Wounded Knee Massacre

Running Head : Wounded Knee Massacre

The Wounded Knee Massacre

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Abstract

The Wounded Knee Massacre referred to the December 29 , 1890 killing of nearly 300 Lakota men , women and children by American soldiers on the banks of Wounded Knee Creek . The very atrocious outcome of the incident turned it into one of the earliest examples of American imperialism

The Wounded Knee Massacre

Proposal : This research would like to focus on the Wounded Knee Massacre , specifically drawing the relationship between the events before , during

and after it

The Wounded Knee Massacre (also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee ) is regarded as the event that put a close to the Indian wars in the United States . On December 29 , 1890 , federal troops slaughtered almost 300 Lakota men , women and children on the snowy banks of Wounded Knee Creek At present , the Wounded Knee Massacre still manages to stir up strong political sentiments among Native Americans and their supporters Furthermore , the incident (symbolized ) not only a culmination of a clash of cultures and the failure of governmental Indian policies , but also the end of the American frontier (Liggett , 1998

Events Leading to the Massacre

The Native Americans were the original inhabitants of the United States . For thousands of years , they lived in the continent in isolation , allowing their tribes to develop distinct cultures . But white immigration in the 15th century nearly wiped out their existence , as well as their ways of life . Aside from seizing their lands , the whites sold countless Indians to slavery or killed them through warfare or disease (MSN Encarta , 2008 . Consequently , some Native American tribes resorted to armed resistance

The Effects of the Ghost Dance Outbreak

Wovoka (formerly known as Jack Wilson , a Paiute prophet , founded the Ghost Dance religion in the late 1880s . He promised that should the ritual ghost dance be observed , the Indians will regain their lands their dead ancestors will rise , the whites will disappear and the future of the Native Americans will be characterized by eternal peace and prosperity (MSN Encarta , 2008 . Many Native American tribes embraced the Ghost Dance as a result , viewing it as a salvation from their lives of hunger , disease , oppression and poverty (Liggett , 1998 . But the emergence of the Ghost Dance religion frightened white settlers prompting them to call for federal intervention (MSN Encarta , 2008

The Arrest against Big Foot and Sitting Bull

The Ghost Dance religion rapidly spread through all of the Sioux reservations . Led by Big Foot , Sioux Indians (many of whom were women who lost their husbands and or male relatives in wars against the Americans ) would perform the Ghost Dance until they collapsed , hoping that their dead ancestors will indeed come back to life . His half-brother , Sitting Bull , did not believe that the Ghost Dance can raise the dead . Despite his disbelief , he respected the beliefs of those who practiced the Ghost Dance (Ghost Dancer 's Native American Indian Lodge , 1998

But Sitting Bull was afraid of the rumors...