What was the name of the 1890 federal massacre of Lakota people at a creek in South Dakota?

The 1890 federal massacre of Lakota people at a creek in South Dakota was the Wounded Knee Massacre.

The massacre occurred on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Reservation. U.S. soldiers of the 7th Cavalry attempted to disarm a camp of Miniconjou and Hunkpapa Lakota. A gunshot broke out during the process, and soldiers killed hundreds of Lakota people, including women and children. The exact death toll remains uncertain.

Many historians view the event as the symbolic end of the armed resistance of the Plains Lakota. The killings followed months of tension surrounding the Ghost Dance, a religious movement that promised renewal and encouraged hope among Native communities facing dispossession and cultural suppression.

The soldiers’ receipt of Medals of Honor later became controversial. In 1990, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution expressing “deep regret” for the massacre. Wounded Knee is distinct from the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado.