The Genocide At Wounded Knee
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The massacre of Lakota Indians near Wounded Knee creek , South Dakota took place on December 29 in the year 1890. When the massacre was over, more than 250 men, women, and children of the Lakota tribe had been killed and about 51 were wounded with many dying later from their wounds, the government at the time stated only about 150 were killed but more accurate estimates by witness accounts put the number of dead in the region of 300.
Some historians have written about the Battle of Wounded Knee which is incorrect as it was a massacre and nothing else, carried out by 500 US Cavalry Soldiers.
Twenty soldiers were awarded the medal of honour and the National Congress of American Indians passed two resolutions condemning the awards and have called on the Federal Government to rescind them.
Hotchkiss Gun - An artillery two pounder mountain gun that was used
extensively in the so called Indian wars and used with deadly force at
Wounded Knee against unarmed innocent civilians.
Ghost Dance - A ritual dance performed by Native Americans in the hope
it would stop the white mans expansion and that tribal lands taken by force
would be returned to them, the authorities viewed it with suspicion believing
it to be something more sinister.
On December the twenty eight in the year eighteen ninety
Major Samuel Whitside was on patrol, with the seventh cavalry
When they sighted a party of Indians from the Lakota nation
And told them they'd be escorted to Pine Ridge Reservation.
The next day they arrived at the creek, near Wounded Knee
Soldiers began to disarm them, what they saw as a war party
More reinforcements arrived under Colonel James Forsyth
And surrounded the reservation with their military might.
Many Lakota handed over their guns but reluctantly
No one foresaw that the disarming would end in tragedy
A deaf Lakota tribesman by the name of Black Coyote
Hadn't heard the order to disarm and was seized by the cavalry.
He didn't want to give up his gun because he'd paid a lot of money
And what followed became known as the battle of Wounded Knee
Soldiers tried to seize his rifle but it discharged in the struggle
An elder was performing a Ghost Dance ; the soldiers feared trouble.
By then many Lakota tribesmen had now been disarmed
And as tensions began to rise the soldiers became alarmed
They opened fire on the Lakota tribesmen shooting them dead
And the hard ground where they fell began to turn a bright red.
A few Lakota still had their guns and they returned fire
But the soldiers kept firing and the death toll rose higher
The Lakota were outnumbered; they didn't stand a chance
Against heavily armed soldiers who started to advance.
Some unarmed Lakota ran, but there was no cover or trees
Soldiers then turned their Hotchkiss guns on a row of tipis
Where mother's and children lived, and who were slain brutally
Mounted soldiers then chased those, who'd fled out to the prairie.
They were shot down as they ran and were shown no mercy
Officers lost control of their men who acted with impunity
Any wounded they came across were shot in the head
When the shooting was over there was three hundred dead.
Over thirty soldiers were killed too, caught in the crossfire
With witness accounts stating many were killed by friendly fire
The unarmed Lakota Indians met with an untimely death
Old men, mothers and children who hadn't posed a threat.
A young boy in hiding was told that he'd be taken to safety
But when he appeared he was shot down, without any mercy
This was a genocide of the Lakota and not even a fair fight
And I can't help but wonder how those soldiers slept at night.
Some mothers were found dead with babies still alive
But with the temperatures dropping many didn't survive
Over the next few days, all the frozen bodies were recovered
Then thrown into a pit and with earth they were covered.
Twenty soldiers involved were awarded medals of honour
For the massacre of innocents in the Lakotas darkest hour
The government at the time were succeeding in their mission
To violently subdue all Native Americans, into submission.
Written on 22 July 2021.
Copyright © Tom Cunningham | Year Posted 2021
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