Wounded Knee Massacre: A History from Beginning to End

The events which took place on a bitterly cold morning near Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890 represent the last acts in the series of bloody conflicts that were carried out between white settlers and Native Americans over a period of more than two hundred years. These deaths of several hundred people of the Lakota tribe at the hands of soldiers from the U.S. 7th Cavalry have also become symbolic of the often violent subjugation of Native American culture.

This event was originally known in the United States as the Battle of Wounded Knee and was celebrated as a resounding victory for U.S. troops over a dangerous band of Native American warriors. More than twenty soldiers who participated were awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. award for valor in combat. It only later became clear that most of the dead Lakota were unarmed women and children and that this group of Native American people was not on the warpath but attempting to flee to safety on a reservation.

Wounded Knee was not just another battle of the Indian Wars. It marked the moment when hopes for the preservation of a unique Native American way of life finally died. Before Wounded Knee, there were frequent and often violent conflicts between settlers and Native Americans. After Wounded Knee, most Native Americans were confined to reservations where they were increasingly overwhelmed by feelings of despair and hopelessness.

Wounded Knee is important in itself as an example of the massacre of helpless people by a well-armed adversary from an entirely different culture, but also in the wider context as the final act in the story of conflict between whites and Native Americans. Whether you choose to call it a battle, a massacre, or simply a tragedy, this is the story of what really happened at Wounded Knee Creek in December 1890.