19. Wovoka, The Ghost Dance, and Wounded Knee
Wovoka was the son of an assistant to the original Ghost Dance leader of the 1870s. In 1889, Wovoka claimed that he had fallen into a trance, during which God appeared to him and told him that within two years that the white man would disappear and that all of their Native American ancestors would rise from the dead and the buffalo would once more fill the plains. Wovoka told his followers that in order for this to happen Indians must remain peaceful and perform a ritualistic “Ghost Dance” at each new moon.
Wovoka’s message spread among the different tribes and his status elevated to that of a messiah. Wovoka’s teachings were adopted by many tribes but most notably by the militant Sioux. Wovoka’s growing influence began to alarm not only white settlers but also the U.S. Government who feared that Sitting Bull might use Wovoka’s influence to instigate an Indian uprising. On December 15, 1890, Indian Agency policemen attempted to arrest Sitting Bull. A scuffle ensued and shots were fired and Sitting Bull, one of the most prominent Indian leaders of the 19th century was killed.
Two weeks after Sitting Bull’s death, a Native American Chief named Big Foot, a Miniconjou leader led approximately three hundred Lakota Sioux to the Pine Ridge Reservation. When they were intercepted by the Seventh Cavalry, Custer’s old unit, they were technically considered “hostile” as they were off their reservation. Big Foot and the rest of his tribe surrendered peacefully to the Seventh Cavalry on December 28, 1890. While encamped at Wounded Knee Creek a scuffle broke out over a young brave’s new rifle. A shot was fired and in the chaos, a soldier was shot. The soldiers, accompanied by machine guns, open fire on the largely disarmed and practically defenseless Sioux. Those that tried to escape were pursued and killed. When the massacre ended, 144 Sioux lay dead, including 44 women and 16 children. They lay unburied until the Army returned the following Spring when the weather improved to bury the dead in mass graves.