Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890
& the Second Battle of
Wounded Knee ~1973
Group Project
By
Jaden Montoya
Geoff Punzal
Jonathan Ames
&
Abdinasir Awad
Political Science; Diversity
in U.S. Politics 2070
Josh Gold Ph.D.
April 24th, 2013
Salt Lake Community College
Table of Contents
1. Foreword by - Jonathan Ames
iii
2. Quote by John F. Kennedy
iv
3. Prefatory Remarks by – Jonathan Ames
v
4. Introduction by - Jonathan Ames
6-8
5. Events leading up to Wounded Knee 1890, & Economic, Religious Persecution
by - Geoffrey Punzal
8-23
6. The Massacre at Wounded Knee 1890 & Events leading up to Wounded Knee
1973 by - Jaden Montoya
23-29
7. American Indian Movement & Second Battle of Wounded Knee 1973
by – Abdinasir Awad
29-37
8. Conclusion by – Jonathan Ames
37-39
9. Appendix A: Native American Quotes & Freedom
40
10. Appendix B: A Partial Legislative Timeline of Native Americans
41-47
11. References & Citations
48-49
Foreword
I am a Lakota Indian and have spent much time on the reservation. I have been taught
our story by my relations and tribal Elders since I was a boy. Being Sioux is not something
which can be calculated on purely a genetic level or living life by only viewing the world
through Indian eyes, but rather it is a combination of both. The culture and philosophy of my
people are one in the same. The Lakota culture is one imbued with beautiful tradition and
ceremony, and has enriched the lives of all of those who’ve had the opportunity to experience it.
The fact that our cultural beliefs and traditional practices have survived this Country’s racist
policies, in addition to the government’s blatant campaign to eradicate all Native culture through
various methods over the past century, stands as a testament to the durability and strength of all
Lakota people.
No other tribe exhibits a more traditional view of how Americans picture the American
Indian, than the Sioux. When people think of Native Americans it is usually the images of Red
Cloud, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull that fills their minds. The Sioux and subsets of Sioux Tribal
bands that once roamed the prairies and fought tenaciously to protect and preserve their
homelands; who experienced some of the most horrific acts of genocide and massacres at the
hands of the United States government remain firmly engrained in the American psyche.
The Lakota people and culture have persevered into the modern age. It’s been an arduous
journey wrought with many hardships and a few noteworthy triumphs. Much adversity remains
for many tribes and their respective cultures; disease, alcoholism, poverty, and unemployment
are all experienced at significantly higher rates by Natives than that of our Anglo-American
brothers. In spite of this and regardless of the disparities, our cultural philosophies have been
preserved for future generations of Americans and the World. Someday, everyone might come
to know and understand the true beauty of the Lakota and all American Indian peoples; perhaps
experiencing a more enriched life of their own through our philosophical teachings and cultural
traditions.
Jonathan Ames
Salt Lake Community College
“Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the
original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large
numbers of Negroes on our shore, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured
colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial
supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy
to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience
into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or
feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literatures, our films, our drama, our
folklore all exalt it. Our children are still taught to respect the violence which reduced
a red-skinned people of an earlier culture into a few fragmented groups herded into
impoverished reservations.”
John F. Kennedy
Prefatory remarks
No other group has been offered and sacrificed upon an altar of progress and destiny like
the Indigenous peoples of this continent. The forcible forfeiture of their religions, surrendering
of language, forgoing of cultural tradition, and the loss of sacred lands are all areas in which
Native Americans have suffered far beyond that of any of their ethnic American counterparts.
As the Federal government endeavored to quench their thirst for Native lands and
resources; reservations were created, treaties broken, inhumane germ warfare waged; atrocious
massacres committed, and their religions outlawed and banned. These practices by the United
States inevitably led to the appalling butchery of over 300 Lakota, Dakota, Minneconjou, and
Hunkpapa Sioux (mostly women and children) in 1890 at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
Naturally, this mass slaughter created a chasm in U.S./Sioux relations. It bred a long-lasting
disdain for this government’s leaders and cemented contentious attitudes which would
unsurprisingly resurface with more bloodshed, eighty-three years later in 1973. Ironically, this
second confrontation between American Indians and the United States government occurred in
the same location; Wounded Knee.
In addition; in the following Group Project you will be presented with information and
opinions which explore this sacrosanct piece of the American narrative. It’s important to
understand that there is no consensus of thoughts or views regarding these topics in the various
essays contained within the document you are about to examine. Instead, this critical review will
consist of specific opinions, judgments, and attitudes in relation to particular questions, topics
and themes which fall within the subjects of American political history and under its
multifaceted umbrella. Furthermore, in the following collection of work the expression of these
individual ideas, understanding, consequences, etc., will be rendered in a manner that preserves
and promotes respect in an utmost way for all potential readers.
Introduction
For Native peoples, inner balance is where happiness lies. This idea of living in
harmony and being in balance with all things resonates culturally throughout Native American
tribes in North America. Regrettably, these sentiments were not shared by their White brothers.
These strange bearded men from across the sea conversed in an alien unidentifiable tongue of
which Native Americans had never been exposed. The European lexicon consisted of strange
words and concepts such as wealth, Christianity, fortune, possession, and monotheism. These
vast differences in life-languages ran the gamut, between the peoples who had thrived in the
Americas for eons and European newcomers. Such divergences were catastrophic and led to
many hostile situations. Furthermore, the variances in cultural ideologies or life-languages,
carved the lines of demarcation which would lead to future bloody conflicts and violence. The
following quote furnishes an authentic example of how the Lakota people defined peace, and is
an accurate representation of the Native American and Anglo-American/European life-language
paradigm.
“The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls
of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its
powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka ,
and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace,
and the others are but reflections of this. The second peace is that which is made
between two individuals and the third is that which is made between two nations. But
above all you should understand that there can never be peace between nations until
there is known that true peace, which, as I have often said, is within the souls of men”
(Black Elk; Joseph Epes Brown, The Sacred Pipe 1953).
These profound and thought-provoking words were spoken by the Lakota Holy Man,
Black Elk. At first glance one can see they resonate with Socratic undertones mixed with a
Taoist message of an ever-present and all-powerful force. However, if you look deeper into
what Black Elk is saying, if you peer between the lines and behind the words, his message is one
of ‘harmony’. This harmony cannot exist at any other level if it does not first reside within your
heart.
Many elements that were instituted by the United States government have had
devastating effects upon the various North American tribes who managed to escape extinction.
The U.S. government’s strategy in their endeavor to civilize ‘the savage’, implement
ethnocentrism, and separate tribes from their ancestral lands in the name of advancement was
composed of duplicitous and harsh tactics; tactics of which the average Native American had a
modicum of ability to combat. The reservation system, Federal land laws, Indian Removal Act,
transcontinental railroads, systematic extermination of the buffalo, etc., all severely impacted the
Indian way of life.
Unyielding postures and attitudes of White Americans in relation to their Indian
counterparts began when the first European set foot upon this continent. For over a four hundred
year period, xenophobic dogmas and bigoted arrogances were perfected, and discriminatory
racist policies honed. “The white man's catharsis has been a long time in the making, since the
first meeting of the two cultures, the white man has sought to dominate the red man, and for the
last 100 years, he has dominated the Indian completely” (Steven Luxenberg, 1973). By the year
1868 when the Sioux and United States signed the Ft. Laramie Treaty, relations between
American Indians and the Federal government had deteriorated beyond repair and the
capitulation of all North American tribes was a foregone conclusion; albeit Native Americans
sadly, weren’t yet cognizant of this harsh reality that surrounded and awaited them.
Event’s Leading Up to Wounded Knee 1890;
& Religious and Economic Persecution
~ By Geoffrey Punzal ~
November of 1868 was a point of success, though short lived, for the Sioux nation. Over
the course of two years, Red Cloud, along with Crazy Horse and High-Back-Bone, had
“orchestrated the most successful war against the United States ever fought by an Indian nation”
(The West - Red Cloud, 2001). Red Cloud, using guerilla-warfare tactics, led multiple attacks
upon American soldiers and settlers along the Bozeman Trail, including the successful Fetterman
Massacre.
Captain William J. Fetterman had “boast[ed] that ‘with only eighty men, he could ride
through the entire Sioux nation” (Marks, 1998, p. 186). In December of 1866, two months after
Fetterman was stationed at Fort Phil Kearny along the Bozeman Trail, Red Cloud, Crazy Horse,
and High-Back-Bone lured Fetterman and his eighty men into an ambush. The result of the
ambush was that the Sioux warriors “killed all but two officers, who in a common frontier pact
shot each other rather than be taken prisoner” (Marks, 1998, p. 186).
In the spring of 1868 the U.S. government attempted to send peace commissioners to
meet with Red Cloud, yet Red Cloud refused to meet with them. Instead Red Cloud sent this
message to the peace commissioners, “We are on the mountains looking down on the soldiers
and the forts.” & “When we see the soldiers moving away and the forts abandoned, then I will
come down and talk” (Marks, 1998, p. 188). Even Gall, younger brother of Sitting Bull and a
leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux, told peace commissioners at Fort Rice that “if you want to make
peace with me, you must remove this Fort Rice, and stop the steamboats” (Marks, 1998, p. 188).
