ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY December 29, 1890
U.S. Forces Kill More Than 200 Lakota Indians in the Wounded Knee Massacre
On this day in 1890, 500 U.S. troops surround and kill over 200 Lakota Indians in what has become known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. The Lakota are a Native American tribe made up of seven related Sioux tribes that migrated from the Great Lakes regions to North and South Dakota due to the encroachment of the European settlers. The initial mission of the Army troops was to escort them to to the railroad for transport to Omaha, Nebraska, however tensions escalated when a deaf tribesman refused to give up his weapon. In the chaos that followed, more than 200 men, women, and children of the Lakota Sioux were dead along with several of the Army troops.
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