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Events leading up to massacre
The U.S. gave an additional 9 million acres of the 1868 treaty reservation. The natives living on the reservation could not leave without a pass from the Indian agent. This caused much conflict. -
Remaining Months of 1889
The United States cut rations given to Native Americans by half as soon as they secured the signatures of the 1877 Black Hills act. This created famine and death to the Sioux on the reservation. -
Ghost Dance
Charles L. Hyde, a citizen of Pierre, South Dakota, believed that the Sioux were planning an outbreak during the gathering of the Ghost Dance due to the large crowds of Indians. Hyde told Indian agents that he had reliable information from a Pine Ridge Sioux about the outbreak. -
Summer of 1890
More and more were Indians were gathering at Ghost Dance which caused great alarm with the white people living south and west of the Sioux reservations.The white people believed that an uprising would occur. -
Pine Ridge
Agent Royer of the Pine Ridge Agency requested six to seven hundred troops to Pine Ridge to restore order. -
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Home Guard
On November 20th, 1890 the Rapid City Journal reported that the Sioux were on the warpath. On November 22nd the first governor of South Dakota, Governor Mellette, created the "Home Guard". This was a cowboy militia to guard homesteaders along the west edge of the Pine Ridge and Cheyenne River reservations. These men were armed with hundreds of guns and lots of ammunition. -
Chief Sitting Bull Murder
Chief Sitting Bull was murdered by federal Indian police, which was commanded by agent Andrew McLaughlin, when they attempted to arrest him at his home on the Standing Rock Reservation. Sitting Bull's followers fled with his half brother, Chief Big Foot, to seek revenge. -
Chief Big Foot
Chief Big Foot feared being arrested and headed south to the Pine Ridge Reservation. The Seventh Cavalry intercepted Chief Big Foot and over 300 of his followers and escorted them to Wounded Knee Creek. This was a camp site that was already settled with several log houses. That evening Colonel Forsyth, a white leader, arrived and assumed command and captured Chief Big Foot. -
The Battle at Wounded Knee
Colonel Forsyth attempted to disarm Chief Big Foots band. The women and children were separated from the men and the soldiers were very abusive. Big Foot was sick with pneumonia and flying a white flag or truce next to his tent. The soldiers completely surrounded the Indians and disarmed them. When the soldiers attempted to take the rifle of a deaf Indian, it discharged and the soldiers open fired on the Indians. -
The Aftermath of Wounded Knee Massacre
About 300 of Chief Big Foot's band were killed. About 30 soldiers also died, many in their own cross fire. Some women and children were found as far as two miles away, gunned down by soldiers. -
The Burial
A burial party picked up bodies of the dead Indians. There were about 146 still left on the massacre site after a blizzard swept through the area. They dug a massive grave and buried the dead without a ceremony. -
The Wounded Knee Incident
Richard wilson is elected as Chairman of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He favors family and friends for jobs, uses the tribal lands in unpopular ways, and uses violence to suppress political opponents. Tension on the reservation is growing. -
Tensions Rising
Charges of impeachment were brought to wilson, but since the prosecution's case was not ready immediately the council dropped the hearing. Tribal Chiefs and American Indian Movement (AIM) leaders decided to protest through occupation of the site of the last large scale massacre of the Indian Wars: Wounded Knee. AIM members took 11 residents of the Oglala Sioux hostage, some of them were armed. -
The Occupation Begins
Aim was founded in 1968 by Native leaders as a militant political and civil rights organization. They came with a caravan of trucks in the middle of the night, took the residents hostage, and set up road blocks surrounding the town. -
First Days of Occupation
After the first few days of the occupation, 2 senators went to Wounded Knee to negotiate the release of the hostages. The terms that were proposed were never agreed upon by both sides and the conflict continued. When hostages finally allowed to leave, some stayed in wounded knee after sympathizing with the Oglala, Sioux. -
Independent Oglala Nation
The Oglala tribe established the independent Oglala Nation to negotiate with the United States nation to nation. The Independent Oglala Nation was recognized by the First International Indian Treaty Council held on Standing rock Reservation. -
The End of the Occupation
The Wounded Knee occupation lasted 71 days. During this time 2 Sioux men were shot to death by federal agents and several more were wounded. On May 8, the AIM leaders and their supporters surrendered after officials promised to investigate their complaints.
