Wounded Knee

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The final major encounter between Indians and the U.S. Army, Wounded Knee grew out of the revitalization movement known as the Ghost Dance that swept western Indian reservations in 1889–90. On the Sioux reservations of North and South Dakota, people embraced the new religion with fervor. Fearful of violence, agents called for military assistance, and strong forces were dispatched. The overall commander, Maj. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, pressed for the imprisonment of such “troublemakers” as Sitting Bull and Big Foot.

On 15 December 1890, Sitting Bull was killed while resisting arrest by Indian policemen. Big Foot eluded arrest when he led his band of Lakota Sioux in a trek toward Pine Ridge Agency; his intent was not hostile, as assumed, but peaceful. Intercepted, the band was escorted to Wounded Knee Creek to be disarmed. Col. James W. Forsyth and the Seventh Cavalry, about 500 strong and bolstered by four small‐caliber cannon, surrounded the Indian village of about 350 people. Neither side intended a fight, but the disarming process built tension and suspicion. A rifle accidentally discharged touched off battle.

After a brief exchange of close range fire and hand‐to‐hand fighting, the Indians scattered and the artillery opened fire. The village was flattened, and Indians fleeing in all directions were cut down. About 200 of Big Foot's people, including women and children, were killed or wounded, while the troops lost 25 killed and 39 wounded. After Wounded Knee, General Miles maneuvered his forces in such fashion as to bring about the surrender of the Ghost Dancers. The Indians, and even General Miles, accused the troops of indiscriminate massacre. Although few such incidents can be documented, the tragedy at Wounded Knee poisoned relations between whites and Indians; today, it still symbolizes the wrongs inflicted by one race on the other.

[See also Plains Indians Wars.]

Bibliography

• Robert M. Utley, The Last Days of the Sioux Nation, 1963.
• Richard E. Jensen, R. Eli Paul, and John E. Carter: Eyewitness at Wounded Knee, 1991

American Indian activism in the 1960s and 1970s culminated with the occupation of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota by American Indian Movement (AIM) members. In early 1973 AIM leaders responded to requests from members of the Lakota community to enter Wounded Knee and establish an alternative political community within the Lakota Nation. Residents opposed the tribal government of Chairman Richard "Dick" Wilson, charging that Wilson abused and overextended his power by placing the tribal police force under his direct command and using violence and terror on community members who opposed his goals.

AIM had gained notoriety for its pan-Indian vision of community activism, self-awareness, and empowerment—bringing attention to the enduring economic and political struggles of Indian peoples. AIM members had occupied several reservation border towns, such as Gordon, Nebraska, to protest white racism and discrimination against Indians, and when invited to Pine Ridge, hundreds of Indian activists mobilized for an armed struggle. Under the leadership of Russell Means and Dennis Banks, AIM members declared themselves representatives of the legitimate leaders of the Oglala Nation, issued a series of demands, including the recognition of outstanding Lakota treaty rights, and seized the town of Wounded Knee in February 1973.

Because of Wounded Knee's infamous history as the site of the 1890 massacre and the attention it garnered in the best-selling book by Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, AIM's occupation attracted immediate press coverage and evoked deep sentiments throughout the United States. The image of armed Indian militants occupying historic monuments in protest of racism, injustice, and continued economic and political oppression resonated with many minority and activist communities, and AIM found sympathizers and supporters throughout the country.

As the standoff intensified, Wilson called in the National Guard. Heavily armed national guardsmen with advanced weaponry and assault vehicles laid siege to the AIM encampment. During the ensuing seventy-day siege, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition were fired. Two AIM members were killed, and one federal marshal was seriously injured. Facing daily terror and supply shortages, AIM members surrendered on 8 May 1973 and were quickly arrested. The ensuing trials, particularly those of Banks and Means, attracted national attention.

Violence continued to plague Pine Ridge, and in 1975 a shootout involving AIM leaders left two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and one Native American man dead. The FBI charged Leonard Peltier, a member of AIM, with killing the agents. Following his extradition from Canada, Peltier was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. His controversial trial and sentence attracted condemnation from international legal observers, and many people consider Peltier the leading political prisoner of the United States.

