The Stain Remains: Remembering the Wounded Knee Massacre

"Before the healing begins, you first have to feel the pain." - from Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy by Ernie LaPointe (Great-grandson of Tatanka Iyotake/Sitting Bull)

The Wounded Knee Massacre, opens a new window of December 29, 1890, was not a battle but a tragic slaughter in which U.S. Army troops of the 7th Cavalry, previously commanded by Lt. Col. George A. Custer, killed as many as 250–300 Lakota men, women and children, along with several dozen soldiers after an attempt to disarm a band led by Chief Spotted Elk (Big Foot) spiraled into chaos.

Why is Wounded Knee considered a massacre?

The Lakota group, already weakened by hunger, illness and harsh winter conditions, had sought refuge and were not preparing for organized combat when soldiers surrounded the group and forced them to surrender and disarm.  A scuffle broke out during the forced disarmament, and soldiers opened fire indiscriminately on the largely defenseless camp as well as pursuing fleeing families across the snow. The overwhelming imbalance of power, the presence of large numbers of noncombatants and the continued killing after resistance had collapsed, distinguish Wounded Knee as a massacre, not a legitimate military engagement, that marked one of the final and most devastating, episodes of U.S. violence against Indigenous people.

Was Wounded Knee an act of retaliation?

Although Wounded Knee was not formally ordered as retaliation for the earlier defeat at Little Big Horn, there is evidence found in interviews done by Eli S. Ricker that revenge was on the mind of some U.S. Army officers. 

Following the massacre, a U.S. Army officer and scout John Shangrau (also spelled Shangreau) had the following conversation:

Officer: Well, scout, we've got our revenge now!

Shangrau: What revenge is that?

Officer: Why, don't you know? Revenge for the Custer massacre!

Shangrau: Look here Lieutenant. Custer had all the guns to protect himself with, but they massacred him; And here you take all the guns away from them and then massacre them. You ought to be ashamed of yourself for saying such a thing.

Notes from an interview with Man Above (Capt. Taylor's Indian scout) in Voices of the American West. Volume 1, The Indian interviews by Eli S. Ricker:

Major Burke (Buffalo Bill's attache) told scouts that the soldiers were going to kill Big Foot's band when they could get them, because they were in the Custer battle, and Man Above told this to Capt. Taylor and the captain said that was true. The scouts were told by Capt. Taylor to tell Short Bull that Big Foot would be killed. Big Foot's people were in the battle on the Big Horn. Man Above says that a survivor of the Custer Massacre told him that if they found Big Foot's band they were going to disarm them and if they got angry about it they would all be killed.

Joseph Horn Cloud

Joseph Horn Cloud was a young Lakota survivor of the Wounded Knee Massacre who later became one of its most important witnesses and record-keepers. He was about 16 years old when the 7th Cavalry attacked, His father (Horn Cloud), stepmother and Joseph's two brothers were all killed. After the massacre, Joseph Horn Cloud dedicated himself to preserving the memory of those who died. He provided detailed testimony to government investigators, helped identify victims and later organized efforts to erect the mass-grave monument at Wounded Knee. His accounts remain some of the most valuable firsthand descriptions of the events and their aftermath.

What Horn Cloud testified or described:

• He said that when the soldiers demanded the Lakota give up their guns, his band (led by Big Foot) surrendered, including women and children. Horn Cloud recalled that Big Foot tried to keep everyone calm, urging his people to “take courage,” noting “there are too many children and old people.”
• According to Horn Cloud, during the disarmament a deaf Miniconjou man was being forced to give up his rifle. As soldiers grabbed the gun, it accidentally discharged, and that single shot triggered a chaotic outbreak of gunfire “in every direction.”
• Horn Cloud described that once the shooting began, soldiers fired indiscriminately: men, women, and children , even mothers with babies on their backs, were shot. He reported seeing people attempt to flee, some running toward a ravine or stream, others scrambling for horses, but many were cut down as they ran.
• He narrated that he himself helped some survivors: at one point, he found a wounded woman carrying a baby and managed to mount her on a horse and help her escape. He saw many other survivors gather at a creek (Fast Horse Creek) to escape the soldiers.
• Horn Cloud said that when all firing finally stopped, the carnage was horrific, many unarmed Lakota lay dead, piled or scattered. Among those who died were his parents, two brothers, and a niece.

Additional survivor testimony

Historically, most early histories of the Wounded Knee Massacre, and similar "battles" were written by non-Native historians, government officials or journalists. As the saying goes, history is written by the "victors." As with many of history's victims, Indigenous voices were marginalized, written out, or their oral traditions ignored.

Below are first-hand accounts by Native people who were present at the Wounded Knee Massacre. These excerpts come from recorded interviews, memoirs and testimonies made in the years that followed.

