What Really Happened At The Wounded Knee Massacre In South Dakota?

On December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, the U.S. 7th Cavalry killed approximately 300 Lakota Sioux men, women, and children in what became known as the Wounded Knee Massacre.

This tragic event marked the final major confrontation of the American Indian Wars.

The massacre occurred against a backdrop of rising tensions. The Ghost Dance movement, a spiritual revival promising the restoration of Native lands and the return of buffalo herds, had been spreading among Plains tribes.

U.S. authorities viewed this religious practice with suspicion, fearing it would incite resistance.

The 7th Cavalry intercepted a band of Lakota led by Chief Spotted Elk (also called Big Foot), who were traveling to the Pine Ridge Reservation.

The soldiers surrounded the camp and began confiscating weapons.

When a deaf Lakota man named Black Coyote resisted giving up his rifle, a shot rang out. What followed was chaos as soldiers opened fire with rifles and rapid-firing Hotchkiss guns positioned on surrounding hills.

The Lakota, mostly unarmed and including many women and children, were cut down as they fled.

Some fought back briefly, but they were vastly outgunned. Bodies were found as far as three miles from the initial site.

A blizzard followed, and frozen bodies weren't buried for days.

Twenty-five soldiers also died, many from their own crossfire. Twenty soldiers received the Medal of Honor for their actions that day...a fact that remains deeply controversial today.