Ridge Reservation, where they would be safer, and he would try to negotiate terms with the United States Government.


Miniconjou leader Spotted Elk, known to many settlers as “Big Foot” (Si Tȟáŋka), also desired a peaceful resolution. Much like Sitting Bull, he was not necessarily a central leader of the Ghost Dance, but some in his band participated. He was placed on the BIA’s list of hostiles for being “complicit” in the movement.

Spotted Elk led an estimated group of 350 Miniconjou south from the Cheyenne River Reservation toward the Pine Ridge Reservation. The 7th Cavalry was sent to intercept his band, confiscate their weapons, and take them under military control.


The Wounded Knee Massacre


On December 29, 1890, the 7th Cavalry, led by Colonel James W. Forsyth, surrounded Spotted Elk and his people, who were camping near Wounded Knee Creek. Spotted Elk told Colonel Forsyth that his band would surrender without resistance. Colonel Forsyth had his men surround the camp as they began confiscating weapons.

Spotted Elk’s band was hesitant to hand over all weapons, fearing for the safety of the women and children present at the camp. They surrendered some guns, but Colonel Forsyth was unsatisfied and ordered a full search. Tensions rose, and some members began dancing the Ghost Dance. When a Miniconjou man named Black Coyote refused to surrender his gun, the weapon reportedly discharged. Even though the band had already surrendered weapons and was being disarmed, the Cavalry opened fire.


The 7th Cavalry did not spare anyone. They fired rifles, revolvers, and the rapid-fire Hotchkiss guns at men, women, and children. Women and children attempted to flee the violence and escape to a ravine, but soldiers pursued them. Some Lakota who escaped the initial firing were attacked by mounted soldiers miles away. Between 150 and 300 Lakota men, women, and children were killed that day. About 25 U.S. soldiers also died, some likely due to chaotic crossfire, including friendly fire. Two-thirds of the Lakota victims were women and children.


The Aftermath


The dead were taken to a nearby Episcopal church and buried in a mass grave days later. Survivors faced starvation, disease, poverty, and even death from the injuries they sustained from the massacre. The Wounded Knee Massacre marked the end of the Ghost Dance movement and the continued oppression of the Lakota people.


U.S. soldiers connected to the events at Wounded Knee received Medals of Honor—often cited as about twenty—an outcome that remains controversial. Soldiers and looters ransacked the remains of the Lakota camp and the victims’ bodies. They stole clothing, sacred artifacts, and jewelry (some of which has only recently been returned to the tribe).


The tragic day caused deep and lasting trauma for the Lakota people. Survivor testimonies, including those associated with Black Elk, describe the violence and injustice and the scars it left on the Lakota community.

Decades later in 1973, members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and local Oglala Lakota activists occupied Wounded Knee for 71 days. They sought to draw national attention to civil rights violations affecting Native Americans and the U.S. government's failure to honor treaties, including those affecting Pine Ridge. A government standoff occurred with federal agents, resulting in the deaths of two Native Americans.


135 Years Later


For a long time, the Wounded Knee Massacre was referred to as a “battle” in history books. However, that classification could not be further from the truth. The killing of largely unarmed Lakota men, women, and children was an unjust and shameful act carried out by the United States Government. Wounded Knee, alongside many other tragedies committed against Native nations during western expansion, should be remembered as a warning about the dangers of greed, bigotry, and violence.


Many treaties made during this period remain contested, violated, or undermined in practice. The Pine Ridge Reservation, along with countless other reservations, has faced ongoing pressure from disputes over land, resources, and large-scale projects. Unjust measures have been used to exploit Native land and resources.

The lives lost at Wounded Knee will never be forgotten. Their loss and the injustices they faced serve as reminders of the importance of resisting oppression, protecting the dignity of human life, and pursuing justice.

 

 

Works Cited


Mark, J. J. (2024, February 6). Wounded Knee massacre. World History Encyclopedia.


National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Tribes - native voices. U.S. National Library of Medicine. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/nativevoices/timeline/378.html Wounded knee massacre: Research starters: EBSCO research.


Wounded Knee memorial site and the Wounded Knee Museum.



Wounded Knee massacre, South Dakota, occupation, history, & legacy | britannica. (n.d.-b). https://www.britannica.com/event/Wounded-Knee-Massacre


bottom of page