Some of the Indians could understand English. This and other things alarmed the Indians and scuffle occurred between one warrior who had rifle in his hand and two soldiers. The rifle was discharged and a massacre occurred, not only the warriors but the sick Chief Big Foot, and a large number of women and children who tried to escape by running and scattering over the parry were hunted down and killed. The official reports make the number killed 90 warriors and approximately 200 women and children." (Miles, 1917) Not all perspectives were aimed at accusing the soldiers of aggressively inciting the Indians. Philip Welles, interpreter of the Army of Sioux origin argued that he "saw five or six young warriors cast off their blankets and pull guns out from under them and brandish them in the air. One of the warriors shot into the soldiers, who were ordered to fire into the Indians… Troop 'K' was drawn up between the tents of the women and children and the main body of the Indians, who had been summoned to deliver their arms. The Indians began firing into 'Troop K' to gain the canyon of Wounded Knee creek. In doing so they exposed their women and children to their own fire." (Massacre at Wounded Knee. 1890)

The massacre that followed any of the two rather remote incidents presented above has had a tremendous significance in U.S. history and in the history of its dealings with the Indian populations. As this was the final official war between White troops and Indian ones, it marks a turning point in the development of the United States. As Alvin Josephy depicts, at Wounded Knee "died the last tortured hope of freedom among the Indian nation in North America. It was the end of a long story of dreams and drama and courage, one that had involved many different peoples of hundreds of Indian nations" (Josephy, 1994, p. 7). Besides the obvious differences in military technical advancements in most confrontations, the most significant tool that the colonists, miners of U.S. troops had was the ability to create long lasting destructive psychological effects on the Indian populations that resulted in their poor management of conflict situations.

Some of the most evident consequences...

The power relations in the region changed dramatically the new lands that came as private properties for settlers open the way of a new type of American city, competitive to the older Eastern coast ones. As Weinberg argues, almost as an immediate results of the 1890 events, "in the Pacific Northwest, shortly after 1900, the industry grew rapidly…the West became exemplary magnet for eastern and foreign capital" (Weinberg, 2003, p. 154). Frederick Turner's "frontier thesis," previously mentioned, also basis its assumption that the 1890 event was a turning point in American development: "the existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explain American development." (Turner, 1893).
Although tragic in nature, the 1890 massacre of Indians at Wounded Knee marked an important moment in American colonist history and created more space for the development of American cities and growth.

Bibliography

Brown, Dee. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West.

(New York: Henry Holt & Company. 1991)

1890 Massacre at Wounded Knee. "Letter: General Nelson a. Miles to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs." Available at http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/wkmiles.htm;

Jenkins, Philip. A history of the United States. (New York: Palgrave. 1997)

Josephy, Alvin M., Jr. 500 Nations: An Illustrated History of North American Indians. (New York: Alfred a. Knopf. 1994)

Massacre at Wounded Knee. 1890. "EyeWitness to History." Available at http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/knee.htm

Northeastern Illinois University. "Frederick Jackson Turner: The significance of the frontier in American History. Paper delivered before the American Historical Association, December 27, 1893," Ronald Williams Library Northeastern Illinois University Online. Home page online. Available from http://www.neiu.edu/~ghsingle/turner.htm; Internet; accessed 4 Mar. 2006

Weinberg, Meyer. A Short History of American Capitalism. (Chicago: New History Press, 2003)