Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What led to the death of Sitting Bull in 1890?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
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.
In 1890, the Ghost Dance religious movement spread among the Sioux, promising a return to traditional ways of life and the restoration of Indigenous lands. U.S. government officials, alarmed by the movement and fearing it would incite an insurrection, ordered the arrest of Sitting Bull as a precautionary measure.123
On December 15, 1890, Lakota police were sent to the Grand River to take the chief into custody. Sitting Bull was killed during the arrest while his warriors were attempting to rescue him. His death served as a flashpoint that further heightened tensions on the Plains, contributing to the climate of conflict that culminated in the Wounded Knee Massacre later that month.132