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What happened at the Wounded Knee Massacre?

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Plains Wars View of the army camp at Hidden Wood Creek during Lieut. Col. George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills expedition, 1874; photograph by W.H. Illingworth.

The Wounded Knee Massacre was the slaughter of approximately 150–300 Lakota individuals by the United States Army 7th Cavalry on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota.12

While often historically mischaracterized as a battle, the event was a massacre. Tensions had escalated due to the Ghost Dance movement and the death of Sitting Bull. When the 7th Cavalry moved to confiscate weapons from a group of Miniconjou, a struggle over a firearm led to the soldiers opening fire. Because many Lakota had already surrendered their weapons, they were largely defenseless. The military used Hotchkiss guns to fire upon the encampment, killing many women and children who attempted to flee.1345

This atrocity marked the climax of U.S. efforts to repress Plains peoples and effectively ended organized resistance to reservation life. It remains a profound symbol of the systemic violation of Native American rights and sovereignty.123