“On this day, December 29, 1890, one of the worst mass shootings in United States history took place at the hands of State Agents attempting to disarm Lakota people on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
After being called upon, 350 Lakota began their march to the Pine Ridge Agency on December 28. They were met by a 7th Calvary detachment, which was ordered not to disarm the natives because it would lead to violence. The party brought the Lakota to the nearby Wounded Knee Creek and set up camp for the night.
The following day, after the rest of the 7th Calvary arrived overnight, the order was given to disarm and remove the Lakota via awaiting trains. During the confiscations, a scuffle broke out between cavalrymen and a deaf and confused young warrior, resulting in the discharge of a rifle and the ensuing slaughter.
The Lakota were disarmed and vastly outnumbered, thus resulting in the death of more than half their men after the first shots from the cavalry; as the women and children tried to escape, they were hunted down and murdered in cold blood. It is estimated that more than 200 men, women, and children died that day, all because those who controlled the State's reigns feared a supposedly free and independent people with arms that were equal to theirs.”
After being called upon, 350 Lakota began their march to the Pine Ridge Agency on December 28. They were met by a 7th Calvary detachment, which was ordered not to disarm the natives because it would lead to violence. The party brought the Lakota to the nearby Wounded Knee Creek and set up camp for the night.
The following day, after the rest of the 7th Calvary arrived overnight, the order was given to disarm and remove the Lakota via awaiting trains. During the confiscations, a scuffle broke out between cavalrymen and a deaf and confused young warrior, resulting in the discharge of a rifle and the ensuing slaughter.
The Lakota were disarmed and vastly outnumbered, thus resulting in the death of more than half their men after the first shots from the cavalry; as the women and children tried to escape, they were hunted down and murdered in cold blood. It is estimated that more than 200 men, women, and children died that day, all because those who controlled the State's reigns feared a supposedly free and independent people with arms that were equal to theirs.”
