Wounded Knee (1890)

Wounded Knee (1890)
Conflict	Ghost Dance War
Caption	Aftermath at Wounded Knee Creek, 1891
Date	December 29, 1890
Place	Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
Result	Massacre of Lakota Sioux; end of major Plains Indian resistance
Combatant1	United States Army
Combatant2	Lakota Sioux
Commander1	Nelson A. Miles (overall), Jacob H. Smith (region), James W. Forsyth (7th Cavalry)
Commander2	Big Foot (Spotted Elk)
Strength1	elements of the 7th Cavalry
Strength2	bands of the Oglala Lakota, Miniconjou, Brulé Lakota

Wounded Knee (1890) was the site of a deadly clash between elements of the United States Army and Lakota Sioux near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on December 29, 1890. The incident occurred amid tensions over the Ghost Dance movement, the death of Sitting Bull, and forced relocations under policies associated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Sioux treaties, and the Dawes Act. The event effectively ended large-scale armed resistance by Plains tribes and provoked national debates involving figures such as William McKinley, Benjamin Harrison, and reformers in the Indian Rights Association.

Background

Tensions before the incident derived from earlier confrontations including the Sioux Wars, the Great Sioux War of 1876, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and punitive expeditions led by commanders linked to the Indian Peace Commission. The spread of the Ghost Dance among the Lakota and followers of Wovoka alarmed local Indian agents like Reverend Henry P. Smith and military officers such as Nelson A. Miles and James W. Forsyth. The killing of Sitting Bull on December 15, 1890, after a standoff with the Northwest Mounted Police-aligned Indian police under Red Cloud-era tensions, intensified fears among Oglala Lakota bands including followers of Spotted Elk and Two Moon (Sioux) who sought refuge near Pine Ridge Agency and leaders including American Horse (Cheyenne) voiced concern. Federal policies including allotment under the Dawes Act and enforcement by the Bureau of Indian Affairs set the administrative context.

Massacre and Immediate Events

On December 28–29, 1890, troops from the 7th Cavalry, commanded in the field by James W. Forsyth and operating under directives traceable to theater commanders like Nelson A. Miles, surrounded the Lakota encampment of Spotted Elk on Wounded Knee Creek. As soldiers attempted to disarm the Lakota, a scuffle over a firearm held by a young man named Black Coyote (Lakota) triggered a volley of shots. The initial gunfire precipitated a chaotic engagement involving Hotchkiss gun fire and rapid rifle volleys, with participating officers and enlisted men from units formerly engaged at actions such as the Battle of the Greasy Grass and implicated by veterans of the Indian Wars. Eyewitness accounts included agency officials, missionaries associated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and journalists representing publications sympathetic to reformers and expansionists allied with figures like Theodore Roosevelt.

Casualties and Aftermath

Estimates of the dead and wounded varied among reports by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Army after-action statements tied to Henry L. Dawes-era policies, and Lakota oral histories preserved by families of Spotted Elk and others. Contemporary Army figures listed dozens killed and many wounded, including noncombatants such as women and children, and subsequent memorials have chronicled higher counts contested by critics linked to politicians such as Benjamin Harrison and reporters aligned with the New York Herald. Surviving Lakota were interned at Pine Ridge Reservation or fled to neighboring camps associated with leaders like Red Cloud and Chief Big Foot (Spotted Elk). The event catalyzed investigations by congressional committees and prompted military courts of inquiry involving officers once commended during the Great Sioux War of 1876–77.

Government and Military Response

In the wake of the massacre, officials including Nelson A. Miles and the Adjutant General of the Army were drawn into scrutiny along with civilian officials from the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Political leaders such as Grover Cleveland had earlier handled Indian policy debates that framed response options; by 1891, congressional hearings examined actions by officers like James W. Forsyth and enlisted men from the 7th Cavalry. Veterans groups such as the Grand Army of the Republic and proponents of frontier law enforcement raised divergent assessments, while humanitarian advocacy by the Indian Rights Association and journalists from papers like the New York Times pressured for accountability. Courts-martial and Departmental reviews produced mixed outcomes, with few convictions and lingering disputes over the rules of engagement used against Native combatants and noncombatants.

Legal and Historical Controversies

Legal controversies have encompassed debates over whether the action constituted a justified military engagement, an avoidable massacre, or a violation of statutes debated in the United States Congress during the Allotment era. Historians have weighed primary sources from officers, Lakota survivors, and agents from the Bureau of Indian Affairs alongside analyses by scholars associated with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, University of South Dakota, and the National Archives. Prominent reinterpretations by authors in works published by presses like Oxford University Press and University of Nebraska Press have argued competing narratives; legal scholars have invoked precedents considered by attorneys affiliated with the American Indian Movement and litigation in federal courts addressing treaty rights codified in agreements such as the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868.

Legacy and Commemoration

The event's legacy intersects with movements including the American Indian Movement of the 20th century, congressional acknowledgments in hearings with members such as Dennis Banks advocates, and cultural representations in works by writers like N. Scott Momaday and filmmakers documented by institutions like the Library of Congress. Annual memorials at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation draw descendants of the Lakota and allies from organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians, while museums including the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and archives at the South Dakota State Historical Society preserve testimonies. Debates over monumentation, reparative measures, and inclusion in curricula of institutions such as Columbia University and Stanford University continue, as do calls from tribal leaders and activists for federal recognition and redress through mechanisms tied to treaties and legislative action.

Category:1890 in South Dakota Category:Lakota Category:Indian Wars Category:Pine Ridge Indian Reservation