Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre, a deeply regrettable and tragic clash of arms, transpired on December 29, 1890. It marked the last significant armed engagement between Native Americans and soldiers on the North American continent, effectively bringing to a close nearly four centuries of conflict. This prolonged warfare stemmed from the westward expansion of Americans and the resistance of the indigenous peoples who called the land home. The echoes of this event continue to resonate, serving as a stark reminder of a painful chapter in American history.
The circumstances surrounding the Wounded Knee Massacre were complex, arising not from premeditated planning, but from a confluence of individual actions and a tense, volatile atmosphere. While the majority of those present on both sides likely did not intend for violence to erupt, the situation spiraled tragically out of control. In the aftermath, shrouded in the literal and figurative smoke of battle, the exact details became obscured. However, historical accounts suggest that the event more closely resembled a massacre than a conventional battle, a sentiment that continues to fuel national introspection and guilt regarding the mistreatment of Native Americans.
The seeds of the Wounded Knee Massacre were sown in the charged atmosphere of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota during the Ghost Dance unrest of 1890. The Ghost Dance, a spiritual movement promising renewal and the restoration of traditional ways, had spread rapidly among Native American tribes, sparking fear and suspicion among white settlers and government officials. This apprehension was further exacerbated by the death of Chief Sitting Bull on December 15, 1890, on the Standing Rock Reservation. Indian police, acting under orders to arrest him due to his perceived connection to the Ghost Dance, killed the respected leader. This act ignited the Hunkpapa band of the Lakota tribe, leading to increased military presence and escalating tensions.
Following Sitting Bull’s death, approximately 200 Hunkpapa Lakota fled southward towards the Cheyenne River, seeking refuge and community. Military officials, fearing a potential coalition between the Hunkpapa and the Miniconjou Lakota, grew increasingly concerned. A significant number of these fugitives temporarily joined forces with Chief Hump and his 400 Miniconjou followers. Ultimately, however, both groups surrendered at Fort Bennett in South Dakota, seeking assurances of safety and peaceful resolution.
While many surrendered, around 38 Hunkpapa Lakota chose to join a more resistant group of approximately 350 Miniconjou Ghost Dancers, led by Chief Big Foot. Big Foot, already suffering from a severe case of pneumonia, initially defied military authority. After a period of resistance, he eventually signaled his intention to surrender. However, when he failed to do so at the designated time and location, General Nelson A. Miles, a prominent figure in the U.S. Army’s efforts to subdue Native American resistance, ordered his immediate arrest.
On December 28th, a detachment of the 7th Cavalry, under the command of Major Samuel M. Whitside, intercepted Big Foot and his band southwest of the Badlands, near Porcupine Creek. They were then escorted approximately five miles westward to Wounded Knee Creek. At this location, Big Foot formally declared his intention to surrender peacefully. Later that evening, Colonel James W. Forsyth arrived to take command of the operation, overseeing the movement of the captives by train to Omaha, Nebraska, via the Pine Ridge Agency. Forsyth’s force was substantial, comprising over 500 men, including the entire 7th Cavalry Regiment, a company of Oglala scouts (Native Americans employed by the U.S. Army), and an artillery detachment.
The fateful day of December 29th began with the disarming of Big Foot’s band. This decision, in retrospect, proved to be deeply unwise. The Miniconjou Lakota had demonstrated no inclination to engage in hostilities, and their firearms represented not only cherished possessions but also vital tools for hunting and providing for their families. A council ring was established between the Native American teepees and the soldiers’ tents. Poignantly, on a nearby low hill, a Hotchkiss battery, a type of rapid-firing light artillery, was strategically positioned, its guns trained directly on the Indian encampment, an ominous display of military might. The U.S. troops, forming two concentric cordons, surrounded the council ring, creating a sense of inescapable confinement.
Initial attempts to disarm the warriors met with resistance. The Lakota were understandably reluctant to relinquish their weapons, leading to a detachment of troops entering the teepees to search for and confiscate firearms. This intrusion, which resulted in the disruption of the teepees and the distress of the women and children, significantly escalated the tension. The officers, fearing that the Lakota were concealing additional weapons, grew increasingly uneasy. Adding to the volatile atmosphere, a militant medicine man named Yellow Bird moved among the warriors, urging resistance and invoking the protective power of their "ghost shirts," believed to render them invulnerable to bullets.