As desperate as these demands may have seemed for the Sioux, the United States was
willing to concede, for the moment, the Bozeman Trail and the three forts established upon it.
The strong Sioux resistance along the Bozeman trail not only caused the road to lose most of its
importance as a path for immigrants, but also caused the Union Pacific to move railroad
construction along a more southern pass for “fear[ed] an expedition north would leave the
railroad vulnerable to Indian attack” (Ostlind, 2010).
By November of 1868 the U.S. had abandoned their forts along the Bozeman Trail, and
Red Cloud agreed to meet the U.S. peace commissioners at Fort Laramie along the OregonCalifornia Trail. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 promised the Sioux “absolute and undisturbed
use of the Great Sioux Reservation” as well as the “control [of] the unceded lands of the Powder
River country” (Marks, 1998, p. 189). See Figure A. As a key safeguard for the Sioux the treaty
stated that “land within the reservation could only be ceded under treaties ‘executed and signed
by at least three-fourths of all the adult male Indians, occupying or interested in the same”
(Marks, 1998, p. 189).
The Sioux were so successful in securing their lands that even in the Powder River
Country, the outlying majority of the Great Sioux Reservation, the U.S. government ceded that
“no white person or persons shall be permitted to settle upon or occupy any portion [of the lands]
… or without the consent of the Indians … to pass through the same” (Marks, 1998, p. 189). In
the excitement of the dismantling of forts along the Bozeman Trail, the securing of their hunting
lands in the Powder River County, and, most importantly, the securing of the Black Hills in the
Great Sioux Reservation the Sioux had overlooked something in the treaty that would prove most
devastating. A simple statement in the treaty allowed the U.S. government access into the Sioux
territory by “permitting the construction of rail and wagon roads and ‘other works of utility and
necessity;” an open-ended insertion to justify further trespasses by the U.S. government on Sioux
land (Marks, 1998, p. 193).
“It is an island...there in this vastness of the great Plains. But it is rich...full of
timber, full of game. It's a place where thunder resounds more than in other places, and
so it's thought to be the place of the deities. When you see the Black Hills you understand
something about the spiritual aspect of it” (The West - Yellow Hair, 2001). -N. Scott
Momaday
According to Sioux legend the Black Hills represented “a reclining female figure from
whose breasts flowed life-giving forces” (Matthiessen, 1983, p. 4). The hills had always
provided all that was necessary for the Sioux to not only live, but to prosper, as “within the hills
… deer, elk, and antelope roamed, myriad springs gushed forth, and broad meadows offered
campsites ‘shelter[ed] from the storms of the plains” (Marks, 1998, p. 193). The Sioux, though,
were not the only ones to recognize the abundance of resources within the Blacks Hills.
On March 28th, 1872, just four years after the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, Secretary of
the Interior Columbus Delano (responsible for Sioux territory rights), in a letter supporting an
exploration of the Black Hills, stated,
"I am inclined to think that the occupation of this region of the country is not
necessary to the happiness and prosperity of the Indians, and as it is supposed to be rich
in minerals and lumber it is deemed important to have it freed as early as possible from
Indian occupancy. I shall, therefore, not oppose any policy which looks first to a careful
examination of the subject... If such an examination leads to the conclusion that country
is not necessary or useful to Indians, I should then deem it advisable...to extinguish the
claim of the Indians and open the territory to the occupation of the whites” (Black Hills
Visitor, 2013).
Only a couple years later on July 2nd, 1874 Lt. Colonel George A. Custer led an
expedition based out of Fort Abraham Lincoln, Nebraska into the Black Hills to officially
“explore the region and evaluate possible sites for a fort in or near the Black Hills” (Black Hills
Visitor, 2013). Unofficially, as the U.S. had entered an economic recession in 1873, the
expedition was sent to confirm or deny the presence of gold in the Hills. This hidden agenda was
made evident by the fact that Custer’s expedition was not only compromised of around 1,000
military troops (bringing six-mule teams to pull 110 white canvas-topped wagons, horse-drawn
Gatling guns and cannons, plus three hundred cattle to provide meat), but also “a scientific corps
[that] included a geologist and his assistant, a naturalist, a botanist, a medical officer, a
topographical engineer, a zoologist, … a civilian engineer,” and two miners, Horatio N. Ross and
William T. McKay (Black Hills Visitor, 2013).
In mid-July, only weeks after having left Fort Abraham Lincoln, Horatio Ross (one of the
two miners) “made the initial discovery of gold along French Creek” in the Blacks Hills, and
Custer, without any hesitation, sought to spread the news (Black Hills Visitor, 2013). After
describing “beautiful valleys filled with lush grasses, flowing streams of clear, cold water, wild
berries and flowers” in his 3500-word dispatch, Custer finally flushed out the purpose of his
report; the discovery of gold in the Black Hills (Black Hills Visitor, 2013).
Custer’s dispatch stated, “... Gold has been found at several places, and it is the belief of
those who are giving their attention to this subject that it will be found in paying quantities. I
have on my table forty or fifty small particles of pure gold...most of it obtained today from one
panful of earth” (Weiser, 2012).
As early as the last week of July U.S. newspapers had published the news that gold had
been discovered in the Black Hills. There was nothing the Sioux, or even the U.S. government,
could do to prevent the Black Hills gold rush. By “January of 1875 … there were 15,000 miners
in the Hills” (Mills, 2013).
"This abominable compact [the Treaty of Fort Laramie 1868] is now pleaded as a
barrier to the improvement and development of one of the richest and most fertile regions
in America. What shall be done with these Indian dogs in our manger? They will not dig
gold or let others do it” (Mills, 2013). - "Yankton Press & Dakotaian” Newspaper
During the spring of 1875 President Ulysses S. Grant summoned Red Cloud, Spotted
Tail, and other Sioux chiefs to Washington to discuss the fate of the Black Hills. Mirroring
Jacksonian equivocation President Grant hinted that if the “Sioux didn’t sell their land; the
government might not be able to keep the invaders out” (Marks, 1998, p. 193). Even the
Secretary of the Interior went so far as to tell the Sioux that “rations might be cut at the agencies,
and ‘hinted that the Indians might want to give up their land altogether;” that the Sioux could
share land with the Creeks in Indian Territory (Marks, 1998, p. 193). Despite the Sioux chiefs’
unanimous refusal to relinquish control of the Blacks Hills, the chiefs left Washington torn
between them as they discussed solutions to stop the U.S. government from taking the hills.
In the fall of 1875, the “U.S. Senate Commission visited the Nebraska agencies … to
negotiate an outright purchase price for the Black Hills of $6 million,” and, if that failed, the
Commission sought to “get the chiefs to change the terms of the 1868 Treaty, and to pay the
Sioux a $400,000 annual rental to allow safe passage for the prospectors and settlers” (Mills,
2013). The “agency” chiefs Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, and the “non-settled” (non-treaty) warriors
under Crazy Horse refused this new agreement. The Sioux would continue to “protect the Black
Hills from this invasion if the U.S. would not honor its Treaty obligation to do so” (Mills, 2013).
As a result of the Sioux refusing to sell or lease the Blacks Hills the Secretary of the
Interior released an order that “all Sioux were to come in to the six reservation agencies by
January 31st, 1876,” or be considered “hostile” by the U.S. government (Marks, 1998, p. 194).
This order included both “non-settled” (non-treaty) Sioux, “who had never agreed to live on a
reservation,” and those who did live on the reservation, but were out of the reservation limits on
winter hunts since food was “extremely scarce at the agencies” (Marks, 1998, p. 194). The
Secretary of the Interior blatantly disregarded that these Sioux Indians were still traveling “on
lands accessible to them by treaty,” and most “often with their [reservation] agents’ blessings”
(Marks, 1998, p. 194).
On February 1st, 1876 the Secretary of the Interior released his jurisdiction over the
“hostile” Sioux to the War Department; the last step in completely dismantling the Treaty of Fort
Laramie of 1868. As the military encroached on the Powder River Country, the legal hunting
grounds of the Sioux, a final split occurred between the Sioux leaders. Both Red Cloud and
Spotted Tail chose to keep their followers at the agencies in an attempt to protect their people.
Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, on the other hand, gathered bands of Sioux, as well as Arapaho
and Cheyenne allies, in an effort to again secure the Black Hills and the lands of their people;
their nation.
“Look at me! See if I am poor, or my people, either. The whites may get me at
last, as you say, but I will have good times till then. You are fools to make yourselves
slaves to a piece of fat bacon, some hard-tack, and a little sugar and coffee” (The West Tatanka-Iyotanka, 2001). -Tatanka-Iyotaka (Sitting Bull)
As a result of the U.S. government breaking the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie another war
was waged against the Sioux Indians; the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. In an attempt to force the
rebellious bands of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho back onto the reservation, General Philip
Sheridan devised a plan in which,
“One column, led by Brigadier General George Crook, was to move north from
Fort Fetterman; another, under Colonel John Gibbon, was to march east from western
Montana; and the third, commanded by General Alfred Terry, would march west from
Fort Abraham Lincoln” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001).
