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The "battle" or "massacre" takes its name from a nearby creek, called chankpe opi wakpala in Lakota. This name, meaning "the creek of a wounded knee", was given to the stream (a tributary of White River) long before the battle, so it does not refer to any wound received during that famous encounter.

It more likely refers to some much earlier fight between the Lakota and another tribe (perhaps the Crows).

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13y ago

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