That the knowledge survived this environment, to whatever extent it did, is itself remarkable.

The Ghost Dance And Wounded Knee: The Final Tragedy

The Wounded Knee Massacre of December 29, 1890, is the most traumatic event in the history of the Pine Ridge Reservation and one of the most traumatic events in American Indigenous history of the late nineteenth century.

The Ghost Dance movement — a religious revitalization that promised the return of the buffalo, the departure of white settlers, and the renewal of Indigenous life — had spread across the Lakota reservations in 1890.

The Indian Agent at Pine Ridge, Daniel Royer, was alarmed by the movement’s growth and requested military support.