The Massacre At Wounded Knee Summary

The Massacre at Wounded Knee was written to inform people about the exchange of fire between the soldiers and Indian people at Wounded Knee. It was meant to be public because the author describes details and events from the document. The author was trying to point out how horrific these events were because it states “but the fact of the killings of women and children, is the saddest part of the whole affair” (American Horse, 3). The whole reason the war was going on from the beginning was because the Indians believed they were being threatened because the whites were stealing their land. The two statements were written to persuade the white men and government to let all men be alike and cut war with the Indians. Chief Joseph states, “all men

There is nothing good about fighting or just killing our own people. A difference between the two documents is that one is the point of view of a white man and the other is the view of an Indian. Many people were killed and wounded during both battles and many families were hurt. Both documents were battles between the whites and Indians and did not end pretty for either side as many were lost. In one, the Indian leader surrenders to the soldiers because he is sad and sick of war and in the other they just unleash shots back and forth until they capture what they need. The whites were trying to take over Indian land and as anyone would do, the Indians fought back. In The Massacre at Wounded Knee, the soldiers ordered the Indians to give up their guns while in the statements it was an exchange of words and shots. The reasoning for war in both documents were the same as the Indians were trying to protect their land and families. The two races did not get along in both as well and there was really no reason for them not to. Even though both sides were not getting along and losing almost everything, they could never find a mutual relationship to keep them stable. We can always look back at these time periods and learn from mistakes that all Americans made. We need to look at how we treated one another and never let it happen again because you cannot beat our own country down.