29th December 1890: Lakota Sioux massacred at Wounded Knee

NOTE: This is a very brief overview of events that transpired at Wounded Knee. There is further context, that has not been explored here, that suggests the attack was pre-planned since many weapons had already been surrendered by the Lakota before the shooting began.

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The 19th Century saw white settlers move westward across north America, in accordance with the disputed ideology of Manifest Destiny. The resulting forced relocation of Native Americans led to a series of conflicts collectively known as the American Indian Wars. Yet, by 1890, settlers and gold miners had begun to encroach on the new reservations, while the bison on which the people of the Great Plains depended had been almost wiped out. In desperation the Native people began to turn to performing the Ghost Dance that promised to bring about a revival of their pre-European existence.

White Americans, fearing that the Ghost Dance might be a prelude for war, decided to act. In a botched attempt to arrest the Lakota Sioux Chief Sitting Bull, he was shot and killed. This raised tensions in the Native community resulting in hundreds of people, led by Chief Spotted Elk, opting to head for safety at the Pine Ridge reservation.

Having been intercepted by a detachment of U.S. 7th Cavalry, the Lakota set up camp near Wounded Knee Creek on 28 December. The next morning Colonel James Forsyth ordered the Native Americans to surrender their weapons. Some sources then allege that a medicine man named Yellow Bird antagonised the U.S. troops by performing the Ghost Dance. Meanwhile a young Lakota named Black Coyote engaged in a scuffle after he refused to give up his rifle, possibly because he was deaf or he didn’t understand the order to disarm. In the commotion a rifle discharged, prompting a frantic gunfight that killed at least 150 and possibly as many as 300 tribespeople, most of whom were old men, women and children.

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