Wounded Knee, Battle of

(1890)

   In 1890, the U.S. Army went to the Sioux reservation in South Dakota to arrest Chief Sitting Bull. The federal government feared that Sitting Bull was encouraging the Sioux to attack white settlements. As the army attempted to arrest the chief, a soldier shot and killed Sitting Bull. The Indians who were living on Sitting Bull’s campground fled. The next day, December 29, 1890, a small band of Sioux were captured by the army and forced into the Wounded Knee Creek at South Dakota. The Indians were told to surrender their weapons. As they were giving up their guns, a rifle discharged. In response, the army opened fire. More than 300 men, women, and children were killed. The wounded attempted to crawl away, but a heavy snow fell that evening and many were found dead the next day. The Battle of Wounded Knee was the last act of Indian resistance in the western part of the United States.

   See also <>; <>.

   FURTHER READING:

    Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West . New York: Henry Holt, 2001.

   GENE C. GERARD