As troops marched onto the Powder River Country in March of 1876 Crazy Horse and his
men, in an initial engagement, were able to successfully fight off a cavalry attack. Only a month
later, at Rosebud Creek, Montana, Sioux and Cheyenne warriors under Crazy Horse and Sitting
Bull led a successful offensive against General Crook’s column. As General Crook’s troops
brewed their morning coffee, over confident by the size of their column and assured that no
Sioux would risk an attack upon them, “Crazy Horse and more than 500 Lakota and Cheyenne
warriors rode down upon them” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001). During the desperate
struggle against Crazy Horse and his men, Crook himself became “unnerved by the enemy show
of force … [and] Crook withdrew the next morning” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001) .
The most famous battle of the Great Sioux War was next to follow; the Battle of Little
Bighorn. The Battle of Little Bighorn, more famously known as “Custer’s Last Stand,” occurred
on June 25th, 1876 due to the actions of the impatient, ego driven, and now promoted General
George A. Custer. Without knowledge of the attack on General Crook’s column General Terry
“ordered [Colonel] Gibbon to march to the mouth of the Little Bighorn, while Custer and the
Seventh Cavalry would try to locate the Indians and drive them down the valley toward Gibbon
and annihilation” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001). Almost as a pre-emanation of what
was to occur at Little Bighorn, Gibbon called out to Custer as he was riding away, saying, “Now
Custer, don’t be greedy … wait for us” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001). Custer’s
response assured his own annihilation; he replied, “No … I will not” (The West - A Good Day to
Die, 2001).
In a vision days prior to the Battle of Little Bighorn the Sioux leader and chief Sitting
Bull saw “soldiers on horses riding upside down through the sky towards an Indian village”
(Marks, 1998, p. 195). He comforted his people about this vision by explaining further, “These
soldiers do not possess ears. They are to die, but you are not supposed to take their spoils”
(Marks, 1998, p. 195). Sure enough on June 25th, 1876 as Custer’s disgraceful attack on the
Sioux unfolded “the soldiers were falling into the village, just as Sitting Bull's vision had
predicted” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001).
After driving his troops hard for three days, from a distant hilltop Custer and his Crow
scouts spotted the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho village. Despite only being able to see a tiny
blur in the valley, Custer’s whole focus shifted to whether or not he had been seen, and if he had,
how to prevent the Indians from escaping. Believing it was only a surprise attack that could stop
the Sioux and their allies from getting away, it was now or never.
While driving his troops for the Little Bighorn Custer saw 40 Indian warriors and dust
rising on the horizon; a sure sign that the Sioux rebels were on the run and small in numbers. To
follow in pursuit “Custer sent Major Marcus Reno and three companies -- 140 men … promising
to support them” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001). Custer, in a despicable manner, fell
through on his promise, and instead was leading “his five companies of 210 men toward a ridge,
convinced the Indians were fleeing and that by charging down into the village from there, he
could cut them off” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001). What Custer did not expect to see
was hundreds of “Cheyenne warriors led by Lame White Man, Hunkpapa Lakotas under Gall,
and Oglala under Crazy Horse … headed right at them” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001).
By the end of the battle, which lasted no more than a couple hours, General Custer and all of his
210 men were dead. It is said that the two Cheyenne women who found Custer’s body,
“… Pushed the point of a sewing awl into each of his ears, into his head. This was
done to improve his hearing, as it seemed he had not heard what our chiefs in the South
had said when he smoked the pipe with them. They told him then that if ever afterward he
should break that peace promise and should fight the Cheyenne, the Everywhere Spirit
surely would cause him to be killed....” (The West - A Good Day to Die, 2001).
Retaliation by the U.S. government came not only swiftly, but ruthlessly as many
Americans, celebrating the Centennial of the U.S.’s fight for independence, called for retribution
of their fallen “hero;” General George Custer. In November of 1876 Ronald Mackenzie attacked
a camp of Cheyenne peoples in the Bighorn Mountains. These Cheyenne had been led there by
resistance leaders Dull Knife, Wild Hog, and Little Wolf. The aftermath of the attack was forty
Cheyenne murdered while the rest of the survivors were left “without food, shelter, or clothing as
the temperature dropped to thirty below zero, babies ‘[freezing] to death at their mothers’
breasts” (Marks, 1998, p. 195). “At the door was a company of soldiers with guns with bayonets.
Further back towards the fort, all the cannon were turned toward us.” (Marks, 1998, p. 196) Joseph Black Spotted Horse, signing of Treaty of 1877
To end the Great Sioux War of 1876-77 the U.S. government approached the Sioux with
yet another treaty. This time the Sioux were to surrender the Black Hills (estimated 7.3 million
acres), another “22.8 million acres of surrounding territory,” allow the construction of three more
roads “through the reduced reservation,” and “consider removal to Indian Country” (Marks,
1998, pp. 195-96). In return the Sioux would receive “900,000 acres of grazing land on the
reservation’s northern boundary, all the accoutrements of civilization that had already been
promised to them in the 1868 treaty … and ‘life-sustaining rations until they became selfsupporting” (Marks, 1998, p. 196).
Throughout the American expansion, west civilians, hunters, and soldiers were killing off
the great buffalo herds of the plains. Americans killed the buffalo not only for fashion and for
their meat, but most devastatingly, as in the case of shooting buffalo from traveling trains, for
simple pleasure. General Sheridan supported and defended those who killed the buffalo by
saying,
“These men have done more in the last two years, and will do more in the next
year, to settle the vexed Indian question, than the entire regular army has done in the last
forty years. They are destroying the Indians' commissary. And it is a well-known fact that
an army losing its base of supplies is placed at a great disadvantage. Send them powder
and lead, if you will; but for a lasting peace, let them kill, skin, and sell until the buffaloes
are exterminated. Then your prairies can be covered with speckled cattle.” (Old West
Legends: Buffalo Hunters, 2011).
Recognizing that it was a choice to “sign, or die’ through starvation” the Sioux leaders
and chiefs reluctantly signed the new treaty; ratified by Congress on February 28, 1877 (Marks,
1998, p. 196). With the Black Hills lost to the U.S. government and the ongoing massacre of
buffalo, even Crazy Horse, “his people starving and with no hope of escaping the large military
forces hemming him in,” surrendered in May of 1877 (History, Legends & Lore: Native
American Culture and the Black Hills 1874-1876 - Part 5, 2013). The only Sioux leader who
refused to sign was the leader and chief Sitting Bull.
Sitting Bull, in response, moved his people north to Canada to escape the grasps of the
U.S. government. On his way to Canada Sitting Bull is noted for saying to one of the leaders of
the U.S. offensive, General Nelson Miles, “that God Almighty made him an Indian and did not
make him an agency Indian either, and he did not intend to be one” (Marks, 1998, p. 196). Only
a couple months later did one of the most demoralizing blows come to the Sioux; the murder of
Crazy Horse.
In September 1877 Crazy Horse decided to leave the Pine Ridge agency, and go to the
nearby Rosebud agency so he could bring his sick wife to her relatives. The U.S. government
“feared that he was going back on the warpath and ordered his arrest” (History, Legends & Lore:
Native American Culture and the Black Hills 1874-1876 - Part 5, 2013). After traveling
voluntarily to Fort Robinson, in an effort to explain and talk things over with the authorities,
“military troops tried to trick him into entering a guardhouse with the aim of arresting him”
(History, Legends & Lore: Native American Culture and the Black Hills 1874-1876 - Part 5,
2013). As Crazy Horse resisted entering the guardhouse he was grabbed by both arms in an
attempt to restrain him, while a soldier stabbed him with a bayonet. He passed away that night;
September 5, 1877.
“The real aim … is to get at the Indian lands and open them up to settlement…If
this were done in the name of greed it would be bad enough; but to do it in the name of
humanity, and under the cloak of an ardent desire to promote the Indian’s welfare by
making him like ourselves, whether he will or not, is infinitely worse” (Marks, 1998, p.
218).
With the destruction of the buffalo herds and the entrapment of the Sioux onto
reservations through military “persuasion,” the U.S. government began the next phase in
eradicating the Sioux’s culture. The goal was to force the Sioux, along with all Native
Americans, “into a subordinated and Anglicized cultural mold, with an emphasis on individual
striving” (Marks, 1998, p. 201). To begin this process reservation agents in the late 1870’s
started banning sacred rituals such as the Sun Dance, which was “once the centerpiece of the
social and religious fabric of the Sioux” (Marks, 1998, p. 202). In an effort to further oppress the
Sioux people, rations on the reservations would be withheld from those “who did not ‘labor’ by
white definition, or whose children were not in school” (Marks, 1998, p. 202).
