Note from the Author: Some information and images may not be suitable for children.
The Native Americans were faced with
forced Americanization, oppression, and genocide by the white Americans during
the late 1800s. The United States government’s reaction to the gathering of
Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee was unjustified and genocidal. The Seventh Calvary sought a way to
get revenge on Sitting Bull and the Lakota following their defeat at the Battle
of Little Bighorn. The United States government used the Ghost Dance religion
as a reason to arrest and kill Native American leaders that they deemed
troublemakers. The result was the senseless death of hundreds of Native
Americans on December 29, 1890.
The Battle of Little Bighorn
The
United States Calvary and a couple of Native American tribes fought against
each other during the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25 through June 26,
1876. The Sioux and Cheyenne tribes had grown tired of the increased presence
of white men on their reservations after gold had been found. In response, the
tribes, led by Sitting Bull, met in Montana to make a stand against the white
men.[1]
The United States military sent three dispatches of military to deal with the
defiant Native Americans.[2] Colonel
George Custer led the Seventh Calvary during the battle.
On
June 25, 1876, the United States Army discovered a Native American village not
far from the Little Bighorn River. Custer contemplated using the element of
surprise to attack the village, but decided against it since Native American
scouts already knew where they were.[3] Instead,
Custer decided to divide his men into three battalions and sent them in various
directions to attack the Natives directly. According to the article The Battle of Little Bighorn, 1876, “he
[Custer] did not realize that the number of warriors in the village numbered
three times his strength.”[4]
Custer and his men had found themselves in a dangerous situation as the
Native-American village became aware of their presence.
Custer
and his battalion, of the Seventh Calvary, fought several skirmishes against
the Natives. Custer and his men found themselves surrounded by the warrior Crazy
Horse and a group of Oglala Sioux.[5]
George Herendon reported that “we stayed in the bush about three hours, and I
could hear heavy firing below in the river, apparently about two miles distant.
I did not know who it was, but knew the Indians were fighting some of our men,
and learned afterward it was Custer's command.” [6]
Custer and his men made their last stand surrounded by hundreds of Natives.
Custer and his men were ultimately killed by the Natives.[7]
The other two battalions of the Seventh Calvary had been unable to come to
their aid.
Ghost Dance Religion
Native Americans grew
restless with their living situations and desired a change. The article Wounded Knee I explained, “deprived of
their homelands, their revolts suppressed, and their way of life besieged, many
Plains Indians dreamed of restoring a vanished past, free of hunger, disease,
and bitter warfare.”[8]
Native American messiahs, or mystics, prophesied a change for the Natives in
the future.[9]
In 1889, a new Native American mystic’s teaching began to gain popularity among
the tribes in the Western United States. Wovoka, the mystic, sparked hope in
the hearts of the Native Americans for a return of the old ways of life.
Wovoka’s teachings
were specific on the events that would take place during this prophesied event.
Patti Jo King in The Truth About the
Wounded Knee Massacre stated that Wovoka told of, “an age that promised an
end to Euro-American oppression and a return to tribal autonomy, abundance and
spiritual renewal.”[10]
In order to bring about those changes, Wovoka’s followers were instructed to
perform rituals: such as traditional dances, prayer, and rites.[11]
These rituals were supposed to cause drastic changes throughout the United
States that would benefit the Natives. A flood was supposed to cover the Earth
and kill the white men. [12]
In addition, the buffalo, Great Spirit, and ancestors were supposed to return.[13]
The new religious
movement became known as the Ghost Dance. The religion got its name from the
ritualistic dancing performed by its adherents. In addition, the Ghost Dance
followers wore special Ghost Dance shirts during the ritual performances. The Wounded Knee I article indicated that,
“wearing special Ghost Dance shirts, fabricated from white muslin and decorated
with red fringes and painted symbols, dancers would spin in a circle until they
became so dizzy that they entered into a trance.”[14]
The religion, combined with Native American traditions and hope for change,
quickly spread through various western tribes and then around the country.[15]
The United States
government labeled Native American leaders, such as Sitting Bull, troublemakers.[16]
Sitting Bull had been involved in a few confrontations between the United
States military and Native Americans during the Indian Wars. One of those
confrontations had been during the Battle of Little Bighorn. Sitting Bull had
returned to the Lakotas, to the Standing Rock Reservation which was located in
both North and South Dakota.
The
Ghost Dance religion made the United States government uneasy and they feared
another Native American upraising. White Americans became afraid as the
religion spread across the country. James McLaughlin noted that, “‘The
‘Messiah’ craze has been inaugurated by these leaders for the purpose of
exciting the Indians, and as a cover for their meetings to arrange for an
outbreak.” [17]
Sitting Bull was one of the leaders that had been mistakenly identified as a
Ghost Dance leader. [18]
One of the Indian Agents at Standing Rock asked for military assistance and
protection against the Sioux. [19] Later,
an order was issued for the arrests of Sitting Bull and numerous other Native-American
leaders.
