On December 29, 1890, U.S. Army troops of the 7th Cavalry intercepted a band of Lakota Sioux near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, an encounter that ended in the deaths of many Native men, women and children and marked a tragic closing chapter in the Indian Wars.

The context for Wounded Knee begins with mounting tension on the Northern Plains in the fall of 1890. The Ghost Dance movement had spread among Plains tribes, bringing hope to people frightened by poverty, disease and the loss of their lands. Authorities viewed the movement as threatening. Earlier that month, the arrest and killing of Sitting Bull heightened fears and pushed many Lakota to seek protection. Chief Spotted Elk, also known as Big Foot, led a band of Miniconjou and Hunkpapa Lakota toward the Pine Ridge Agency, where they hoped for safety and food.

Elements of the 7th U.S. Cavalry, commanded in the field by Colonel James W. Forsyth, moved to encircle Spotted Elk’s band on December 28 and into the morning of December 29. The Army had orders to disarm the group. The atmosphere was already tense: the Lakota were weak from exposure and hunger, and the soldiers were wary after weeks of disturbances in the region. A ceremony to inventory and remove weapons quickly escalated when a firearm discharged during the process. Accounts of how that first shot occurred differ, and the immediate trigger remains disputed.

What followed was a rapid and deadly firefight. The Army deployed four Hotchkiss mountain guns—light artillery pieces capable of rapid fire—which swept the encampment. The result was catastrophic for the Lakota. Estimates vary, but historians commonly cite that between 150 and more than 200 Lakota were killed, many of them women and children. The U.S. Army reported 25 soldiers killed and 39 wounded. Contemporary reports and later investigations described bodies found frozen where people had fallen, a grim testament to how quickly the situation devolved into slaughter.

Wounded Knee has been described in many sources as a massacre rather than an armed engagement. It represented a devastating moment for the Lakota and for Native peoples across the Plains. Practically, it marked the end of large-scale armed resistance by Plains tribes to U.S. expansion; symbolically, it became a stain on the nation’s record—a reminder of the human cost of conflict and of policies that sought to assimilate or remove indigenous people rather than address their needs and rights.

The aftermath included legal and political fallout. The Army awarded Medals of Honor to soldiers present at Wounded Knee, awards that have been the subject of controversy and calls for rescission for decades. Native communities have remembered the dead through oral histories, memorials and observances. The site at Wounded Knee remains a place of mourning and reflection for descendants and for those who study American history.

As historians have revisited the events, the focus has shifted toward a fuller understanding of the people involved—not just commanders and units, but families, elders and children whose lives were cut short. Chief Spotted Elk and his band were among those seeking stability in a moment of upheaval, and their story is a painful, important part of the broader American story.

Remembering Wounded Knee means holding two truths at once: honoring the courage of those who resisted displacement and confronting the policies and choices that led to unnecessary loss of life. It is a call to learn, to tell accurate stories, and to treat the past with honesty so future generations can understand the full measure of what happened.

On December 29, 1890, Americans witnessed a tragic episode that changed lives and shaped memory. We honor those affected by recognizing the facts, listening to descendant communities, and committing to a fuller, more inclusive telling of history. In remembering events like Wounded Knee, we also reaffirm our duty to support veterans, to care for those who serve, and to treat all communities with respect and justice.