The next step for the U.S. government was to even further reform the education process
of the Sioux and all Native Americans. Originally schools for Native Americans were still
located within reservations, though as more tensions and confusion became apparent between
tribal traditions and Anglican indoctrination the schools were moved off of the reservations. The
most notable off-reservation boarding school was the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania.
Director of Carlisle Indian School, and former prison warden, Richard Pratt believed it
was required to “kill[ing] the Indian to save the man” (Marks, 1998, p. 202). As a result the
Sioux and other Native American children were stripped of their traditional dress and their hair
cut short. As the Sioux woman Gertrude Bonnin would later recall, “Among our people short
hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards!” (Marks, 1998, p. 202). Children at
the boarding school were forced into a “highly regimented routine, including plenty of manual
labor,” and were also physically, mentally, and emotionally abused if they spoke in their native
tongues (Marks, 1998, p. 202). To make the final separation between tribal ties and Anglican
teachings “Pratt and other boarding-school directors even sent the children to work for white
families over school holidays, ostensibly to learn these families’ ‘civilized’ ways” (Marks, 1998,
p. 202).
By 1882 another siege was upon the Great Sioux Reservation as Dakota Congressman
Richard F. Pettigrew inserted a rider into a congressional bill to “determine whether they [the
Sioux] would cede almost half the region in return for ‘clear title’ to six smaller reservations
carved from it [the Great Sioux Reservation]” (Marks, 1998, p. 220). As the document was going
to Washington for confirmation a fact-finding mission was sent to investigate the strong Sioux
protests to the document, despite having been signed by some Sioux members and leaders.
Protestor’s insisted that “signers had been coerced and misdirected” and that “the requisite
approval of a three-fourths majority of adult males” had not been obtained (Marks, 1998, pp.
220-21). It seemed, at least for the moment, that the Sioux were able to keep the Great Sioux
Reservation intact. “They made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never
kept but one; they promised to take our land and they took it” (Marks, 1998, p. 215) -Sioux
Elder, 1891
Five years later, in 1887, marked the attempted passage of the Dawes Allotment Act. The
Dawes Act divided land on Native American reservations as “160 acres…to heads of family, 80
acres to single natives over eighteen, [and] 40 acres to minors,” and “that any acreage left over
after allotment…could be deemed ‘surplus’ land for the federal government to appropriate or
buy cheaply…” (Marks, 1998, pp. 217-18). The Dawes Act of 1887 worried many Sioux not
only due to the fear of losing their “identity and livelihood without the bond of community
holdings,” but many Sioux also “found alien and disturbing the ideas of dividing into separate
tracts the surface of the earth…” (Marks, 1998, p. 219).
As a result of the passage of the Dawes Act of 1887 Richard Pratt led a commission in an
attempt to “buy nine million acres from the Sioux for white settlement” and “offered fifty cents
an acre, promise of a cattle herd, and a few of the standard farm-and-school benefits” to coerce
the remaining “stubborn” chiefs into agreement (Marks, 1998, p. 221). In response most Sioux
“refused even to accept copies of the act and the map, and large numbers would sign no
document, not even the one indicating rejection of the proposal” (Marks, 1998, p. 221). In an
effort to persuade the Sioux into agreement, the U.S. government sent General George Crook
“trusting…his reputation among the Indians as a respected fighter and man of his word” (Marks,
1998, p. 221).
General George Crook brought with himself a modified proposal that not only doubled
the acreage the heads of family would be allotted to 320 acres, but also included provisions that
only required a majority of adult males to sign, no longer three-quarters of all adult males. In
order to gain signatures and “support” for the new bill General Crook shrewdly said to Sioux
leaders, “Last year when you refused to accept the bill Congress came very near opening the
reservation anyhow, it is certain that you will never get any better terms than are offered in this
bill, and the chances are that you will not get so good” (Marks, 1998, p. 221). Despite acquiring
marks and signatures of over three-quarters of the eligible 5,678 Sioux men, the Sioux were well
aware “that they had not acted as they wanted and that their future had become further
jeopardized” (Marks, 1998, p. 222). It was from this demoralizing and exhausted existence left
for the Sioux by the U.S. government that set in motion the Sioux’s acceptance and adaptation of
the Ghost Dance. “There was no hope on earth and God seemed to have forgotten us” -Red
Cloud (Marks, 1998, p. 215)
The second wave of the Ghost Dance started somewhere between 1888 and 1889 after
Wovoka, a Paiute Shaman, had received not only a vision, but a revelation. Wovoka claimed to
have been “taken into the spirit world, where he saw dead ancestors alive and well and saw all
natives being taken up into the sky” (Online Highways LLC). Following the Native Americans
removal to the sky Wovoka watched “the earth swallow[ed] up all whites, and all dead Indians
were resurrected to enjoy a world free of their conquerors” (Online Highways LLC). After the
Native Americans were put back on the earth to live in peace with their ancestors Wovoka
claimed “that Spirits had shown him certain movements and songs” that would lead to the
fulfillment of his vision (Spirtalk Gathering, 2011).
Despite the peaceful teachings that accompanied the Ghost Dance the U.S. government
immediately saw the dance as a threat; the seed of a new uprising. Native Americans across the
country began to “abandon[ed] their reservation cabins or camps near the agencies to gather in
tipis and sweat lodges beside streams and in groves of trees” (Marks, 1998, p. 216). The U.S.
government started seeing “unity among tribes — even those that were once enemies,” as well as
“a revival of Indian customs that were threatened by the civilization of European peoples”
(Online Highways LLC). Even on a spiritual level the U.S. government felt intimidated by the
Ghost Dance, as in one instance when “U.S. troops reported seeing approximately 125 people at
the beginning of the dance, and twice that number at the end, with no one new coming into the
circle” (Spirtalk Gathering, 2011).
As the Ghost Dance reached the Sioux after the winter of 1889-90, a winter in which
“many western Sioux lived close to starvation, and fell ill with whooping cough, measles, and
influenza,” the Sioux introduced a new adaptation into the Ghost Dance ritual; Ghost Shirts
(Marks, 1998, p. 222). The Ghost Shirts were not necessarily new to the ritual, but the belief that
these shirts were impervious to bullets was unique of the Sioux tribes. With this mystical belief
in the Ghost Shirts and Sioux leaders such as Kicking Bear, Short Bull, and Big Foot beginning
to lead bands of Sioux peoples away from agencies the U.S. government responded with military
intimidation.
Sitting Bull, who brought his people to the Standing Rock reservation in 1881 after
having sought refuge in Canada, was becoming increasingly supportive of the Ghost Dance
movement. Sitting Bull’s support for the movement, along with his fervent resistance to both
Agent McLaughlin (of the Standing Rock reservation) and the U.S. government at large, was
immediate cause for Sitting Bull to be viewed as a “risk” and a “threat” to the U.S. government.
As a result of this distrust between the U.S. government and Sitting Bull in December of 1890
“Indian police were sent to arrest the venerable old warrior” (Marks, 1998, p. 222).
Originally cooperative Sitting Bull had “agreed to come peacefully with them [Indian
police]; then as his supporters gather around, he refused” (Marks, 1998, p. 223). In the pursuing
fight between the Indian police, Sitting Bull, and his supporters, Indian policemen Bull Head and
Red Tomahawk fired upon Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull, “the chief – long the primary symbol of
Indian resistance to the American nation,” passed away in front of his reservation cabin on
December 16th, 1890 (Marks, 1998, p. 223).
Wounded Knee 1890 by Jaden Montoya
Tension had been growing between the US government and the Native Americans for a
long time. The tension exponentially grew with the Ghost Dance. This tension finally broke on
December 29, 1890. This was the day that over 250 Native Americans were massacred at what is
now called the massacre of Wounded Knee. 20 of the soldiers that were part of this massacre
received the Medal of Honor for their actions.
The first troops arrived in November of 1890, one month before the conflict. These
troops were under the direction of Major General Nelson A. Miles. These troops greatly alarmed
the Lakota. In reaction to so many troops coming Big Foot led a group to try and find safety
from the troops. There were around 370 in this group.
During their journey they encountered a part of the Seventh Cavalry. The Lakota didn’t
want to fight and quickly surrendered. They were taken to the main Army camp at Wounded
Knee Creek. Additional support for the troops soon came and Colonel James W. Forsyth
assumed command of the now 500 troops at Wounded Knee Creek.
Orders were given to disarm the Indians, and on the morning of December 29 the
disarmament began. During this process a shot was accidentally fired. Everything became
chaotic. The troops began to fire in every direction and at anything that moved. By the end over
250 Indians were massacred and 30 troops were killed. General Miles wrote:
“Wholesale massacre occurred and I have never heard of a more brutal, cold-blooded
massacre than that at Wounded Knee. About two hundred women and children were
killed and wounded; women with little children on their backs, and small children
powder-burned by the men who killed them being so near as to burn the flesh and
clothing with the powder of their guns, and nursing babes with five bullet holes through
them…Col. Forsyth is responsible for allowing the command to remain where it was
stationed after he assumed command, and in allowing his troops to be in such a position
that the line of fire of every troop was in direct line of their own comrades or their
camp”.
