---
title: "Wounded Knee Massacre"
year: 1890
country: "United States"
canonical: "https://recap.at/1890/wounded-knee"
slug: "wounded-knee"
recapType: "global_event"
startDate: "1890-12-29"
---

# Wounded Knee Massacre

> U.S. cavalry killed nearly 300 Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee Creek, marking the symbolic end of armed Native American resistance and the closure of the frontier.

On December 29, 1890, the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry opened fire on an encampment of Lakota people at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, killing as many as 300 civilians and warriors. The massacre marked the final armed confrontation of the Indian Wars and effectively ended organized Lakota resistance to federal authority.

## Summary

The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, was an 1890 armed conflict between Native Americans and the United States Army. It was part of the U.S. Army’s Pine Ridge Campaign. Between 250 and 300 Lakota people were killed, and 51 were wounded. Twenty-five U.S. soldiers were killed and 39 were wounded. Nineteen soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor specifically for Wounded Knee, and 31 overall for the campaign.

## Key facts

- **Date**: December 29, 1890
- **Location**: Wounded Knee Creek, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota
- **Lakota killed**: 250–300
- **Lakota wounded**: 51
- **U.S. soldiers killed**: 25
- **U.S. soldiers wounded**: 39
- **Military unit**: 7th Cavalry Regiment
- **Lakota leader**: Big Foot

## Timeline

- **1890-12-15** - Sitting Bull killed
  Sitting Bull is shot and killed during an arrest attempt at Standing Rock Reservation by Indian police, escalating tensions across the Lakota nation.
- **1890-12-23** - Big Foot's band departs
  Big Foot leads a group of Miniconjou Lakota from Cheyenne River Reservation southward toward Pine Ridge, seeking sanctuary with Red Cloud's band.
- **1890-12-28** - 7th Cavalry intercepts
  The 7th Cavalry Regiment intercepts Big Foot's band approximately 40 miles northeast of Pine Ridge and orders them to camp at Wounded Knee Creek.
- **1890-12-29** - Massacre occurs
  Soldiers attempt to disarm the Lakota encampment. A struggle over a rifle triggers gunfire; the cavalry's Hotchkiss guns rake the village for hours, killing approximately 250–300 people, mostly women, children, and elders.
- **1891-01-15** - Final surrender
  The last major Lakota resistance ends as remaining bands surrender at Pine Ridge Reservation, formally concluding the Indian Wars.

## Impact

Wounded Knee crystallized the fate of the Great Plains tribes under U.S. expansion. It closed a chapter of frontier conflict while opening decades of institutional oppression on reservations—and became a symbol that would resurface in Native American activism a century later.

## Sources

- [Wounded Knee Massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre) - Wikipedia

---
Canonical: https://recap.at/1890/wounded-knee