Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890)

Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890)
Name	Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890)
Caption	Memorial at Wounded Knee Creek
Date	December 29, 1890
Location	Wounded Knee Creek, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
Participants	Lakota Sioux, United States Army 7th Cavalry Regiment
Outcome	Mass killing of Lakota Sioux men, women, and children; escalation of Plains Indian Wars consequences

Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890) The Massacre at Wounded Knee (1890) was a slaughter of Lakota Sioux by soldiers of the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in present-day South Dakota. The event occurred amid tensions involving the Lakota spiritual movement centered on the Ghost Dance, leadership disputes among the Oglala and Miniconjou bands, and military operations directed from Washington, D.C., and Forts Totten and Yates. The incident marked a decisive and controversial endpoint to the series of conflicts known as the Plains Indian Wars and reshaped subsequent policies toward Native American nations such as the Oglala Lakota and Sicangu Lakota.

Background

By the late 1880s the Lakota bands, including the Oglala, Hunkpapa, Miniconjou, Brulé, and Sans Arc, faced pressures from railroads like the Northern Pacific Railway, land policies enacted under the Dawes Act, and enforcement by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Prominent figures such as Sitting Bull, Chief Big Foot (Spotted Elk), and leaders within the Ghost Dance movement like Wovoka influenced communal responses to displacement. Military units including the 7th Cavalry Regiment, commanded in part by officers connected to the legacy of George Armstrong Custer and veterans of the Great Sioux War of 1876–77, maintained garrison posts at places like Fort Totten, Fort Yates, and Fort Riley. Tensions were intensified by actions of Indian Agents such as James M. Haworth and political figures in Washington, D.C. including members of Congress and the Department of the Interior.

Prelude and Causes

The Ghost Dance religion, propagated by Wovoka and practiced among communities in areas like the Standing Rock Reservation and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, promised renewal and the return of ancestors, attracting followers among the Lakota, including families of Sitting Bull and Big Foot. The arrest and killing of Sitting Bull on December 15, 1890, at Standing Rock by Indian Police and U.S. Indian Service personnel provoked flights of Lakota bands toward Pine Ridge and camps near Wounded Knee Creek. Military responses involved commanders such as Col. James W. Forsyth and officers from Fort Omaha, while political pressure came from representatives of President Benjamin Harrison and agents of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Miscommunication between intermediary figures like Lieutenant Hugh L. Scott and tribal delegations escalated the crisis, compounding failures in policy rooted in earlier instruments such as the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.

The Massacre (December 29, 1890)

On December 28–29, 1890, detachments of the 7th Cavalry Regiment under the command structure associated with Col. James W. Forsyth surrounded the band led by Chief Big Foot (Spotted Elk) near Wounded Knee Creek as they prepared to surrender and move to Pine Ridge Agency holdings. Attempts to disarm the Lakota involved noncommissioned officers and enlisted men, with tensions rising when a disputed weapon discharge occurred during a weapons search by soldiers and Indian Police; this incident precipitated a volley of springfield rifle and Hotchkiss gun fire. Artillery pieces, including Hotchkiss mountain guns brought by the regiment, swept the camp. Survivors and witnesses, including missionary observers and visiting journalists associated with newspapers in Chicago and St. Paul, Minnesota, reported chaotic scenes as soldiers fired into lodges and across frozen ground, while panicked Lakota fled toward marshes and ravines.

Immediate Aftermath and Casualties

Estimates of fatalities vary widely: U.S. Army reports initially listed 150–300 Lakota killed, while Lakota oral histories and later scholars cite higher counts including women, children, and elders. Military reports recorded Soldier casualties, including killed and wounded among the 7th Cavalry Regiment, and the death of several noncombatants due to exposure and hypothermia in the days following the engagement. Many bodies were interred in mass graves near Wounded Knee Creek and later reburied in different cemeteries such as those at Pine Ridge and St. Francis Mission. Survivors, including widows and orphans, sought aid from tribal councils, missionary societies like the Catholic Church and Presbyterian Church, and activists associated with reformers in New York City and Boston.

Investigations, Trials, and Government Response

Following the incident, the United States Congress and the War Department initiated inquiries, while military courts and the Judge Advocate General examined actions of officers such as Col. James W. Forsyth. Public ceremonies awarded Medal of Honor decorations to multiple soldiers of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, provoking controversy among Lakota leaders and reformers including members of the Indian Rights Association and journalists in publications like Harper's Weekly. Congressional hearings featured testimony from witnesses including missionaries, frontier journalists, and military officers; some participants sought judicial review in federal courts and petitions to the President of the United States for redress. Debates in state legislatures and municipal governments in places such as Pierre, South Dakota reflected divergent regional perspectives on responsibility and policy.

Legacy and Historical Interpretation

The event's legacy permeates literature, art, and scholarship on the Plains Indian Wars, influencing historians like Frederick Jackson Turner in regional studies and activists such as Russell Means and organizations including the American Indian Movement in later twentieth-century protests. Interpretations range from contemporary military justifications to condemnations framed by tribal oral histories, legal scholars, and museums such as the Smithsonian Institution and local heritage centers at Pine Ridge Reservation. The massacre remains central to discussions about federal Indian policy, treaty rights like those enshrined in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, and commemorations by tribal governments including the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Annual memorial events, academic conferences at institutions like Harvard University and University of South Dakota, and cultural works—plays, novels, and films referencing figures such as Sitting Bull—continue debates over reconciliation, reparations, and historical memory.

Category:Lakota Category:Plains Indian Wars Category:1890 in the United States