Wounded Knee Massacre — violent attack on Lakota Indians in 1890 by the United States Army
One of the deadliest massacres of Native Americans in U.S. history, killing up to 300 Lakota people during the Pine Ridge Campaign of 1890.
Key Facts
- Lakota killed
- 250–300
- Lakota wounded
- 51
- U.S. soldiers killed
- 25
- U.S. soldiers wounded
- 39
- Medals of Honor awarded
- 19 specifically for Wounded Knee
- Military unit
- U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
U.S. Army forces, responding to settler anxiety over the Ghost Dance religious movement and fears of a Sioux resurgence, moved to disarm Spotted Elk's band of Miniconjou Lakota and 38 Hunkpapa Lakota camped at Wounded Knee Creek. The regiment, supported by four Hotchkiss mountain guns, surrounded the encampment on the morning of December 29, 1890.
During the disarmament, a confrontation erupted when a deaf tribesman, Black Coyote, resisted surrendering his rifle; his weapon discharged, and several young Lakota men with concealed weapons opened fire. Soldiers then fired indiscriminately into the camp. Between 250 and 300 Lakota people were killed, along with 25 U.S. soldiers, in what became known as the Wounded Knee Massacre.
The massacre effectively ended large-scale armed resistance by the Lakota and marked the close of the Indian Wars era. In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution expressing deep regret for the event. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark, and in 2001 the National Congress of American Indians called on the federal government to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded to participants.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Colonel James W. Forsyth, Major Samuel M. Whitside.
Side B
1 belligerent
Spotted Elk.