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Prologue narrator: In the late1800s, whites were movingtotheGreat Plains in droves. U.S. treatieshad promised Plains Indians landin exchange for peace. However,arriving settlers displaced NativeAmericans whose ancestors hadlived there for centuries.

The Plains Indians fought back.Later, U.S. Army General PhilipSheridan said: "We took away theircountry and their means of sup-port, broke up their mode of living,introduced disease and decayamong them. And it was for thisand against this that they madewar. Could anyone expect less?"

Indians won some battles. Butusually they were outnumbered,and their firepower was no matchforthat of whites, Some Indianleaders began to give up hope.

SCENIE INarrator A: In January 1889, amedicine man named Wovoka hasa dream. In it, the Great Spirit tellshim Ihat if the people pertorm a spe-cial dance, the Plains will once againbelong to Indians. Wovoka holds aceremony called the Ghost Dance.Narrator B: Word of the ceremonyspreads. Indians travel far and wideto learn from him. Kicking Bear andother Sioux ride from the Dakotas toWovoka's camp in Nevada.

Words to Know

• Badlands: a large, dry area in SouthDakota marked by deep gullies,eroded soil, and little plant life.

• confiscate: take possession byauthority or command; seize.

• game: wild animals hunted forfood or sport.

• Great Spirit: Indians' name for God.

Kicking Bear: Tell us all you know.Wovoka: The Great Spirit said, "Dono harm to anyone. Do right always.Do not tell lies. Do not fight. Whenyour friends die, you must not cry."If we keep doing the Ghost Dance,next spring the Great Spirit willcome. All dead Indians will liveagain. We will go up into the moun-tains. A big flood will come, and allwhite people will drown. When thewater goes away, there will be justIndians and game everywhere.Short Bull: We'll do anything toregain the ways of our fathers.Please, teach us the Ghost Dance!Narrator C: Wovoka does so. Later,as his visitors head for home . . .Wovoka: Tell all Indians to keepdancing, and good times will come.Those who don't dance and don'tbelieve will turn into wood and burnin fire. Warn them! This may be thelast chance the Great Spirit gives us.

SCENIE 2Narrator D: In the spring of 1890, atPine Ridge Reservation, in what isnow South Dakota . . .Sitting Bull: For many years, I madewar against the whites. Sometimesthey won, other times we won. Butthey keep coming, more and more.Kicking Bear: The Army should bekeeping settlers off our land. But it isus the Army chases away.Wind-in-Trees: They promised usthis land—by their own law!Sitting Bull: Yes, they made thatlaw. But later, they made others.You can't believe anything they say.The Ghost Dance is a better way. Ithas the Great Spirit behind it.Kicking Bear (chanting):

My Father, have pity on me!I have nothing to eat.I am thirsty. Everything is gone!

Narrator E: The people dance untilthey can dance no more. The same

CluiractorsKicking Bear,

a Minneconjou Siouxmedicine man

)Novoka[woh-VOH-kuh},a Paiute medicine man

Short Bull,Kicking Bear's brother-in-law, also a medicine man

Sitting Bull,a Hunkpapa Sioux warriorand widely respectedleader

*Wind-in-Trees,a Hunkpapa Sioux woman

*Bella Rhodes.a white woman

James McLaughlin,a government agent atStanding Rock Reservation

Lieutenant Bull Head.an Indian police officer atStanding Rock

Big Foot,a Minneconjou Sioux chief

Major Samuel Whitside,U.S. Army

Colonel George A. Forsyth,U.S. Army

*Second Snow,an old Sioux woman

Yellow Bird.another Minneconjou Siouxmedicine man

Black Coyote,a young Sioux man

*Soldier,under Forsyth's command

Prologue narratorNarrators A-EEpilogue narrator

^Characters with asterisks bytheir names are fictitious.All others were real people.

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Amerioiin History P lay /

Soldiers aimHotchkissguns

at the Siouxencampmentat Wounded

., Knee Creek,

thing is happening on ail the reser-vations in the Dakotas.

SCIENE 3Narrator A: whites don't understandthe Ghost Dance's peaceful origin.They fear that it is a war dance,and the Sioux are about to attack.At the government agent's office onStanding Rock Reservation . . .Bella Rhodes: Indians from all overare banding together. It's happeningat the Cheyenne Reservation too.James McLaughlin: They re gath-ering for the Ghost Dance. Thegovernment ordered Big Foot to stoppeople from doing it, but he hasn't.Rhodes: Did you get a copy of amessage to Washington, D.G., fromthe government agent at Pine Ridge?What's happening there?McLaughlin (reads): "Indians aredancing in the snow and are vrild andcrazy. We need protection, and weneed it now. The leaders should be

arrested and confined at some mili-tary post until the matter is quieted.This should be done at once."Rhodes: That's the most sensiblething I've heard in months!