• Black Elk (Oglala Lakota). Black Elk was a 27-year-old spiritual leader at Wounded Knee: “I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked, bleeding snow. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people’s dream died there. I do not know what the white people think of us, but we thought of ourselves as living in a sacred way. And now we were broken, our dream destroyed. The bullets flew, and the Hotchkiss gun roared over the hill, tearing apart the bodies that had tried to protect themselves in the snow. And yet, there was no hatred in the hearts of the people, only terror and confusion.” –Recorded by John Neihardt in Black Elk Speaks. 
• Turning Hawk (Miniconjou Lakota) – U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs testimony, 1891. Turning Hawk described the chaos during the firing: “When the soldiers’ guns went off, the women and children scattered in every direction. Some were killed immediately; others were shot as they ran. I tried to help a woman carry her baby, but a soldier fired at us. The little children screamed as they fell. I could see the terror in the eyes of my people. We did not fight, yet they killed us without mercy. Some men were trying to protect the women, but there were too many bullets. The snow became red with blood, and I knew then that many would never rise again. The soldiers did not stop, even when people were lying on the ground, unable to move.”
• American Horse (Oglala Lakota) – Senate testimony, 1891. American Horse’s account emphasizes the indiscriminate nature of the massacre: “I hid in a ravine with my family, but the soldiers shot into it with the Hotchkiss guns. Many were killed where they had sought shelter. I saw two women fall as they were holding their babies. My own nephew was shot, and I could do nothing. The soldiers fired into the wagons, the lodges, and the snowbanks. They shot the people who were trying to surrender, waving white cloths. The air was full of smoke and the sound of rifles. When the firing stopped, the ground was covered with bodies, and the surviving people were wounded and trembling.”
• Dewey Beard (Wasú Máza / “Iron Hail,” Miniconjou Lakota) – interview, 1930s. Beard survived by pretending to be dead: “I ran toward the ravine with the women and children. I saw my brother fall. My mother fell. My wife was shot before my eyes. The bullets were everywhere. I lay down and pretended to be dead. I could see the soldiers walking among the bodies, shooting those who moved. Some children cried, but the soldiers did not stop. I stayed in the snow until nightfall, then crawled away. Later I found other survivors. Most of my family had been killed.”
• Big Foot’s Band – Black Coyote incident. Many survivors mentioned the gun that sparked the massacre: “The soldiers were taking our guns. One young man, Black Coyote, did not understand the order because he was deaf. He held his rifle tightly. A soldier tried to take it, and the gun went off. Then the soldiers began firing on everyone, even those lying down or waving their hands to show they had no weapons. There was no mercy. People were shot as they ran or hid behind wagons. Babies were killed in their mother’s arms. I saw men, women, and children fall like grass in the wind.”
• Wasú Tanka Win (Big Woman) – recorded by Ella Cara Deloria “The soldiers shot the children as they ran. A little girl clung to me and cried, and she was shot while I held her. I ran until my legs would not move, but the soldiers kept coming. They fired into the ravine, the wagons, and the snow. When I looked around, the snow was full of people lying dead and wounded. There were so many, I could not count them.”
• Louise Weasel Bear (Miniconjou Lakota) – Ricker Interviews, 1906–1919. “They shot my father as he ran. My mother was killed by the wagon. My brother tried to fight, but he was killed too. When the Hotchkiss guns fired, the bodies were torn apart. The snow was red with blood. I do not know how many were killed that day, but most of our band was gone. Those who survived were wounded and frightened. We did not fight, we did not resist, yet the soldiers killed us like animals.”

Why survivor testimony matters

Because of survivors’ testimony like his, and the efforts of survivors and their families, the truth of Wounded Knee as a massacre (rather than a battle) became harder to deny. The combined testimony of survivors contradicted the "official" or pro-military portrayals of the conflict that tried to frame Wounded Knee as a legitimate battle. Horn Cloud's firsthand descriptions of indiscriminate firing, noncombatant victims and the chaotic, one-sided slaughter were critical in preserving the memory of Wounded Knee as a massacre of innocents. 

Memorial honoring the victims

Horn Cloud helped organize a memorial at the site. In 1903, he and other survivors raised a stone monument over the mass grave to honor the dead, inscribing in part that “many innocent women and children who knew no wrong died here.” 

Joseph Horn Cloud’s list of Lakota casualties:

