by On December 29, 1890, at Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment finally took their revenge against the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes for the Battle of Little Bighorn that took the life of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, and 268 others, 14 years previous. 300 unarmed Indians were surrounded by the 7th at Wounded Knee and summarily shot. 25 of the 7th were killed by friendly fire. The “Indian Wars” had finally come to a bloody conclusion at Wounded Knee massacre.
Today, 123 years later, the killing land of Wounded Knee — and site of the 1973 occupation by the American Indian Movement — is up for sale.
The current White Man owner wants $3.9 million for the bloody burial ground. The Oglala Sioux say they want to buy the land back for its historical value to their culture, but the land is small and barren and only worth $7,000.00USD.
The White Man says if he doesn’t get his price from the Sioux by May 1, 2013, he will auction the land to the highest bidder. The Oglala Sioux tribe are already $60 million in debt.
The sale of Wounded Knee raises an uncomfortable questions about the historical role of the U.S. government stealing land from the Indian tribes as the Wild West was settled. The illegal immigrants in the 1800s who came in and took over middle America were White Soldiers from the East, and they stole the land from under the Native Americans using bribes and baubles — and gunfire, when necessary — against those who refused to obey and move.
The history of the Indian Wars is one of despair and genocide that was fully pardoned, excused, and executed by the government of the United States against an entire people.
Perhaps the U.S. government should finally do the right thing and buy Wounded Knee and give it back to the Oglala Sioux as the start of an apology. Let the Sioux have the burial ground again. Allow them to sanctify the land as they wish. Wounded Knee should never be risked in our popular memory to become grounds for a casino or a business development sold to the highest bidder at public auction.
Little Bighorn is preserved as a National Park, and so, too, should Wounded Knee.
I agree the best course of action would be for the government to buy the land and give it back to the Oglala Sioux – what are the chances this will happen?
I would think the chances are zero. Wounded Knee was a massacre of unarmed women and children and old men by U.S. soldiers looking for revenge.
Little Bighorn became an instant “moral outrage” over the killing of the “Son of Morningstar” — and needed to be preserved for those who wanted to honor the fallen Lt. Col. The darlings get preserved while those who were ambushed and assassinated are sold to the highest bidder.
The winners write history — and that often means repressing or revising what really happened.
Is there a petition , or a campaign for this option …………. do you have mechanisms in the USA – on line or in real life to petition the president to take action – or is it via vested interests only ?
I can’t believe there isn’t any outrage right now over the future of Wounded Knee.
There’s allegedly a way of “petitioning the White House” online to get a response from the President, but that whole process has been taken over by the secessionists and hater whackos who want to foil the president at every turn. It’s become a joke, and not just on April 1. SMILE!
I find it amazing there is not any outrage ……………….. I guess turning a blind eye absolves one of any guilt or responsibility.
What a shame an attempt to open up communication has been overun by idiots …………
Completely agree. No outrage over Wounded Knee. If there’s anything out there, it’s usually, “The Indians had it coming to them.”
Yes, the idiots have been allowed to ruin so much in America — and only because there’s this misbegotten meme that we need to give “fair play” to both sides when sometimes, you don’t need to be fair to include pure hate.
astonishing …………………
Fair play is fine – but they frowned on free love – yet embrace free hate ………………….. hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Yes, it’s an admirable ability to repress the truth and and ignite indignation!
This is just painful to read, and makes me think we haven’t evolved as much as we tell ourselves… It seems only logical that we should treat this issue the same way we treated the preservation of Little Bighorn… and yet here we are.
It’s just too easy to forget the messes of our past. Few remember the massacre at Wounded Knee and, in another hundred years, few will remember the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions and killings as well. Memory is always convenient. We don’t want to mark pain or embarrassment. We only want to preserve the best and inspiration.
Unfortunately all too true– like you said to Nicola, history is written by the winners, and until (if ever) that changes, we will always have to contend with that sense of bravado that muddles up the facts.
Yes, that’s a good point, but the Civil War is still being fought in many ways — with lots of Southern historians trying to claim today the war was really about “States’ Rights” and not slavery — and they’ll argue that point against the facts with a serious, straight, face; because to do otherwise is to cheapen the very foundation of their culture.
The mistake the North made after winning the war was in not offering the South reparations for the loss of their slaves. Without the slaves, their entire economy tanked and, one could argue, has never really recovered — and that’s why so many Southern States take in more from the Feds in State aid than they send back to Washington in taxes and such. To make the impoverished South “whole” again would’ve cost around $6 billion even way back in 1865. If we’d helped the South heal, we’d have a much different, and better, USA right now.
Quite upsetting to read! I hope a petition is made. Actually since anyone can make a petition maybe we should collectively make one as Boles Blogs!
That might be a good idea, Gordon! You should head up the effort for us. Just make sure there aren’t other similar petitions pending.
This fight/discussion has now gone international – there were articles in the french press yesteray and it is covered in the BBC today http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22301842
Excellent! The photo of the bodies in the grave indicates precisely what happened: Surrounded and shot.
The New York Times is also on the case – http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/opinion/save-wounded-knee.html?_r=0
I hope people keep talking about this! Thanks for the links!
I will add more if any are forthcoming …………………..
Thank you! We need to make this heavy and undeniable so the right thing is done!