Daniel F. Royer

Daniel F. Royer served as a United States Indian agent, an official tasked with representing the U.S. government to Indigenous tribes, particularly on reservations. He was the head of the Pine Ridge Agency starting in August 1889. Royer was fearful of the growing popularity of the Ghost Dance religious movement among the Oglala Lakota on his reservation. He believed the Ghost Dancers were a threat to the government's assimilation efforts and demanded that the military address the situation. This stance contributed to the events leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre in December 1890, where approximately 150-300 Lakota individuals were killed by U.S. Army troops.12