Wounded Knee Massacre
During the 1890's, a Native American shaman, named Wovoka, began teaching people about his visions for the future. He said the living would join with the dead, and the prairies would be covered in new soil. This would bury the European settlers, and life would return to the way it had been with lots of bison and other animals to hunt. To make this happen, he told people they would have to perform the Ghost Dance. The dancers wore brightly colored shirts with pictures of bison and eagles. They believed the shirts had magic powers which would protect them from bullets. The Ghost Dance caused a lot of excitement in the Sioux camps. European settlers were worried by these beliefs and the sight of wild and crazy people dancing in the snow. They demanded protection from the army.