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The Wounded Knee Massacre, 1890: the end of the Indian Wars

American Indian Wars · 29 December 1890 · United States and the Lakota · ~6 min read · Updated October 2026

By Echoes of Battle

Soldiers at a burial for the dead after the Wounded Knee Massacre, South Dakota, 1891

At a glance

United StatesCol. James W. Forsyth (7th Cavalry)
vs
Lakota (Miniconjou and Hunkpapa)Spotted Elk (Big Foot)
Date
29 December 1890
Location
Wounded Knee Creek, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Period
American Indian Wars
Outcome
Massacre of Lakota; end of armed Native resistance
By the numbers
SideStrengthLosses
Lakota~350 in the camp, mostly women and children1~150 to 300 killed
United States~500 soldiers of the 7th Cavalry~25 killed, many by their own crossfire

Figures are approximate and disputed;2 estimates of the Lakota dead range from about 150 to 300.

Quick answer

The Wounded Knee Massacre took place on 29 December 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek3 in South Dakota. Soldiers of the US 7th Cavalry, attempting to disarm a band of Lakota under Spotted Elk, opened fire and killed between about 150 and 300 people, many of them women and children, in a matter of minutes. It is remembered not as a battle but as a massacre, and it marked the end of armed Native resistance in the Indian Wars3.

What happened at Wounded Knee is often listed among battles, but it was not one. It was the killing of a hungry, half-disarmed people, many of them women and children, and it stands as one of the darkest days in the history of the American West.

The Ghost Dance and the fear it caused

By 1890 the Lakota had been confined to reservations, their way of life destroyed and their people hungry. A spiritual movement, the Ghost Dance, spread hope of renewal, but it alarmed US officials, who sent in troops. In the tension, the revered leader Sitting Bull was killed during an arrest4.

Black and white illustration of Lakota men and women dancing in a circle in front of tipis
The Ghost Dance of the Oglala Lakota at Pine Ridge Agency, an illustration published in Harper's Weekly in 1890, the year the movement alarmed US officials. Public domain

Spotted Elk's band

Fearing further violence, a band of Miniconjou and Hunkpapa Lakota under the ailing chief Spotted Elk, also called Big Foot, set out across the frozen plains. Intercepted by the 7th Cavalry, they surrendered and were escorted to a camp beside Wounded Knee Creek5.

Seated portrait of Spotted Elk in a dark suit and broad-brimmed hat, holding a pipe
Spotted Elk, also called Big Foot, headman of the Miniconjou Lakota, photographed by T. W. Smillie with a Cheyenne River delegation in 1888. Public domain

The disarmament

On the morning of 29 December the soldiers, with rapid-fire guns positioned on the surrounding hills1, moved to disarm the camp. The Lakota were surrounded and heavily outnumbered in firepower. As the soldiers searched for weapons, tension rose, and a shot was fired in a struggle, its origin disputed3.

Soldiers and Lakota scouts in winter clothing posed behind a small wheeled Hotchkiss gun
Corporal Paul Weinert and gunners of Battery E, 1st Artillery, posed with Lakota scouts behind a Hotchkiss gun, probably on the Pine Ridge Reservation, photographed by John Grabill in 1891. Public domain
It is listed among battles, but it was the killing of a people, and it should be remembered as such.

The killing

At that shot the soldiers opened fire into the camp. In the chaos the rapid-fire guns swept the lodges and the people trying to flee, killing fighters, women and children alike; some soldiers were hit by their own crossfire2. Within minutes some 150 to 300 Lakota lay dead, and the wounded were left in a blizzard that followed.

Why Wounded Knee is remembered

Wounded Knee is remembered as a massacre, not a battle, and as the brutal end of the long Indian Wars and of armed Native resistance on the Plains. The Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers there and the official accounts that called it a battle have been widely criticised, calls to rescind the medals continue, and the site is a place of mourning for the Lakota and a byword for the cost of conquest.

Frequently asked questions

When and where did the Wounded Knee Massacre happen?

It took place on 29 December 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Was Wounded Knee a battle or a massacre?

It is remembered as a massacre. US soldiers killed between about 150 and 300 Lakota, many of them women and children, while disarming them.

How many people died at Wounded Knee?

Estimates vary, but about 150 to 300 Lakota were killed, along with about 25 soldiers, some hit by their own crossfire.

What led to the massacre?

Fear surrounding the Ghost Dance movement brought troops to the Lakota reservations; after Sitting Bull was killed, Spotted Elk's band was intercepted and a disarmament turned into a massacre.

Why is Wounded Knee significant?

It marked the end of armed Native resistance in the Indian Wars and remains a symbol of the suffering inflicted on Native peoples.

Sources and notes

Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.

  1. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Native Voices, “1890: U.S. Cavalry Massacres Lakota at Wounded Knee” ↩ a b
  2. Jerome A. Greene, American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014). ↩ a b
  3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “What was the Wounded Knee Massacre?” ↩ a b c
  4. HISTORY (A&E Television Networks), “U.S. Army Massacres Lakota Indians at Wounded Knee” ↩
  5. Robert M. Utley, The Last Days of the Sioux Nation (Yale University Press, 1963). ↩
  6. Wikipedia, “Wounded Knee Massacre”

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