Editing Sioux (section)

===Great Sioux War of 1876 and the Wounded Knee Massacre===
{{Main|Great Sioux War of 1876|Wounded Knee Massacre}}
The ongoing raids and battles on the northern Plains that lasted from 1850 to 1890 are collectively known as the [[Sioux Wars]]. Included are the [[Dakota War of 1862]] (1862–1864), [[Red Cloud's War]] (1866–1868) and the [[Great Sioux War of 1876|Black Hills War]] which includes the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]](1876–1877); the [[Massacre at Wounded Knee]] in 1890 is considered the end of the Sioux wars and the beginning of a new era for Dakota and Lakota people.
[[File:Sioux Indian police lined up on horseback in front of Pine Ridge Agency buildings, Dakota Territory, 08-09-1882 - NARA - 519143.jpg|thumb|Sioux Indian police lined up on horseback in front of Pine Ridge Agency buildings, Dakota Territory, August 9, 1882]]
[[File:Great Sioux Reservation 1888 Map.png|thumb|[[Great Sioux Reservation]], 1888; established by [[Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)]]]]

The [[Great Sioux War of 1876]], also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 between the [[Lakota people|Lakota]], Northern [[Cheyenne]], and the [[United States]]. The cause of the war was the desire of the U.S. government to obtain ownership of the [[Black Hills]]. [[Gold]] had been discovered in the Black Hills and settlers began to encroach onto tribal lands, and the Sioux and Cheyenne refused to cede ownership to the United States.<ref name="cheyenne">{{cite web|last=Liberty|first=Margot|year=2006|url=http://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/cheyenneprimacy.htm|title=Cheyenne Primacy: The Tribes' Perspective As Opposed To That Of The United States Army; A Possible Alternative To "The Great Sioux War Of 1876|publisher=Friends of the Little Bighorn|access-date=January 13, 2008|archive-date=October 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031181106/http://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/cheyenneprimacy.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The earliest engagement was the [[Battle of Powder River]], and the final battle was the [[Battle of Wolf Mountain|Wolf Mountain]]. Included are the [[Battle of the Rosebud]], [[Battle of Warbonnet Creek]], [[Battle of Slim Buttes]], [[Battle of Cedar Creek (1876)|Battle of Cedar Creek]], and the [[Dull Knife Fight]].

Among the many battles and skirmishes of the war was the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]], often known as Custer's Last Stand, the most storied of the many encounters between the U.S. army and mounted [[Plains Indians|Plains tribes]]. The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] as the Battle of the Greasy Grass<ref>{{cite news|title=The Battle of the Greasy Grass|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/history/the-battle-of-the-greasy-grass/?no-ist|access-date=7 December 2014|work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|archive-date=April 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405165634/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/history/the-battle-of-the-greasy-grass/?no-ist|url-status=live}}</ref> and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, [[Northern Cheyenne]], and [[Arapaho]] tribes and the [[7th Cavalry Regiment]] of the [[United States Army]]. The battle, which resulted in the defeat of US forces, was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. It took place on June 25–26, 1876, along the [[Little Bighorn River]] in the [[Crow Indian Reservation]] in southeastern [[Montana Territory]].<ref>Kappler, Charles J (1904): ''Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties''. Vol. 2. Washington, pp. 1008–1011.</ref>

The fight was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who were led by several major war leaders, including [[Crazy Horse]] and [[Gall (Native American leader)|Chief Gall]], and had been inspired by the visions of [[Sitting Bull]]. The US 7th Cavalry, a force of 700 men, suffered a major defeat while under the command of [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|Lieutenant Colonel]] [[George Armstrong Custer]]. Five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies were annihilated and Custer was killed. The total US casualty count included 268 dead and 55 severely wounded (six died later from their wounds),<ref>{{cite book |last=Scott |first=Douglas D |date=2013 |title=Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iSUA23jOi1sC&pg=PA244 |location=Norman, OK |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |page=244 |isbn=978-0806132921 |display-authors=etal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117172702/https://books.google.com/books?id=iSUA23jOi1sC&pg=PA244 |archive-date=January 17, 2017 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> including four [[Crow Nation|Crow]] scouts and at least two [[Arikara]] scouts. The [[Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument]] honors those who fought on both sides. That victory notwithstanding, the U.S. leveraged national resources to force the tribes to surrender, primarily by attacking and destroying their encampments and property. The Great Sioux War took place under the presidencies of [[Ulysses S. Grant]] and [[Rutherford B. Hayes]]. The Agreement of 1877 ({{USStat|19|254}}, enacted February 28, 1877) officially [[annexation|annexed]] Sioux land and permanently established Indian reservations.