Bibliography

Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.

Matthiessen, Peter. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. New York: Viking Press, 1983.

Smith, Paul Chaat, and Robert Allen Warrior. Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee. New York: New Press, 1996.

M/CLOUDY

Temperature: 50°F / 10°C RealFeel Temperature™: 37°F / 2°C Humidity: 68% Winds: S 29 mph / 47 kmh Pressure: 30.14" Visibility: 10 mi. / 16 km

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Friday		HI:  48°F / 8°C LO: 21°F / -6°C
Saturday		HI:  52°F / 11°C LO: 24°F / -4°C

A creek in South Dakota where United States soldiers killed large numbers of Dakota Native Americans — Sioux — in 1890. The Sioux, under Chief Big Foot, had been resisting settlement of the area and had fled to Montana, but United States troops brought them back to South Dakota for detention. As the soldiers were disarming the warriors in an army camp at Wounded Knee, a rifle shot alarmed the soldiers, and fighting broke out in which more than two hundred Sioux were killed, including women and children. The massacre was the last major military conflict between whites and Native Americans.

Wounded Knee, South Dakota
—  CDP  —
Location in Shannon County and the state of South Dakota
Coordinates: 43°8′38″N 102°22′4″W / 43.14389°N 102.36778°W / 43.14389; -102.36778
Country	United States
State	South Dakota
County	Shannon
Area
- Total	1.1 sq mi (2.8 km2)
- Land	1.1 sq mi (2.8 km2)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	3,235 ft (986 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	328
- Density	298.2/sq mi (117.1/km2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code	57794
Area code(s)	605
FIPS code	46-72900[1]
GNIS feature ID	1265714[2]

Wounded Knee (Lakhota Cankpe Opi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Shannon County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 328 at the 2000 census.

The town is named for the Wounded Knee Creek which runs through the region. The bones and heart of the Sioux chief Crazy Horse were reputedly buried along this creek by his family following his death in 1877. The town lies within the Pine Ridge Reservation, occupied by the Oglala Lakota (Sioux).

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 References 5 External links

History

On December 29, 1890, in the same area, the United States 7th Cavalry killed more than 300 men, women and children who were being relocated to the Sioux reservation at Pine Ridge (see: Wounded Knee massacre).

In 1973 the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied the Pine Ridge Reservation near Wounded Knee in protest against the federal government and its policies related to Native Americans. They began the occupation on February 27. A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the AIM ensued. The militants surrendered on May 8. (see: Wounded Knee Incident)

Geography

Wounded Knee is located at 43°8′38″N 102°22′4″W / 43.14389°N 102.36778°W / 43.14389; -102.36778 (43.144002, -102.367712)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), all of it land.

Wounded Knee has been assigned the ZIP code 57794.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 328 people, 54 households, and 52 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 306.0 people per square mile (118.4/km²). There were 56 housing units at an average density of 52.2/sq mi (20.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.78% Native American and 1.22% European American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population. In 2000, Wounded Knee had the 16th highest crime rate in the US.^{[citation needed]}

There were 54 households out of which 61.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 35.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 1.9% were non-families. 1.9% of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 6.07 and the average family size was 6.04.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 50.6% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 10.4% from 45 to 64, and 3.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 18 years. For every 100 females there were 108.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $12,206, and the median income for a family was $12,206. Males had a median income of $0 versus $13,333 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $2,403. About 72.2% of families and 81.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 83.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wounded Knee, South Dakota

• Wounded Knee, South Dakota is at coordinates 43°08′38″N 102°22′04″W / 43.144002°N 102.367712°W / 43.144002; -102.367712 (Wounded Knee, South Dakota)Coordinates: 43°08′38″N 102°22′04″W / 43.144002°N 102.367712°W / 43.144002; -102.367712 (Wounded Knee, South Dakota)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Shannon County, South Dakota County seat: Hot Springs Town Batesland CDPs Kyle | Manderson-White Horse Creek | Oglala | Pine Ridge | Porcupine | Wounded Knee Unincorporated community Red Shirt

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