Officers
prepared to arrest Sitting Bull, on December 15, 1890, at the reservation and
prevent him from fleeing his cabin.[20]
Sitting Bull resisted the arrest and a scuffle broke out between the officers
and several Native Americans. Sitting Bull and other Natives were shot and
killed.[21]
Several of the offers were killed also. Word of his death spread quickly to
other reservations, which put the Natives on high alert.
Wounded Knee
Lakota Chief Big
Foot, also known as Spotted Elk, feared that what had happened to Sitting Bull
would happen to his people. He and his followers of men, women, and children
gathered together and fled to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota on
December 28, 1890.[22]
According to the article Wounded Knee II,
“they were pursued by U.S. forces including units of the 7th Cavalry, the
regiment that Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse had defeated at the battle of the
Little Bighorn [sic].” [23]
Big Foot surrendered when the U.S. troops approached in order to protect his
people. They were surrounded and led to an area by the Wounded Knee Creek.[24]
On December 29,
1890, Big Foot and the Sioux warriors sat in a powwow in their camp, which was
surrounded by the U.S. Military.[25]
Big Foot grew weaker from pneumonia, while a medicine man performed traditional
dances.[26]
Colonel James W. Forsyth was overseeing the surrender of weapons at the camp
and ordered the medicine man to stop, but the medicine man refused to do so.[27] A
witness, Philip Wells, indicated that when the weapons were obtained the men
were separated from the women and children.[28]
The Native warriors and U.S. Troops were on edge due to the intense situation.
There are
discrepancies on what initially happened to cause the first gun shot, but
reports are consistent on that it was initiated by a Native American. Turning
Hawk reported that, “there was a crazy man, a young man of very bad influence
and in fact a nobody, among that bunch of Indians fired his gun, and of course
the firing of a gun must have been the breaking of a military rule of some
sort, because immediately the soldiers returned fire and indiscriminate killing
followed.”[29]
Other reports suggested that the man was deaf or that he resisted giving up his
weapon. Regardless of the cause, that man was the first to fire a shot and was
responsible for the death of a U.S. officer. [30]
The scene erupted
into chaos following the first shot. Natives drew their knives and scrambled
for nearby weapons. Spotted Horse explained that, “the soldiers immediately
shot back at the Natives.” [31]
Other Natives drew out hidden weapons and began to return fire at the soldiers.[32]
Several Lakota men tried to escape into a ravine, but were surrounded and
killed. [33]
The Hotchkiss gun,
an early model machine gun capable of firing continuous rounds, had the most
significant impact on the unarmed Natives. The Hotchkiss sprayed bullets into
teepees and on unarmed women and children.[34]
Women sought safety, but mistakenly ran into an open field and later a ravine,
where they were killed.[35]
American Horse described, “right near the flag of truce a mother was shot down
with her infant; the child not knowing that its mother was dead was still
nursing, and that especially was a very sad sight.”[36]
Pregnant women, mothers, babies, and children of various ages were all killed,
even after they had survived the initial gunfire.
After
the massacre a significant number of bodies were scattered across the
landscape; a large majority were Lakota. The Massacre at Wounded Knee article state that, approximately 300
Sioux had been killed, including Chief Big Foot.[37]
There were only approximately twenty-five U.S. soldiers that had been killed
during the event.[38]
The injured soldiers were either taken or left to die in freezing temperatures
as a blizzard covered the region.[39] Approximately
fifty Natives were taken captive.[40]
Analysis
The
massacre that took place at Wounded Knee Creek had a larger impact than just
the deaths of hundreds of Lakota Sioux. The article Massacre at Wounded Knee indicated that, “scattered fighting
continued, but the massacre at Wounded Knee effectively squelched the Ghost
Dance movement and ended the Indian Wars.”[41]
The Native American people and their spirit had been broken by such a violent
act. The only way that they continued to fight was in the court room and by holding
onto their remaining traditions, instead of the fighting on a battlefield.
Another
question that was raised about the Ghost Dance religion was if had been used as
an excuse to arrest or eliminate suspected Native American leaders. [42]
After the religious movement began, there had been concern over public safety
if the religious became violent. Colin Calloway in First Peoples explained that, “Wovoka preached a religion that
promised the return of the old ways that would reunite its practitioners with
departed ancestors if they abstained from alcohol, lived in peace, and followed
a prescribed ritual, including dancing in a circle called the Ghost Dance.”[43]
The Ghost Dancers believed in peace and the protection of their people against
white man’s bullets.