General Miles reprimanded col. Forsyth and tried to have Forsyth account for his crimes.
Forsyth was later absolved of all misconduct contrary to all evidence. This was probably due to
Washington interference, and internal military disagreements.
There were 25 men that were recommended for the Medal of Honor. 20 actually received
the Medal of Honor award. Awarding so many medals is considered excessive by many people
and the reason for many of the recipients to be awarded this medal is even more controversial.
A soldier received the medal for going into a ravine and dislodging Indians. In that
ravine to the south of camp many women and children were found dead or wounded. He also
“received an abrasion on the nose from a passing bullet.” Ghent, "The Seventh Regiment of United
States Cavalry;” another version of this essay repeats this statement. (Maj. E. A Garlington, "The
Seventh Regiment of CavalryThee. F. Rodenbaugh and William L. Haskin, The Army of the United
States (New York: Maynard, Merrill and Co., 1896), 265.)
Ten of the soldiers were recommended for bravery, or gallantry, and not anything
specific that they did to deserve such an award. In one case a soldier had been court marshaled
twice before receiving the medal, and 6 more times after.
Many organizations have been fighting to rescinded the medals from many of these, if
not all, for there brutish acts. Their efforts have not made any difference except to give this issue
greater publicity.
In the 83 years between the two conflicts the government policies didn’t change in
relation to Indian affairs. During these years 22 presidents were in office. In 1934 a new
legislation was passed called the Reorganization Act. This is commonly referred to as the
“Indian New Deal.” This legislation allowed each tribe to decide if they wanted to accept it.
This legislation didn’t apply to any tribe that voted against it. Many tribes didn’t have a chance
to read this before they had to vote on it. Over 160 tribes adopted this legislation. Around 80
choose to decline.
The Reorganization Act secured the land from further loss, and returned over 2 million
acres of land to the tribes that accepted the bill within twenty years. It also provided funding and
aid to organize and appoint tribal leaderships. The more obedience and loyalty to the American
culture the more aid that they received. These tribal governments still had to go through the
Secretary of the Interior for approval before they could make many decisions.
Another piece of legislation passed trying to eradicate the Native American way of life
was the Relocation Act of 1956. The Relocation Act provided funding to establish trades and
training for American Indians in various city centers. These opportunities were promoted widely
advertised. The living conditions were supposed to be very nice and comfortable. These
locations in the city centers quickly became slums and ghettos. This act also denied funding that
would assist training that would occur on the reservations. It did provide funding for those who
would travel and live in the city centers. Native Americans that choose to participate often had
to sign agreements that they wouldn’t return to the reservation. This resulted in spreading
thousands of Indians across America.
The American government realized early on that they didn’t have control over the
Native’s. The indigenous people wanted to be left alone. Everything about the way Native
Americans live was strange to understand. After the first incident at Wounded Knee the
government wanted to end any future insurrections. By creating programs to move natives away
from their land and into cities the insurrections in the future should have been avoided.
One of the largest projects that tried to educate and civilize the Indians was started by
Christians. By civilizing the upcoming generation many religious and government officials
hoped to eradicate the culture of the Indians. This was attempted through boarding schools. The
Christians had been trying to convert Native Americans since the first contact. The first schools
were often at churches. The Christian teachers were very controversial in Native tribes. Some
wanted nothing to do with them. Others wanted their children taught and educated according to
the white society.
A major change occurred with the organization of boarding schools. To attend these
schools the children had to live there full time. Many more protested these schools and what it
would do. It was very common for US government officials to “kidnap” the children on the
reservation and enlist them in these schools. The first school was organized in Carlisle
Pennsylvania, in 1879. Captain Richard Henry Pratt became the headmaster of the school and
began to “kill the Indian and save the man.” (Pratt at the Nineteenth Annual Conference of
Charities and Correction, at Denver, Colorado, in 1892)
Captain Pratt ran the school like a military institution. Everything dealing with Native
American culture was outlawed. The hair style, dress, and language became quickly banned and
infractions were severely punished. Other schools were quickly built and followed his example.
A total of 500 boarding schools built between 1879 and 1962 (the well briety journey to
forgiveness. Youtube). Many individuals who attended a boarding school have reported abuse,
both mentally and physically.
Often many students had no idea who their family was or where they had lived once
school was out. These boarding schools often had very limited budgets. The medical facility
was terrible and many were often sick, and died from treatable illness. Many also suffered from
malnutrition due to the lack of proper food. Over one hundred thousand Indians went to a
boarding school.
"THEY TRIED EXTERMINATION, they tried assimilation, they broke every
single treaty they ever made with us," White Plume said. "They took away our horses.
They outlawed our language. Our ceremonies were forbidden." White Plume is insistent
about the depth and breadth of the policies and laws by which the U.S. government
sought to quash Native Americans, but his delivery is uncomplainingly matter-of-fact.
"Our holy leaders had to go underground for nearly a century." It wasn't until Congress
passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, in 1978, that any interference in
native spiritual practices was made a crime. "And yet our ceremonies survived, our
language survived," White Plume said.” (Title: IN THE SHADOW OF WOUNDED
KNEE, By: FULLER, ALEXANDRA, National Geographic, 00279358, Aug2012, Vol.
222, Issue 2 Database: Academic Search Premier.)
American Indian Movement & The Second Battle of
Wounded Knee, 1973 by Abdinasir awad
The American Indian Movement (AIM) originated in 1968, arising from the concerns of
Native Americans in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AIM focused on changing the life of Indians in
the urban environment. Members coordinated a neighborhood patrol to circumvent unjust arrests
and police mishandling of American Indian residents. AIM leaders extended their concern to
include the reform of Indian and federal government relations. They believed Native Americans
lacked representation in political and funding organizations. Clyde Bellecourt and Dennis Banks,
Chippewa from Minnesota, assisted in the creation of AIM. Later, Russell Means, an Oglala
Sioux, became one of the more aggressive leaders of the organization.
As a vehicle to highlight their concerns, AIM members sponsored the Trail of Broken
Treaties. Approximately 900 people, traveling from Seattle and San Francisco, stopped at
reservations throughout the west to delineate Indian grievances towards the U.S. government.
The Trail of Broken Treaties ended in Washington, D.C., with the takeover of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA) building from 2 November through 8 November 1972. Negotiations
between the White House administrators and AIM members resulted in an agreement that
included a pledge to deal with economic, social, and educational grievances of Native Americans
and to provide return travel money to individuals that comprised the Trail of Broken Treaties.
Following the death of Raymond Yellow Thunder in February of 1972, AIM members
protested in Gordon, Nebraska because of potential discrepancies in the case. During the protest,
AIM supporters took over the Gordon community hall. Leaders declared a victory after local
officials proposed the establishment of a human relations board to investigate grievances. On 21
January 1973, in Buffalo Gap, South Dakota, Harold Schmidt killed Wesley Bad Heart Bull.
Prosecutors charged Schmidt with involuntary manslaughter. In Custer, South Dakota, AIM
members confronted local law enforcement and protested against the charges. During the protest,
the courthouse and chamber of commerce burned to the ground. The U.S. government viewed
AIM as a militant group and increased surveillance of its activities. On the Pine Ridge
Reservation in South Dakota Oglala Sioux leaders requested the assistance of AIM in order to
provide strength in their opposition to tribal president Richard Wilson, elected in 1972.
Opponents of Wilson accused him of mishandling tribal funds, misusing authority, and
disregarding rules of the tribal council. In February of 1973 the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council
unsuccessfully filed impeachment proceedings against Wilson. On 25 February 1973 the U.S.
Department of Justice sent out 50 U.S. Marshals to the Pine Ridge Reservation to be available in
the case of a civil disturbance.
AIM leaders and about 200 supporters enroute to Porcupine, South Dakota, stopped
at the village of Wounded Knee and took over the trading post, museum, gas station and
several churches. The involved in the takeover considered Wounded Knee historically
significance and deemed the village an appropriate location from which to voice the concerns of
AIM and the Oglala of the Pine Ridge Reservation. The takeover, on 27 February 1973, marked
the beginning of a conflict between AIM and the U.S.
Government that lasted until 8 May 1973. However the goals outlined by AIM leaders
included support for the reformation of tribal government as well as bringing attention to Native
American grievances. Means, as an AIM spokesperson, requested congressional investigations
into conditions on all reservations and the corruption of the BIA. Means specifically wanted a
hearing to take place concerning treaties and treaty rights, along with an investigation of the BIA
and the Department of the Interior at all agency and reservation levels.
News of the takeover reached U.S. Marshals at Pine Ridge and prompted immediate action.
