Looking Back: The Battle of Wounded Knee

The slaughter of American Indians at Wounded Knee left such a cultural wound, that it is often used to describe any wrongs done to the natives by the white men.

American Indians dispute the title of “battle” for the incident, and many prefer that it be called the Massacre at Wounded Knee. The U.S. government simply refers to it as Wounded Knee now, but when it occurred, it was viewed by many white people as a just outcome for tribal warfare.

The Ghost Dance

Following centuries of mistreatment by the white men, numerous native American people were looking for a solution to the encroachment of settlers upon their lands. In 1888, Wavaka, a Paiute holy man from Nevada traveled across the West teaching and preaching about an end to the white man problem. He talked of a Ghost Dance that, once complete, would sweep away the current world and replace it with one ruled by the American Indians.

He promoted praying and dancing and a forsaking of the white men’s ways, particularly drinking alcohol. He said that through this new lifestyle, the Ghost Dance religion would be fulfilled. Chiefs Short Bull and Kicking Bear came to hear about this new religion.

While they started to practice some of its tenants, they did not believe that its approach of non-violence was a real solution for them. They believed that by practicing this religion on their own and wearing special Ghost Dance shirts, they would be protected from the white man’s bullets.

U.S. officials started to become worried that the Ghost Dance would lead to attacks on settlers, as they banned it on Lakota reservations. When their attempts to stop the growth of this religion proved unsuccessful, they called in the military to take over.

The Last Massacre of a Long War

When the U.S. 7th Cavalry showed up to force the natives onto reservations and stop them from practicing the Ghost Dance, Short Bull and Kicking Bear took their followers (men, women and children) to the edge of the Pine Ridge reservation. They sent word to Sitting Bull to join them, but he and his small party were intercepted by U.S. soldiers and gunned down.

The Cavalry then met up with the followers of Short Bull and Kicking Bear. They started to disarm them, but met with resistance. Before they had completely disarmed all of them, shots were fired. It is unclear whether the natives or the soldiers began firing, but the natives were outnumbered and outgunned.

The 7th Cavalry under Colonel James Forsyth slaughtered over 150 that day, including women and children. Another 50 were wounded, while the solders only suffered only 25 losses. In the chaos, each side ended up killing some of their own, and many were gunned down as they ran to escape the fighting.

This was the last decisive battle or massacre of the war between American Indians and the white men. Other skirmishes would follow, but nothing approaching this scale.

The Massacre’s Effect on History

Following Wounded Knee, Colonel Forsyth was charged with the slaughter of innocents, but was soon exonerated. Twenty of the U.S. soldiers in the battle were awarded the Medal of Honor, which the descendants of Wounded Knee are still trying to nullify to this day.

For many American whites, Wounded Knee was seen as an unprovoked attack on U.S. soldiers. The survivors were condemned for trying to incite violence and pushed further from their original lands.

Some, like noted Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum, called for the eradication of the American Indians, seeing this massacre as one of the final steps toward getting rid of the native problem.

The massacre at Wounded Knee was the last place of stanch resistance from the American Indians against the white man. For the next few decades, they suffered mostly in silence as they were all pushed onto reservations and forced to accept government assistance to survive.

Since 1986, the Big Foot Memorial Riders have commemorated those who died at Wounded Knee. The battlefield has also become a National Historic Landmark. While overlooked and swept under the carpet at the time, the tragedy is now commemorated for all time, and those who died there will not be forgotten.