The Seventh
Calvary’s involvement during the event raises questions about whether or not
the massacre was premeditated. Colin Calloway noted that the Seventh Calvary
was, “perhaps still smarting from their defeat at the Little Bighorn [sic]
fourteen years before.” [44]
Other sources suggest that it was an act of revenge against the Sioux for their
involvement in the Battle of Little Bighorn, which caused to the deaths of
numerous members of the Seventh Calvary. [45]
It is possible that the unarmed men, women, and children were murdered, which
is why General Nelson Miles obtained a court martial for numerous officers that
took part in the massacre.[46]
Instead a decision being made on whether or not the officers were guilty the
soldiers were given Medals of Honor.[47]
The
United States government and the Seventh Calvary were unjustified in their
actions at Wounded Knee. The fact that the Seventh Calvary had been defeated
during the Battle of Little Bighorn and the use of force on unarmed Natives
suggest that it was an act of revenge. The United States military had no proof
that Sitting Bull or Big Foot were Ghost Dance leaders, but chose to have them
arrested anyway indicates that they were looking for an excuse to remove a
potential threat. The actions taken against the Lakota at Wounded Knee were
senseless acts of violence, particularly when the number of women and children
that had been killed is taken into account. The massacre was the end to the
Indian Wars, but also to a Native American religion and a way of life.
[1] “The Battle of Little Bighorn, 1876,” EyeWitness to History, accessed February 8, 2017, http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/custer.htm
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] George Herendon quoted in “The Battle of Little Bighorn, 1876,” EyeWitness to History, accessed February 8, 2017, http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/custer.htm
[7] “Battle of Little Bighorn,” National Park Service, accessed February 8, 2017, https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/battle-of-the-little-bighorn.htm
[8] “Wounded Knee I,” Digital History, accessed January 23, 2017, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3503
[9] Colin Calloway, First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian
History (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008), 314.
[10] Patti Jo King, “The Truth About the Wounded Knee Massacre,” Indian Country Media Network, last modified December 30, 2016, https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/history/events/the-truth-about-the-wounded-knee-massacre/
[11] “Wounded Knee I,” Digital History.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Calloway, First Peoples, 315.
[16] Ibid., 315.
[17] James McLaughlin, “A Memorandum from James McLaughlin, Indian Agent at Pine Ridge Agency, Regarding the Reasons for the Ghost Dance Uprising, November 6, 1890.” Digital Public Library of America. Accessed January 24, 2017. https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sources/745
[18] “Massacre at Wounded Knee, 1890," EyeWitness to History, accessed January 23, 2017, http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/knee.htm
[19] Ibid.
[20] Calloway, First Peoples, 315.
[21] “Wounded Knee I,” Digital History.
[22] Turning Hawk, quoted in “Lakota Accounts of the Massacre at Wounded Knee,” PBS, accessed January 24, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/wklakota.htm
[23] “Wounded Knee II,” Digital History, accessed January 23, 2017, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3504
[24] Ibid.
[25] “Massacre at Wounded Knee,” EyeWitness to History.
[26] Philip Wells, “Ninety-Six Years among the Indians of the Northwest," quoted in "Massacre at Wounded Knee, 1890," EyeWitness to History, accessed January 23, 2017, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/knee.htm
[27] Ibid.
[28] Turning Hawk, “Lakota Accounts,” PBS.
[29] Ibid.
[30] Spotted Horse, quoted in “Lakota Accounts of the Massacre at Wounded Knee,” PBS, accessed January 24, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/wklakota.htm
[31] Ibid.
[32] Wells, “Ninety-Six Years,” EyeWitness to History.
[33] Turning Hawk, “Lakota Accounts,” PBS.
[34] “Massacre at Wounded Knee,” EyeWitness to History.
[35] Turning Hawk, “Lakota Accounts,” PBS.
[36] American Horse, quoted in “Lakota Accounts of the Massacre at Wounded Knee,” PBS,
accessed January 24, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/wklakota.htm
[37] “Massacre at Wounded Knee,” EyeWitness to History.
[38] “Wounded Knee,” History, accessed January 23, 2017, http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/wounded-knee
[39] “Massacre at Wounded Knee,” EyeWitness to History.
[40] “Wounded Knee II,” Digital History.
[41] “Massacre at Wounded Knee,” EyeWitness to History.
[42] King, “The Truth About the Wounded Knee Massacre,” Indian Country Media Network.
[43] Calloway, First Peoples, 314.
[44] Ibid., 315.
[45] Wounded Knee,” History.
[46] “Wounded Knee II,” Digital History.
[47] King, “The Truth About the Wounded Knee Massacre,” Indian Country Media Network.
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