Government security forces placed roadblocks at all entrances to Wounded Knee to prevent
access to the area. U.S. Marshals and FBI agents maintained a total of six roadblocks, along with
five observation points, throughout the occupation to keep people from entering or leaving
Wounded Knee. AIM members and supporters entered the area by overland routes, bringing in
food and supplies by backpack. Federal forces did not allow Wounded Knee property owners or
residents to return to the village once they had left. Several individuals and families displaced by
this policy, found lodging in homes and churches on the Pine Ridge reservation.
The White House, the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice coordinated
efforts throughout the Wounded Knee occupation. The military organized weapons, personnel,
and equipment supplied by the Department of Defense. Law enforcement groups consisted of the
U.S. Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the BIA. The federal
government held jurisdiction over the reservation and therefore state and local forces did not
assist in law enforcement but provided support by prohibiting unauthorized people from
traveling onto the Pine Ridge Reservation, especially those suspected of carrying food and
ammunition. Sporadic gunfire between U.S. forces and AIM security marked the first days of the
occupation. AIM forces fortified the area by building trenches, setting up road blocks, and
establishing foot patrols. AIM security forces developed and maintained a defensive perimeter
around Wounded Knee that included a total of nine bunkers.
AIM relied on the experience of several Vietnam veterans to establish security. Within
one day of the occupation, senators James Abourezk and George McGovern arrived in Wounded
Knee to negotiate the release of any hostages. On the night of the occupation, while making
random phone calls to Pine Ridge and Wounded Knee, Abourezk connected by chance to Russell
Means. According to the senator, Means stated that the occupation would end if AIM requests
were considered and a meeting took place to discuss grievances. On 1 March Abourezk and
Senator McGovern, along with two aides from Senator Ted Kennedy's office, flew out to Pine
Ridge and drove into Wounded Knee. Abourezk stated to the press that negotiations would not
take place if potential hostages were threatened. The senators agreed that congressional
committee’s hearings would be held on specific issues and grievances. They also assured AIM
leaders that BIA officials would be transferred, specifically Stanley Lyman and Wyman Babby.
Abourezk and McGovern returned to Washington believing the conflict had been resolved. At
the same time Ralph Erickson developed three options for the U.S. government and forces to
follow they could pull back, remain established with the original force of about 250 men, or
increase manpower to cut off the area. Officials decided to continue roadblocks to limit entrance
into the area.
Sporadic gunfire between U.S. forces and AIM security marked the first days of the
occupation. AIM forces fortified the area by building trenches, setting up road blocks, and
establishing foot patrols. AIM security forces developed and maintained a defensive perimeter
around Wounded Knee that included a total of nine bunkers. AIM relied on the experience of
several Vietnam veterans to establish security. Within one day of the occupation, senators James
Abourezk and George McGovern arrived in Wounded Knee to negotiate the release of any
hostages. On the night of the occupation, while making random phone calls to Pine Ridge and
Wounded Knee, Abourezk connected by chance to Russell Means. According to the senator,
Means stated that the occupation would end if AIM requests were considered and a meeting took
place to discuss grievances.
On 1 March Abourezk and Senator McGovern, along with two aides from Senator Ted
Kennedy's office, flew out to Pine Ridge and drove into Wounded Knee. Abourezk stated to the
press that negotiations would not take place if potential hostages were threatened. The senators
agreed that congressional committee’s hearings would be held on specific issues and grievances.
They also assured AIM leaders that BIA officials would be transferred, specifically Stanley
Lyman and Wyman Babby. Abourezk and McGovern returned to Washington believing the
conflict had been resolved. At the same time Ralph Erickson developed three options for the U.S.
government and forces to follow they could pull back, remain established with the original force
of about 250 men, or increase manpower to cut off the area. Officials decided to continue
roadblocks to limit entrance into the area.
AIM leaders made a statement on 4 March declaring they would leave Wounded Knee if
the U.S. government would also leave and allow the Oglala to work out any conflict among
them. Erickson countered this proposal by stating that if the occupiers would leave Wounded
Knee by 8 March, abandon weapons, and identify themselves, they would not be subject to
immediate arrest. Only Wounded Knee residents or property owners evacuated the village at this
time. At Pine Ridge, the tribal council ordered all non-members of the Oglala tribe off the
reservation. In order to implement this decision Richard Wilson organized a special police force
that became known as the "goon squad." Wilson and his forces maintained several road blocks
outside of the federal perimeter and participated in gunfire exchanges on several occasions. By
10 March, both factions agreed upon and rejected a variety of negotiation settlements. Erickson
and Colburn withdrew all government roadblocks. Both men assumed that occupiers would leave
the village if they were given the opportunity to do so without being arrested. Instead, Aim
leaders viewed the lifting of the roadblocks as a victory and stated this to the press. AIM
supporters and members of the Oglala preferred not to leave without consideration of the
outlined grievances. With the removal of the roadblocks, people in support of AIM entered
Wounded Knee and brought supplies and food.
In order to assist AIM and the Oglala Sioux, supporters created the Wounded Knee Legal
Defense/Offense Committee (WKLDOC). The WKLDOC dealt with any arrests that occurred
and raised funds for AIM. On one occasion, the committee obtained a temporary restraining
order that allowed six lawyers, each with a carload of food, to enter Wounded Knee each day
from 26 March through 31 March. All law enforcement surrounding Wounded Knee agreed to
abide by the restraining order. Richard Wilson and his police responded by placing roadblocks
outside of those set up by federal forces and seizing all food from the cars. Gun-fire exchanges
between forces occurred sporadically throughout the conflict. Both sides established, violated,
and reinstated cease-fires. AIM security, U.S. forces and, on occasion, the tribal police force
instigated gunfire exchanges. On 26 March heavy firing occurred between the AIM and
government perimeters. Wilson placed a tribal roadblock outside of the federal perimeter and his
forces allegedly participated in the exchange. During this exchange, U.S. Marshal Lloyd Grimm
received a wound that paralyzed him from the waist down. As a result of increased gunfire, two
deaths occurred at Wounded Knee towards the end of April. During one exchange Frank
Clearwater received a fatal wound while asleep on a cot in an occupied church. AIM supporters
evacuated Clearwater from the village and he died in hospital on 25 April. Lawrence Lamont, a
resident of Pine Ridge Reservation, received a fatal gunshot wound on 26 April. Both forces
concurrently established a cease-fire after his death.
The American Indian Movement 20 points demand
1. Restoration of treaty making (ended by Congress in 1871).
2. Establishment of a treaty commission to make new treaties (with sovereign
Native Nations).
3. Indian leaders to address Congress.
4. Review of treaty commitments and violations.
5. Un-ratified treaties to go before the Senate.
6. All Indians to be governed by treaty relations.
7. Relief for Native Nations for treaty rights violations.
8. Recognition of the right of Indians to interpret treaties.
9. Joint Congressional Committee to be formed on reconstruction of Indian
relations.
10. Restoration of 110 million acres of land taken away from Native Nations
by the United States.
11. Restoration of terminated rights.
12. Repeal of state jurisdiction on Native Nations.
13. Federal protection for offenses against Indians.
14. Abolishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
15. Creation of a new office of Federal Indian Relations.
16. New office to remedy breakdown in the constitutionally prescribed
relationships between the United States and Native Nations.
17. Native Nations to be immune to commerce regulation, taxes, trade
restrictions of states.
18. Indian religious freedom and cultural integrity protected.
19. Establishment of national Indian voting with local options; free national
Indian organizations from governmental controls
20. Reclaim and affirm health, housing, employment, economic development,
and education for all Indian people.
Wounded Knee was chosen for the 1973 protest because of its symbolic and spiritual
significance as the site of the 1890 massacre of Big Foots Band, the final mass murder associated
with the Indian wars. The more than 200 dead were buried in a collective unmarked grave on a
hill above Wounded Knee Creek. The massacre is still an open wound for Lakota people, and
"Remember Wounded Knee" continues to be the rallying cry of Native independence
movements. In recent years, the federal government has sought to gain control over the area and
turn it into a national monument. Many veterans of Wounded Knee II feel that the U.S. has no
business at the hallowed site. They fear that federal interest in developing its tourist potential has
less to do with presenting history, and more to do with neutralizing the powerful emotions
Wounded Knee evokes in Indian people.
"If the monument is built along with a public apology from the U.S. government, it could
do a lot of healing among our people," says Albert White Hat, a Lakota Studies professor at Sinte
Gleska University on the Rosebud Reservation. White Hat left college in 1973 to aid the
traditionalists at Wounded Knee. "The question is, are we ready to accept an apology? Are we
ready to forgive? Whether we have a monument or not, I don't think we'll ever forget what
happened. It is something very much alive within us. We still feel the pain."
Millions of people were inspired by Wounded Knee. Hundreds risked their lives and
hiked many miles over the hills to join the people inside or to bring food and medical supplies.
Doctors and nurses came to help in the Wounded Knee clinic. Telegrams of support came in
from all over the world. Tens of thousands of people held support demonstrations in many cities
across the U.S. and around the world. The broad support for the Indians at Wounded Knee made
it difficult for the government to launch a full-scale military assault.