Narrator B: McLaughlin and otherofficials believe that Sitting Bullis behind the Ghost Dance craze.Before dawn on December 15, 1890,43 Indian police officers arrive atSitting Bull's cabin at Pine Ridge.Lieutenant Bull Head: Wake up,old man. We're here to arrest you.Narrator C: About 150 of SittingBull's followers gather in protest.Wind-in-Trees: Why are you doingthis? He is an old and honored man!Bull Head: We have our orders.Narrator D: As Sitting Bull is ledaway, his people crowd around toprotect him. This gives him courage.Sitting Bull (to police): I will notgo with you. (To followers} Let's go

where we may dance in peace!Narrator E: Some followers pullout guns. So do the police. Fists fly,and shots ring out. In the confusion.Sitting Bull is killed.

iENIE 5Narrator A: Overcome by the lossof their leader, some of Sitting Bull'speople surrender. Others flcc-Big Foot: Let's go to the Badlandsand do the Ghost Dance. It's ouronly hope.Narrator B: U.S. Army troops,who have been trying to stop thedancing, catch up with them.Major Samuel Whitside: Big Foot,you must stop this.Big Foot: We are mostly womenand children. The few men are oldor ailing. We travel in peace.Whitside: You must come to ourcamp near Wounded Knee Creek.Narrator C: The troops take thecaptured Sioux to the camp. On

1 6 JUNIOR SCHOUSTIC / NOVEMBER 26, 200?

a nearby hill, soldiers set up fourHotchkiss guns—small, powerfulcannon able to fire 50 explosiveshells a minute.

Narrator D: Early the next morn-ing—December 29, 1890 . . .Colonel George A. Forsyth: Surren-der all weapons. Where is Big Foot?Second Snow: In his tepee, very ill.He's weak, and can't stop coughing.Forsyth: I want him out here too.Narrator E: Big Foot has pneumo-nia, but is carried out as ordered.Forsyth (to troops): OK, men!Confiscate all weapons.Narrator A: The soldiers think theIndians will attack. The Indiansthink the soldiers mean to kill them.One man starts the Ghost Dance.Yellow Bird (singing in Sioux):

Do not fear them, we are safe.Remember: The Ghost Dance

protects us. . . .

The prairie is large, and the bulletswilt not go toward you.

Narrator B: The troops find onlya few firearms—including BlackCoyote's new rifle.Black Coyote: I paid good moneyfor this rifle. It's mine!Soldier: Not anymore. Give it to me!Narrator C: There is a gunshot. Noone knows if it came from a soldieror a Sioux. In the panic, troops firethe Hotchkiss guns. Indians and sol-diers are caught in the cross-fire. Allis chaos, smoke, and bloodshed.Narrator D: Moments later, theshooting stops. In a still, unearthlysilence, the dead and dying—most ofthem Sioux women and children—liebleeding on the snowy ground.Narrator E; Then the wailing begins.Survivors mourn the death of thegreat Sioux nation. The Indian warsto win back the Plains are over. Neveragain will the Sioux roam the Plains,as their ancestors did for centuries.

EPII.OGUIEEpilogue narrator: More thanl?0 Sioux died by Wounded KneeCreek that day. A blizzard sooncovered their bodies with snow. OfForsyth's men, 25 were killed.

Later, Chief Red Cloud said: "Thewhite men were frightened [ofthe Ghost Dance] and called forsoldiers. We had begged for life,and the white men thought wewanted theirs."

—Kathy Wiimore

FASTFORWARD

Think About It

1. in what ways did the settlersand Sioux misunderstand eachother's language and culture?

2. How did that contribute tothe tragedy at Wounded KneeCreek? Could the bloodshed

..have been prevented?

"STILLA GRIEF"

In 19?3, Native Americansand the U.S. government againclashed at Wounded Knee. ThatFebruary 27, about 200 armedprotesters seized the village.Most were members of a mili-tant Indian-rights group calledthe American Indian Movement[AIM). FBI agents and federalmarshals demanded that theysurrender.

AIM protesters at Wounded Knee.

corrupt IRidge Reservation's govern-ment. They also denounced thepoverty on many reservations.AIM called for federal investiga-tions into the violation of trea-ties and the loss of tribal lands.

Duringthe ?l-day siege,two protesters were killedand an FBI agent wounded.It ended when White Houseofficials finally agreed to meetwith tribal leaders.

Leonard Little Finger was awitnesstothe 19?3 Incident,and his great-great-grandfatherdied in the 1890 massacre."There's still a grief that I havewhen I go to Wounded Knee,"he told The Milwaukee JournalSentinel in 1998. "I have thissickness that mankind can dothat to one another."

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