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What happened at Wounded Knee in 1890?

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A Cheyenne River Sioux dancer in colorful traditional regalia performs during the Grand Entry at a powwow, with an American flag and other participants in the background. — Oceti Sakowin A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe performing during the Grand Entry at the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Fair Rodeo and Powwow, Eagle Butte, South Dakota, September 4, 2016.

The event often mischaracterized as the "Battle of Wounded Knee" was, in fact, the Wounded Knee Massacre, a tragic slaughter of approximately 150–300 Lakota people by the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry on December 29, 1890, in South Dakota.12

The massacre occurred during a period of intense hardship for the Lakota, who were suffering from hunger and the reduction of their reservation lands. Many had turned to the Ghost Dance religion, which promised a restoration of traditional life. U.S. officials, fearing the movement was militant, sought to repress it, leading to heightened tensions and the death of Sitting Bull.13

When the 7th Cavalry surrounded a group of Miniconjou Lakota to confiscate their weapons, a struggle broke out over a gun. The soldiers opened fire, killing scores of people—including women and children—who were largely defenseless. This atrocity marked the climax of U.S. efforts to repress the Plains peoples and effectively ended organized resistance to reservation life and assimilation.412