Wounded Knee Massacre the December

Wounded Knee Massacre

The December 29, 1890 events named the Wounded Knee massacred had a profound impact on both the immediate reactions and future developments that were in relation with involvement of the Indian population. In order to better understand the massacre and its consequence, any analysis of the event has to identity the causes of the conflict and take a close look at the historical background and context. An important tool in the analysis will also be Turner's "frontier thesis" that explained the role of the Wild West conquest for the American evolution as a state.

The context of the 1890 massacre is very important to asses, as previously discussed. The young American nation headed towards the end of the 19th century after facing a War of independence with the British Empire, a Civil War that opposed and antagonized large groups within society and a sometimes fragile political arena at state, federal and local level. The newly found peace, both internally and externally, offered the possibility for a healthy socio-economic development for the U.S. And created the myths of "the American Dream." As Jenkins presents in his analysis of American history, after the end of the Civil War, colonists began to enter systematically within the Lakota/Sioux territory, between 1865 and 1880, thus breaking a peace treaty from 1851 (Jenkins, 1997, p. 82-84). The treaty acted as an excuse for an even easier access to the gold lands of North and South Dakota as little was made to enforce this treaty. Although officials like President Jackson argued that "the propriety of setting apart an ample district west of the Mississippi…to be guaranteed to the Indian tribes, as long as they shall occupy it" (Brown, 1991, p. 1-2) this was just another of the many broken promises made to the Indian populations over the years.

There was little that Indians could effectively achieve against the colonists that were advancing within their territories in the search of gold, especially after the 1874 gold discovery in South Dakota that lead to significant waves of gold seekers and miners. For example, Little Big Horn represented, in Jenkins' view, "a traumatic event for the public opinion as the nation was celebrating its centenary" (Jenkins, 1997, p. 150). The Indians also suffered from a poor or inexistent state authority that would abide by the existing laws. As Weinberg argued, "even before 1871, federal laws and court decisions severely weakened the treaties…decisions were favorable to the federal government which was given the right to collect taxes on the sale of tobacco raised on the Cherokee reservation even though such production was approved by the treaty…their (the Indians) sole refuge- the reservation system- afforded them less and less protection than ever" (Weinberg, 2003, p. 25) So, alongside with various confrontations with colonists or miners, the Indians in that region were also deprived of a fair legal system that could have allowed them to keep their rights.

One of the ways to remove Indians from South and North Dakota that William Tecumseh Sherman used was to destroy the buffalo populations and therefore damage the balance of the Indian culture. Exterminating a large enough number of buffalos would have created the perish of Indians in a less confrontational manner.

The level of tension grew as a results of all of the above and led to the tragic events of December 19, 1890. What really happened at Wounded Knee can only be understood from analyzing all recorded positions on the matter, as history is in itself a subjective science. Especially in the case of misunderstandings, it is highly likely that all historians agree on a single direct cause that led to the massacre. A day before the massacre, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry under the command of Major Whitside intercepted Big Foot band and escorted them to their camp in Wounded Knee Creek. While the disarming of the band of guns was underway, General Nelson Miles' view offers of the most trustworthy sources of information regarding the event: "While this was being done a detachment of soldiers was sent into the camp to search for any arms remaining there, and it was reported that their rudeness frightened the women and children. 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.