The Root of Ethnic Discrimination at Wounded Knee
In December of 1890, some 300 Lakota Indians, led by Chief Spotted Elk, took up encampment in the area we now know as Wounded Knee, South Dakota. While they were resting, a larger group of U.S. soldiers surrounded the Indians. A single shot was fired from the soldiers, sparking a string of unprecedented fire from the troops. When the rain of ammunition ceased, over 300 Lakota Indians laid dead from gunfire, cannonfire or manual butchering from the soldiers. For four days, the dead laid where they were, frozen in the cold winter snow and air. The soldiers came back on that fourth day and loaded the dead in wagons and hauled them to mass graves. Following this incident, 27 Congressional Medals of Honor for bravery were awarded to several of the soldiers who participated in the massacre at Wounded Knee. Eighty-three years later, on February 27, 1973, a large group of armed Native Americans reclaimed Wounded Knee in the name of the Lakota Nation. For the first time in over a century, those Oglala Sioux ruled themselves, free from government intervention. The federal government found out about the militant movement, and surrounded the group of native Americans at Wounded Knee. Forces inside Wounded Knee demanded an investigation int
Of course the feds had to be there to make sure none of the Indians shot anybody, but it was as if they didn't even have respect for the reason the Sioux were there in the first place. Of the 562 arrests, only 15 people were actually convicted of any crime. Heavy gunfire was issued between the two sides daily. The government's reasoning for doing so: "to express our commitment to acknowledge and learn from your history, including the Wounded Knee Massacre, in order to provide a proper foundation for building an evermore humane, enlightened, and just society for the future. I think the Sioux were making a statement by inhabiting the same territory that they had been screwed on back in 1890. Instead, they had a two and one-half month long standoff, full of M-16 gunfire that killed at least two Sioux. The utter disrespect for the Sioux in these two cases virtually proves the negative attitudes we as Americans have toward people of different race and ethnic background than our own. " The 1973 incident is just as crazy. The warriors also demanded an investigation into the 371 treaties between the Native Nations and government, all of which had been broken by the U. For the rest of the winter, the men and women inside lived on minimal resources, while they fought back and forth with the feds. Being at Wounded Knee was not just because they felt they had been treated unfairly in that instance, but also in several other instances in the eighty years that separated the incidents. The federal government, which is supposed to protect the rights and beliefs of all American people, no matter what race, was the entity that ended up screwing the Sioux over in the end. In turn, the government cut off the electricity to Wounded Knee and attempted to keep all food supplies from entering the area. Something additionally scary about the second Wounded Knee incident is what's known as the "Reign of Terror.
Common topics in this essay:
Wounded Knee,
Knee Massacre,
Lakota Indians,
Indians Indians,
Oglala Sioux,
South Dakota,
Native Nations,
wounded knee,
Medals Honor,
Eighty-three February,
Department Interior,
300 lakota indians,
medals honor,
562 arrests,
oglala sioux,
federal government,
demanded investigation,
native americans,
lakota indians,
300 lakota,
|
Acceptance Essays
