# Canonical recap data for Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)
# Source: https://recap.at/1890/wounded-knee
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: wounded-knee
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1890/wounded-knee"
title: Wounded Knee Massacre
aliases:
- Battle of Wounded Knee
- Wounded Knee Massacre
- Wounded Knee Incident
subtitle: 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.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1890-12-29
datePrecision: day
year: 1890
decade: 1890
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: 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 w
summaryLong: 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.
lede: 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.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Soldiers_at_a_burial_for_the_dead_at_Wounded_Knee%2C_South_Dakota%2C_c._1891.jpg/1280px-Soldiers_at_a_burial_for_the_dead_at_Wounded_Knee%2C_South_Dakota%2C_c._1891.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Wounded Knee Massacre"
importance: 81
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: December 29, 1890
- label: Location
  value: Wounded Knee Creek, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota
- label: Lakota killed
  value: 250–300
- label: Lakota wounded
  value: "51"
- label: U.S. soldiers killed
  value: "25"
- label: U.S. soldiers wounded
  value: "39"
- label: Military unit
  value: 7th Cavalry Regiment
- label: Lakota leader
  value: Big Foot
timeline:
- date: 1890-12-15
  title: Sitting Bull killed
  description: Sitting Bull is shot and killed during an arrest attempt at Standing Rock Reservation by Indian police, escalating tensions across the Lakota nation.
- date: 1890-12-23
  title: Big Foot's band departs
  description: Big Foot leads a group of Miniconjou Lakota from Cheyenne River Reservation southward toward Pine Ridge, seeking sanctuary with Red Cloud's band.
- date: 1890-12-28
  title: 7th Cavalry intercepts
  description: 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.
- date: 1890-12-29
  title: Massacre occurs
  description: 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.
- date: 1891-01-15
  title: Final surrender
  description: The last major Lakota resistance ends as remaining bands surrender at Pine Ridge Reservation, formally concluding the Indian Wars.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre"
  title: Wounded Knee Massacre
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: 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.
categories:
- war
- disaster
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- genocide
- war
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- collapse
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: emergent
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: death
metaDescription: 1890 massacre of Lakota people by U.S. Army at Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota. The final armed conflict of the Indian Wars.
wikidataQid: Q108413
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260630134357/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-30
  label: Wounded Knee Massacre
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre"