• Chief Big Foot
• Mrs. Big Foot
• Horned Cloud
• Mrs. Horned Cloud
• William Horned Cloud, son
• Sherman Horned Cloud, son
• Pretty Enemy, niece
• Mrs. Beard, daughter-in-law
• Thomas Beard, grandson
• Shedding Bear
• Trouble-in-Front, son
• Last Running
• Red White Cow, daughter
• Mother-in-law of Shedding Bear
• High Hawk
• Mrs. High Hawk
• Little boy, son
• Little girl, daughter
• Whirl Wind Hawk
• Mrs. Whirl Wind Hawk
• Young lady, daughter
• Young girl, daughter
• Little girl, daughter
• Little boy, son
• Little boy, son
• He Crow
• Pretty Woman, daughter
• Buckskin Breech Clout
• Running In Lodge, son
• White Feather, son
• Little boy, son
• Bear Woman (the oldest woman in the band)
• Crazy Bear
• Elk Creek
• Mrs. Elk Creek
• Spotted Chief, son
• Red Fish
• Mrs. Red Fish
• Old Good Bear
• Young Good Bear
• Mrs. Good Bear
• Little boy, son
• Pretty Hawk
• Mrs. Pretty Hawk
• Baby Pretty Hawk
• Mrs. Lap
• Shoots The Right
• Bad Wound, son
• Bear Parts Body
• Little boy, son
• Brown Beaver
• White Beaver Woman
• Black Coyote (The one who made the trouble)
• Red Water Woman
• Sun In Pupil
• Mrs. Sun In Pupil
• Henry Three, or Pretty Bald Eagle
• Iron Eyes (Big Foot’s brother)
• Mrs. Iron Eyes
• Has A Dog
• Red Shirt Girl
• Pretty Woman
• Albert Iron Eyes
• White Day
• Little Boy, son
• Charge At Them
• Old Woman, mother
• Mrs. Iron American
• Mrs. Yellow Buffalo Calf
• Louis Close To Home
• Cast Away And Run
• Bad Braves
• Red Horn
• Winter
• Strong Fox
• Mrs. Strong Fox
• Little boy, son
• One Feather
• Little boy, son
• Without Robe
• Old Man Yellow Bull
• Mrs. Old Man Yellow Bull
• Brown Woman
• Shakes The Bird
• Red Ears Horse
• Shoots With Hawk Feather (Shot with Hotchkiss)
• His mother
• Ghost Horse
• Little boy, son
• Chief Woman
• Mrs. Trouble In Love
• Hat
• Baby boy
• Mrs. Stone Hammer
• Little baby
• Wolf Ears
• Good Boy, son
• Edward Wolf Ears
• Little girl
• Shoots The Bear
• Kills Senaca Assiniboine
• George Shoots The Bear
• Mrs. Shoots The Bear
• Kills Crow Indian
• Little Body Bear
• Mrs. Little Body Bear
• Little boy, son
• Baby girl
• Red Eagle (This man was in the tent & killed by the cannon)
• Eagle Body, daughter
• Little girl
• Little Elk
• Mrs. Little Elk
• Black Shield’s little girl
• White Wolf
• Red Ears Horse, sister
• Old Woman, her mother
• Wood Shade
• Mrs. Wood Shade
• Running Standing Hairs
• Mrs. Running Standing Hairs
• Young lady, daughter
• Scabbard Knife
• Mrs. Scabbard Knife
• He Eagle
• Mrs. He Eagle
• Edward He Eagle, son
• Young girl, daughter
• Young boy, son
• Log
• Mrs. Log
• Really Woman, son
• Brown Hoops
• Little boy, son
• Young girl, daughter
• Mule’s daughter, young lady
• Red Other Woman
• Black Flutes, young boy
• Takes Away The Bow
• Gray In Eye
• Mrs. Drops Blood
• Young boy, son
• Little boy, son
• Old Woman
• Mrs. Long Bull
• Young girl, daughter
• Spotted Thunder
• Swift Bird
• Mrs. Swift Bird
• Boy, son
• Boy, son
• Strike Scatter
• Boy, son
• Wolf Skin Necklace
• Last Talking, old woman
• Not Go In Among, son of Hailing Bear, and Her Good Medicine
• Wounded Hand
• Comes Out Rattling, wife
• Big Voice Thunder
• Mercy To Others
• Long Medicine
• Broken Arrow
• Mrs. Broken Arrow
• Young man
• Young woman
• Brown Turtle
• Old woman, mother
• Bird Wings
• Not Afraid Of Lodge
• Bear Comes And Lies
• Wears Calf’s Robe
• Yellow Robe
• Wounded In Winter, son
• Mrs. Black Hair
• Bad Spotted Eagle (a Cree Indian)
• Mrs. Bad Spotted Eagle
• White American
• Long Bull
• Courage Bear
• Mrs. Courage Bear
• Fat Courage Bear
• George Courage Bear
• Black Hawk
• She Bear, wife
• Weasel Bear, daughter

Medal of Honor controversy

According to historical records, about 20 members of the U.S. Army were awarded the Medal of Honor by the U.S. government for their actions during the 1890 massacre. Critics argue that the events of December 29, 1890, widely regarded today as a massacre of largely unarmed Lakota men, women and children, do not meet modern standards of “valor” or “heroism.” In recent years, there have been legislative efforts, including the Remove the Stain Act and broad calls from Indigenous communities to rescind these medals.

Rescinding was under review during the Biden presidency, though a decision was never made by then Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

In September of 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth decided not to rescind the medals, calling the recipients “brave soldiers.”

Want to know more about the Wounded Knee Massacre and the Indigenous history of the United States? 

View Full List