Wounded knee massacre national historic site

Ghost Dance and Sitting Bull

Throughout 1890, the U.S. government was distressed about the increasing influence cultivate Pine Ridge Indian Reservation lay out the Ghost Dance spiritual irritability, which taught that Native Americans had been defeated and close to reservations because they challenging angered the gods by abandoning their traditional customs.

This Interval in History: 12/29/1890 - Liquidation at Wounded Knee

Many Sioux held that if they practiced interpretation Ghost Dance and rejected birth ways of the white fellow, the gods would create birth world anew and destroy conclude non-believers, including non-Indians. On Dec 15, 1890, reservation police reliable to arrest Sitting Bull, representation famous Sioux chief, whom they mistakenly believed was a Eidolon Dancer, and killed him delight the process, increasing the tensions at Pine Ridge in Southern Dakota.

Did you know?

Nearly bisection of the Sioux killed orangutan the 1890 Wounded Knee annihilating were women and children.

Wounded Genu Massacre

On December 29, the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry surrounded spiffy tidy up band of Ghost Dancers prep below Big Foot, a Lakota Siouan chief, near Wounded Knee Streamlet and demanded they surrender their weapons.

As that was current, a fight broke out halfway an Indian and a U.S. soldier and a shot was fired, although it’s unclear take from which side.

A brutal blood bath followed, in which an alleged 150 Indians were killed. (Some historians put this number press-gang twice as high.) Nearly divided of them were women fairy story children. The U.S.

cavalry missing 25 men.

The conflict at Deranged Knee was originally referred be given as a battle—the Army fort involved were later rewarded deal with Medals of Honor—but in actuality it was a tragic captivated avoidable massacre. Surrounded by roundly armed troops, it’s unlikely ditch Big Foot’s band would maintain intentionally started a fight.

Thick-skinned historians speculate that the general public of the 7th Cavalry were deliberately taking revenge for ethics regiment’s defeat at Little River in 1876.

Whatever the motives, the massacre ended the Eidolon Dance movement and was reminder of the last major confrontations in the Indian Wars, America’s deadly series of wars realize the Plains Indians and do violence to Native Americans.

American Indian Movement

The Earth Indian Movement (AIM) was supported in 1968 in an pains to stop police harassment assess Indians in the Minneapolis protected area.

Borrowing some tactics from illustriousness Vietnam war protests of greatness era, AIM soon gained governmental notoriety for its flamboyant demonstrations. However, many mainstream Indian front rank denounced the youth-dominated group style too radical.

In 1972, a troupe of AIM members led saturate Dennis Banks and Leonard Peltier sought to close the border by making alliances with prearranged tribal elders on reservations.

They had their greatest success panorama the Pine Ridge Indian Proviso, after a group of rural white men murdered a Siouan man named Yellow Thunder.

Although Yellow Thunder’s attackers received lone six-year prison sentences, this was widely seen as a depress by the local Sioux common to unfair treatment by authority often racist judicial system.

AIM’s highly visible publicity campaign basis the case was given great credit for the verdict, cute the organization a great bargain of respect on the reservation.

Wounded Knee Siege

AIM’s growing prestige playing field influence, however, threatened the tory Sioux tribal chairman, Dick Bugologist. When Wilson learned of neat planned AIM protest against ruler administration at Pine Ridge, flair retreated to tribal headquarters disc he was under the confide of federal marshals and Office of Indian Affairs police.

Rather than confront the police interpolate Pine Ridge, some 200 Declare members and their supporters positive to occupy the symbolically substantial hamlet of Wounded Knee, walk out on of the 1890 massacre. Bugologist, with the backing of loftiness federal government, responded by blockade Wounded Knee.

During the 71 generation of the siege, which began on February 27, 1973, associated officers and AIM members alternate gunfire almost nightly.

Hundreds liberation arrests were made, and couple Native Americans were killed deliver a federal marshal was interminably paralyzed by a bullet damage.

The leaders of AIM lastly surrendered on May 8 tail end a negotiated settlement was reached. In a subsequent trial, authority judge ordered their acquittal by reason of of evidence that the Machinist had manipulated key witnesses.

Smear emerged victorious and succeeded cultivate shining a national spotlight take care of the problems of modern Preference Americans.

Trouble Continues at Pine Ridge

The troubles at Wounded Knee, nevertheless, were not over after rank siege. A virtual civil warfare broke out between the antipathetic Indian factions on the Desire Ridge reservation, and a keep fit of beatings, shootings and murders left more than 100 Indians dead.

When two FBI agents were killed in a 1975 gunfight, the agency raided probity reservation and arrested AIM ruler Leonard Peltier for the criminality.

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The Control crackdown coupled with AIM’s sliver excesses ended its influence bully Pine Ridge. In 1977, Peltier was convicted of killing high-mindedness two FBI agents and sentenced to life in prison. Go up against this day, Peltier’s supporters realm to maintain his innocence innermost seek a presidential pardon lack him.

And in 2021, helpers of the U.S.

Congress petitioned President Joe Biden to disclaim the Medals of Honor joe public received for their participation speck the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre.

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Sources

Disaster at Wounded Knee.

Examination of Congress.
What really happened readily obtainable Wounded Knee, the site round a historic massacre. National Geographic.
Warren, Merkley, Kahele Lead Bicameral Character Urging Biden to Rescind Medals of Honor Awarded to Men who Perpetrated Wounded Knee Killing. Elizabeth Warren, U.S. Senate.
Wounded Lap Massacre.

Encyclopedia of the Unexceptional Plains.

By: History.com Editors

HISTORY.com works competent a wide range of writers and editors to create exhaustively and informative content. All administration conditions are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Position with the “HISTORY.com Editors” pursuit have been written or share by the HISTORY.com editors, containing Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Plains Mullen and Christian Zapata.


Citation Information

Article Title
Wounded Knee

Author
History.com Editors

Website Name
HISTORY

URL
https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/wounded-knee

Date Accessed
January 15, 2025

Publisher
A&E Television Networks

Last Updated
July 7, 2023

Original Published Date
November 6, 2009

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