[[File:Woundedknee1891.jpg|thumb|right|Mass grave for the dead Lakota after massacre of Wounded Knee.]]
The [[Wounded Knee Massacre]] was the last major armed conflict between the Lakota and the United States. It was described as a [[wikt:massacre|massacre]] by General [[Nelson A. Miles]] in a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.<ref>''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20120117171202/http://www.dreamscape.com/morgana/wkmiles.htm Letter: General Nelson A. Miles to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs]}}'', March 13, 1917.</ref> On December 29, 1890, five hundred troops of the [[7th Cavalry Regiment]], supported by four [[Hotchkiss gun]]s (a lightweight [[artillery]] piece capable of rapid fire), surrounded an encampment of the Lakota bands of the Miniconjou and Hunkpapa<ref>{{cite web |last=Liggett |first=Lorie |title=Wounded Knee Massacre – An Introduction |publisher=Bowling Green State University |year=1998 |url=http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/woundedknee/WKIntro.html |access-date=2007-03-02 |archive-date=December 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111205184809/http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/woundedknee/WKIntro.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with orders to escort them to the railroad for transport to [[Omaha, Nebraska]]. By the time it was over, 25 troopers and more than 150 Lakota Sioux lay dead, including men, women, and children. It remains unknown which side was responsible for the first shot; some of the soldiers are believed to have been the victims of "[[friendly fire]]" because the shooting took place at point-blank range in chaotic conditions.<ref>{{cite web |last=Strom |first=Karen|author-link=Karen Strom |title=The Massacre at Wounded Knee |publisher=hanksville.org |year=1995 |url=http://www.hanksville.org/daniel/lakota/Wounded_Knee.html |access-date=August 11, 2007 |archive-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127012545/http://www.hanksville.org/daniel/lakota/Wounded_Knee.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Around 150 Lakota are believed to have fled the chaos, many of whom may have died from [[hypothermia]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_AkrDQAAQBAJ&q=wounded%20knee%20hypothermia&pg=PA334|title=Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary|last=Jackson|first=Joe|date=2016-10-25|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=9780374253301|language=en}}</ref>

Following a three-day blizzard, the military hired civilians to bury the dead Lakota. The burial party found the deceased frozen; they were gathered up and placed in a mass grave on a hill overlooking the encampment from which some of the fire from the Hotchkiss guns originated. It was reported that four infants were found alive, wrapped in their deceased mothers' shawls. In all, 84 men, 44 women, and 18 children reportedly died on the field, while at least seven Lakota were mortally wounded.<ref name="Josephy 1990">Josephy, Jr., Alvin M., Trudy Thomas, and Jeanne Eder. Wounded Knee: Lest We Forget. Billings, Montana: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 1990.</ref>

For this 1890 offensive, the American army awarded twenty [[Medal of Honor|Medals of Honor]], its highest commendation. Contemporary Native American activists have urged the medals to be withdrawn, calling them "medals of dishonor". According to Lakota William Thunder Hawk, "The Medal of Honor is meant to reward soldiers who act heroically. But at Wounded Knee, they didn't show heroism; they showed cruelty". In 2001, the [[National Congress of American Indians]] passed two resolutions condemning the Medals of Honor awards and called on the U.S. government to rescind them.<ref name="Congress">{{cite web |url=http://www.footnote.com/page/1299_lakotawounded_knee_a_campaign_to/ |title=Lakota~WOUNDED KNEE: A Campaign to Rescind Medals: story, pictures and information |publisher=Footnote.com |access-date=August 17, 2011 |archive-date=December 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231002027/http://www.fold3.com/page/1299_lakotawounded_knee_a_campaign_to/ |url-status=live }}</ref>