Many Sioux tribes were forced onto the Pine Ridge Reservation. The Pine Ridge Reservation had very poor living conditions; so many tribes resorted to a type of ritual called The Ghost Dance. The Lakota believed this ritual made them bulletproof, but the settlers were disturbed by this ritual. On December 29, 1890 the Sioux Chief Big Foot and 350 members of his tribe were camped at Wounded Knee Creek. A group of United States troops surrounded the camp and arrested Chief Big Foot and most of his warriors. As they were arresting Chief Big Foot, a shot rang out. When the shots ended, nearly 300 Sioux, Chief Big Foot among them, and 25 soldiers were dead. After this, the fighting amongst the Indians and Americans died down, but if the United States would not have tried to take away the Sioux's rights they would not have been responsible for all of the innocent lives lost.
"I can still see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. 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. It was a beautiful dream..."
-Black Elk
"I was interpreting for General Forsyth ( Forsyth was actually a colonel) just before the battle of Wounded Knee, December 29, 1890. The captured Indians had been ordered to give up their arms, but Big Foot replied that his people had no arms. Forsyth said to me, 'Tell Big Foot he says the Indians have no arms, yet yesterday they were well armed when they surrendered. He is deceiving me. Tell him he need have no fear in giving up his arms. as I wish to treat him kindly.' Big Foot replied, 'They have no guns, except such as you have found.' Forsyth declared, 'You are lying to me in return for my kindness.'"
-Philip Wells
-Philip Wells
"They want us to give up another chunk of our tribal land. This is not the first time or the last time."
-Sitting Bull