Carter Camp once said;
"Wounded Knee galvanized Indian Country, all over. During those 73 days we
were in there, from Seattle to Washington, D.C. and from New York to Florida, Indian
people were trashing BIA offices, protesting at the Indian health services, telling their
own tribal governments to stop the leases with the uranium companies and the coal
digging and that sort of thing. Indian people were just making themselves known.
"Wounded Knee and the rise of the American Indian Movement and the struggle
of the late '60s and '70s just changed everything about the way Indian people think of
themselves. They started thinking in terms of the future, not of being exterminated or
maybe this is our last generation that cares about being Indian. It just invigorated the
entire Indian nations...They started having pride in where they came from and what they
were and who they were. And that wasn't done in America for many, many generations. It
also made the government understand that once more there was a line in the sand that
they couldn't push us beyond. We had taken all we could absorb and that if they push us
just too damn far then we'll fight."
At the end nothing really changed for the Oglala people, and the government never
investigated the BIA as they had promised. Richard Wilson and his murdering GOONs were
never prosecuted. Instead a new reign of terror was carried out against the Native people of Pine
Ridge. And almost 700 indictments were handed down by federal authorities in connection with
the Wounded Knee occupation.
Conclusion by Jonathan Ames
In conclusion, it is clear to understand how the various political, economic, and racially
prejudiced forces, combined together and culminated in the decline of all Tribes within North
America. These dynamics, initially instilled within the mindsets of early white European
invaders, and then metastasized into the dogmas and policies of the Anglo controlled U.S.
government, left the American Indian helpless to the fate which would eventually overtake entire
cultures, economies, languages, and ways of life.
The events leading up to the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 ultimately sparked the
incidents which would take place at Wounded Knee in 1973. The 83 years which would pass
between these two episodes in American history, would illustrate how Indian peoples continued
to suffer from all forms of oppression and subjugation at the hands of their white conquerors.
This subjugation and oppression would flourish and endure; because the power structures that be
persisted to covet Tribal lands rich in natural resources. This was enacted and accomplished in
the name of progress. This aptly defined ‘progress’ would be initiated and justified by civilian
companies and government agencies through duplicitous acts and racially superior reasoning;
often through congressional legislation and outright thievery. The American Indian could suffer
and endure only so much sorrow. Ultimately, surrounded with gross poverty, economic ruin
upon reservations, mass unemployment, and the decimation of their languages and cultures,
Tribes stood at the brink of extinction. American Indians were about to be obliterated culturally;
relegated to becoming a mere footnote in the historical record.
These reasons climaxed with the Second Battle of Wounded Knee in 1973. It stands as
the place where Native Americans found their collective voice; armed conflict was their only
recourse. Through A.I.M. (American Indian Movement), Native Americans shouted and shot
against the establishment, forced mainstream America to become cognizant that Indians still
existed, and brought to light long established grievances. The government’s outward response
was heartfelt, empathetic and unsurprisingly, duplicitous. It became a sad realization that
nothing had truly changed with Indian/government relations over the past hundred years.
Conquerors continued to conquer, and the conquered continued to be oppressed. Only
recently, by way of a changing public sentiment, has an actual tangible change materialized for
Indian peoples. For Native American Tribes, this transformation in government policies has
been fulfilled at a monolithically slow pace. The American Indian’s attempts to struggle free
from the systemic bondage of economic despair, unemployment, cultural destruction, etc. has
been hard fought, and legally challenged by both federal and state governments every step of the
way; still it is happening. One day hopefully, these separate nations who have always spoken
different cultural languages, will meet one another on an equal footing. Only then will an honest
and true ‘progress’ have the potential to be realized for this continent’s First Peoples.
Appendix a; Native American quotes & freedom
"Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pokanoket,
and many other once powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and
the oppression of the White Man, as snow before a summer sun.
"Will we let ourselves be destroyed in our turn without a struggle, give up our homes, our
country bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead and everything that is dear
and sacred to us? I know you will cry with me, Never! Never!" – Tecumseh ~ Shawnee
*******************************************
"I was hostile to the white man. We preferred hunting to a life of idleness on our
reservations. At times we did not get enough to eat and we were not allowed to hunt. All we
wanted was peace and to be let alone. Soldiers came in the winter and destroyed our villages.
Then Long Hair (Custer) came. They said we massacred him, but he would have done the same
to us. Our first impulse was to escape but we were so hemmed in we had to fight. After that I
lived in peace, but the government would not let me alone. I was not allowed to remain quiet. I
was tired of fighting. They tried to confine me and a soldier ran his bayonet into me. I have
spoken.” — Crazy Horse ~ Sioux
********************************************
"I am a red man. If the Great Spirit had desired me to be a white man he would have
made me so in the first place. He put in your heart certain wishes and plans, in my heart he put
other and different desires. Each man is good in his sight. It is not necessary for Eagles to be
Crows. We are poor but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die we
die defending our rights." – Sitting Bull ~ Hunkpapa Sioux
*********************************************
“All birds, even those of the same species, are not alike, and it is the same with animals
and with human beings. The reason WakanTanka does not make two birds, or animals, or human
beings exactly alike is because each is placed here by WakanTanka to be an independent
individuality and to rely upon itself.” – Shooter ~ Teton Sioux
**********************************************
"A wee child toddling in a wonder world, I prefer to their dogma. My excursions into the
natural gardens where the voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling
of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers. If this is Paganism, then at present, at
least, I am a Pagan." – Zitkala-Sa
Appendix B: a partial legislative timeline of Native Americans
1887
The Dawes Severalty Act, otherwise known as the General Allotment Act - gives the
President power to reduce the landholdings of the Indian nations across the country by allotting
160 acres to the heads of Indian families and 80 acres to individuals. The "surplus lands" on the
reservations were opened up to settlement.
1891
Indian Education - A Congressional Act authorized the Commissioner of Indian Affairs "to
make and enforce by proper means" rules and regulations to ensure that Indian children attended
schools designed and administered by non-Indians.
Amendment to the Dawes Act - This amendment modified the amount of land to be allotted
and set conditions for leasing allotments.
1898
Curtis Act - This Congressional Act ended tribal governments practice of refusing allotments
and mandated the allotment of tribal lands in Indian Territory - including the lands of the
Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations.
1903
Lone Wolf vs. Hickcock Supreme Court decision - The Kiowa and Comanche sued the
Secretary of the Interior to stop the transfer of their lands without consent of tribal members
which violated the promises made in the 1867 Treaty of Medicine Lodge. The Court ruled that
the trust relationship served as a source of power for Congress to take action on tribal land held
under the terms of a treaty. Thus, Congress could, by statute, abrogate the provisions of an Indian
treaty. Further, Congress had a plenary - or absolute - power over tribal relations.
1906
Indian "Burial" Antiquities Act - This Congressional Act declared that Indian bones and
objects found on federal land were the property of the United States.
Burke Act - This act amended the Dawes Act to give the secretary of the interior the power to
remove allotments from trust before the time set by the Dawes Act, by declaring that the holders
had "adopted the habits of civilized life." This act also changed the point at which the
government would award citizenship from the granting of the allotment to the granting of the
title.
1907
State of Oklahoma - Congress established the State of Oklahoma by merging Oklahoma
Territory and Indian Territory. The former Indian Territory was opened to additional non-Indian
settlement.
1908
Winters v. United States Supreme Court decision- Indians from the Fort Belknap reservation
in Montana sued to prevent a white settler from damming the Milk River and diverting water
from their reservation. The Court found that when Congress created reservations, it did so with
the implicit intention that Indians should have enough water to live. Thus, Indians had federally
reserved and protected water rights.
1910
Act to Provide for Determining the Heirs of Deceased Indians ("and other purposes")- This
act altered the Dawes Act by dealing with inheritance and leasing of allotments and with the
allotment of land that could be used for irrigated farming, among many other things.
1913
U.S. v. Sandoval Supreme Court decision- The Court upheld the application of a federal
liquor-control law to the New Mexico Pueblos, even though Pueblo lands had never been
designated by the federal government as reservation land. The Court ruled that an unbroken line
of federal legislative, executive, and judicial actions had "...attributed to the United States as a
superior and civilized nation the power and duty of exercising a fostering care and protection
over all dependent Indian communities within its borders..." Thus, once Congress had begun to
act in a guardian role toward the tribes, it was up to Congress, not the courts, to determine when
the state of wardship should end.
1924
Indian Citizenship Act - This Congressional Act extended citizenship and voting rights to all
American Indians. Some Indians, however, did not want to become US citizens, preferring to
maintain only their tribal membership.
1934
The Indian New Deal - The brainchild of BIA director John Collier, the New Deal was an
attempt to promote the revitalization of Indian cultural, lingual, governmental, and spiritual
traditions. This blueprint for reform was written by non-Indians who felt they knew how to
champion Indian rights.
Johnson-O'Malley Act - This Congressional Act stipulated that the federal government was to
pay states between 35 and 50 cents per day for Indian children enrolled in schools.
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) - The IRA was the centerpiece of the Indian New Deal. It
encouraged Indians to "recover" their cultural heritage, prohibited new allotments and extended
the trust period for existing allotments, and sought to promote tribal self-government by
encouraging tribes to adopt constitutions and form federally-chartered corporations. In order to
take advantage of IRA funding, tribes were required to adopt a U.S. style constitution. Tribes
were given two years to accept or reject the IRA. Tribes who accepted it could then elect a tribal
council. 174 tribes accepted it, 135 which drafted tribal constitutions. However, 78 tribes
rejected the IRA, most fearing the consequences of even further federal direction.
1946
Indian Claims Commission Act - The Commission was created to do away with tribal
grievances over treaty enforcement, resource management, and disputes between tribes and the
US government. Tribes were given five years to file a claim, during which them they had to
prove aboriginal title to the lands in question and then bring suit for settlement. The Commission
would then review the case and assess the amount, if any, that was to be paid in compensation.
Until the Commission ended operations in 1978, it settled 285 cases and paid more than $800
million in settlements.
1948
Trujillo v. Garley Supreme Court decision - In response to the allegation that many states had
successfully prohibited Indians from voting, the Court ruled that states were required to grant
Native Americans the right to vote.
1953
Termination - Under House Concurrent Resolution 108, the trust relationship with many Indian
tribes was terminated. Terminated tribes were then subject to state laws and their lands were sold
to non-Indians. Eventually, Congress terminated over 100 tribes, most of which were small and
consisted of a few hundred members as most. The Menominee of Wisconsin and the Klamath of
Oregon were exceptions with 3,270 and 2,133 members respectively.
Public Law 280 - This Congressional law transferred jurisdiction over most tribal lands to state
governments in California, Oregon , Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Alaska was added in
1958. Additionally, it provided that any other state could assume such jurisdiction by passing a
law or amending the state's constitution.
1953
Relocation - In order to deal with increasing unemployment among American Indians, the BIA
enacted a new policy to persuade large numbers of Indians to relocate into urban areas. Using the
lure of job training and housing, brochures depicting Indian families leading a middle-class life
were distributed by the BIA. While the initial response was enthusiastic, within five years the
relocation program was counted a failure, with 50 percent of the participants returning to their
reservations. This was the first of many late 20th Century failures to "mainstream" the Indian
population.
1954
Public Law 83-568 - This Congressional law transferred responsibility for American Indians and
Alaskan Natives' health care from the BIA in the Department of Interior, to the Public Health
Services within the Department of Health and Human Services.
1968
Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) - This Congressional Act revised Public Law 280 by requiring
states to obtain tribal consent prior to extend any legal jurisdiction over an Indian reservation. It
also gave most protections of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment to tribal
members in dealings with their tribal governments. ICRA also amended the Major Crimes Act to
include assault resulting in serious bodily harm.
1972
Indian Education Act - This Congressional Act established funding for special bilingual and
bicultural programs, culturally relevant teaching materials, and appropriate training and hiring of
counselors. It also created an Office of Indian Education in the US Department of Education.
1975
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act - This Congressional Act
recognized the obligation of the US to provide for maximum participation by American Indians
in Federal services to and programs in Indian communities. It also established a goal to provide
education and services to permit Indian children to achieve, and declared a commitment to
maintain the Federal government's continuing trust relationship, and responsibility to, individual
Indians and tribes.
1977
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) - This Senate resolution re-established the SCIA.
The Committee was originally created in the early nineteenth century, but disbanded in 1946
when Indian affairs legislative and oversight jurisdiction was vested in subcommittees of the
Interior and Insular Affairs Commission of the House and Senate. The Committee became
permanent in 1984. Its jurisdiction includes studying the unique issues related to Indian and
Hawaiian peoples and proposing legislation to deal with such issues - issues which include but
are not limited to Indian education, economic development, trust responsibilities, land
management, health care, and claims against the US. Government.
1978
Indian Child Welfare Act - This Congressional Act addressed the widespread practice of
transferring the care and custody of Indian children to non-Indians. It recognized the authority of
tribal courts to hear the adoption and guardianship cases of Indian children and established a
strict set of statutory guidelines for those cases heard in state court.
American Indian Religious Freedom Act - This Congressional Act promised to "protect and
preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise"
traditional religions, "including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred
objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonial and traditional rites." Although the
enactment seemed to recognize the importance of traditional Indian religious practices, it
contained no enforcement provisions.
Santa Clara v. Martinez Supreme Court Decision - When a Santa Clara woman married a
Navajo, the tribal council denied her children membership in the Santa Clara Pueblo based upon
a 1939 tribal ordinance that denied membership to children of women who married outside the
tribe. The woman sued to grant membership to her children. The Court held that Indian tribes are
"distinct, independent political communities retaining their original natural rights in matters of
self-government." In short, the Court held that the Court itself did not have the right to interfere
in tribal self-government issues such as tribal membership.
US v. Wheeler Supreme Court Decision - The Court considered the question of whether the
power to punish tribal offenders is "part of inherent tribal sovereignty, or an aspect of the
sovereignty of the Federal Government which has been delegated to the tribes by Congress." He
concluded: "The sovereignty that the Indian tribes retain is of a unique and limited character. It
exists only at the sufferance of Congress and is subject to complete defeasance. But until
Congress acts, the tribes retain their existing sovereign powers. In sum, Indian tribes still possess
those aspects of sovereignty not withdrawn by treaty or statute, or by implication as a necessary
result of their dependent status." In short, Indian nations were sovereign, but such sovereignty
was limited and subject to Congressional whim.
Federal Acknowledgment Project - This Congressional Act established the Branch of
Acknowledgment and Research within the BIA to evaluate the claims of non-recognized Indian
tribes for Federal acknowledgement. The project created a uniform process for reviewing
acknowledgement claimants with widely varying backgrounds and histories. In 1994, the Project
regulations were amended.
1980
United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians - U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Sioux Indians
were entitled to an award of $17.5 million, plus 5% interest per year since 1877, totaling about
$106 million in compensation for the unjust taking of the Black Hills and in direct contravention
of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The Sioux have refused to take the money and sits in a trust fund
in Washington, collecting interest.
1982
Indian Mineral Development Act - This Congressional Act encouraged Indian tribes to mine
their lands in a manner that would help them become economically self-sufficient.
Seminole Tribe v. Butterworth Supreme Court Decision - The Court ruled that tribes have the
right to create gambling enterprises on their land, even if such facilities are prohibited by the
civil statutes of the state. The ruling enabled reservations to establish casinos, as well as gave
reservations greater authority for tribal governments to levy taxes, own assets, and create
judiciaries.
1987
California v. Cabazon Supreme Court Decision - The Cabazon tribe in Southern California
operated a high stakes bingo game and card club on reservation lands. The State claimed that it
had the legal authority to prohibit such activities on Indian lands located within California if such
activities were prohibited elsewhere in the State. The Court found that states which permitted
any form of gambling could not prohibit Indians from operating gambling facilities.
1988
Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Association Supreme Court Decision - The Yurok
Indians and several other Northern California tribes argued that the construction of a 6-mile,
two-lane paved road between the towns of Gasquet and Orleans (the G-O Road) and the
implementation of a timber management plan would interfere with traditional tribal religions.
The Court held that construction of the road did not violate their freedom of religion. Thus far,
the road has not been built due to an administrative decision.
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) - This Congressional Act affirmed the right of tribes to
conduct gaming on Indian lands, but made it subject to tribal/state compact negotiations for
certain types of gaming.
1990
Native American Languages Act - This Congressional Act made it US policy to "preserve,
protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop
Native American languages." Consequently, the federal government encourages and supports of
the use of native languages as a medium of instruction in schools; recognizes the right of Indian
tribes to give official status to their languages for conducting their own business; supports
proficiency in native languages by granting the same academic credit as for comparable
proficiency in a foreign language; and encourages schools to include native languages in the
curriculum in the same way as foreign languages. Today, many American Indian languages have
been lost; less than 100 languages currently are spoken by Indians.
Indian Arts and Crafts Act (IACA) - The Congressional Act is intended to promote Indian
artwork and handicraft businesses, reduce foreign an counterfeit product competition, and stop
deceptive marketing practices.
Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act - This Congressional Act required
all institutions that receive federal funds to inventory their collections of Indian human remains
and artifacts, make their lists available to Indian tribes, and return any items requested by the
tribes.
1993
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) - This Congressional Act stated that state
governments "shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion" except if such
exercise of religion conflicts with "a compelling government interest." On June 25, 1997, the US
Supreme Court declared RFRA unconstitutional as it applied to the states.
1994
American Indian Religious Freedom Act, Amendments - This Congressional Act protected
the rights of American Indians to use peyote in traditional religious ceremonies.
President Clinton's Executive Memorandum, April 29th - The president sought to clarify our
responsibility to ensure that the Federal Government operates within a government-togovernment relationship with federally recognized Native American tribes. I am strongly
committed to building a more effective day-to-day working relationship reflecting respect for the
rights of self- government due the sovereign tribal governments.
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