The tragic sequence of events that triggered the massacre began when the soldiers attempted to physically search the warriors. A man named Black Coyote, considered by many within his tribe to be mentally unstable, resisted the search. During this struggle, his rifle discharged, seemingly accidentally. Yellow Bird, seizing the moment, issued a signal for retaliation. Some of the warriors, in response, raised their rifles at the troops, and it is possible that shots were fired. The soldiers, perceiving this as an act of treachery, responded with a devastating volley of gunfire into the densely packed Indian ranks. A brief but brutal struggle ensued, with combatants engaging in fierce hand-to-hand combat using rifles, knives, revolvers, and war clubs.
The situation rapidly deteriorated as the Hotchkiss guns, positioned on the overlooking hill, unleashed a barrage of fire into the encampment. The artillery fire indiscriminately targeted the women and children who had gathered to observe the proceedings. Within a matter of minutes, the field was transformed into a scene of unimaginable carnage. Indian dead and wounded lay scattered across the landscape, teepees were ablaze, and survivors desperately scrambled for cover in nearby ravines, relentlessly pursued by the soldiers and subjected to the continuing fire of the Hotchkiss guns. The bodies of men, women, and children were found dispersed across a distance of two miles from the initial point of conflict. The intensity of the fighting, the close proximity of the combatants, and the reduced visibility caused by gun smoke contributed to a chaotic situation in which many innocent lives were lost. It is highly probable that, amidst the confusion, both soldiers and Lakota inadvertently caused casualties within their own groups.
The aftermath of the Wounded Knee Massacre was grim. Of the approximately 230 women and children and 120 men present at the camp, an estimated 153 were counted dead, and 44 were wounded. However, it is believed that many of the wounded managed to escape, and relatives likely removed a significant number of the dead before official counts could be made. Army casualties amounted to 25 dead and 39 wounded. The overall casualty count was likely the highest in the history of Plains Indian warfare, with the exception of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The news of the massacre ignited outrage and unrest among the Brules and Oglala Lakota on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations. However, by January 16, 1891, U.S. troops had successfully rounded up the remaining "hostiles," who, recognizing the futility of further resistance, surrendered. In the wake of the massacre, the surviving wounded Native Americans were left to suffer in a harsh three-day blizzard. Later, civilian contractors were hired to collect the bodies and bury them in a mass grave.
A particularly disturbing aspect of the aftermath was the conduct of the soldiers involved. Following the massacre, they posed for a photograph alongside the mass grave, a chilling display of indifference to the human tragedy. Furthermore, twenty Medals of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States, were later awarded to soldiers who participated in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
However, the events at Wounded Knee did not go entirely without scrutiny. General Nelson Miles, deeply disturbed by the accounts of the massacre, denounced Colonel Forsyth’s actions and relieved him of command. Although an Army Court of Inquiry later criticized Forsyth for his tactical decisions, they ultimately exonerated him of any direct responsibility, leading to his reinstatement. Despite this, Miles continued to publicly criticize Forsyth and to promote the view that Wounded Knee was a deliberate massacre.
Beyond the immediate loss of life, the Wounded Knee Massacre had a profound and lasting impact on the Sioux Nation. It marked a turning point, forcing them to confront the full reality of white conquest. Prior to the massacre, despite the hardships of reservation life, many Lakota still harbored hopes of liberation and a return to their traditional ways of life, a sentiment deeply rooted in the Ghost Dance religion. However, the horrors of Wounded Knee shattered these illusions, forcing them to accept that conformity to the white man’s ways was the price of survival. It is noteworthy that the same year as the Wounded Knee Massacre, the U.S. Census Bureau officially declared the end of the frontier, symbolizing the completion of the westward expansion and the subjugation of Native American populations.
In 1903, surviving relatives erected a monument at the site of the mass grave, honoring the memory of the many innocent women and children who perished in the massacre. In subsequent years, Native American activists have persistently called upon the U.S. government to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded to the soldiers involved, but these efforts have been unsuccessful. However, in 2001, the National Congress of American Indians passed two resolutions condemning the Medal of Honor awards and reiterating the call for their revocation.
The Wounded Knee Massacre battlefield was designated a National Historic Site on December 21, 1965. Although modern development, including buildings and road systems, has altered and fragmented the landscape, it remains a powerful reminder of the last major military clash between the U.S. Army and Native Americans. Located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the site features a series of markers that interpret the events of the massacre, as well as a privately operated museum that displays artifacts recovered from the battlefield. Perched atop a low hill, near the location of the Hotchkiss battery, stands a simple white frame church. Behind the church lies the cemetery, which encompasses the mass grave of the Lakota who died in the massacre and the 1903 monument. The site is currently owned by private individuals and the Sioux tribe. The battlefield is accessible via a secondary road, located approximately 16 miles northeast of the town of Pine Ridge.