The fighting at Wounded Knee erupted during a tense confrontation between
the U.S. Cavalry and a band of Sioux Indians who were involved in the
Ghost Dance movement.  After less than an hour of shooting, Minneconjou
Sioux leader Big Foot and at least 150 of his people were dead and about
50 wounded.  The U.S. Army had twenty-five dead and thirty-nine wounded. 
In the confusion, both Indians and soldiers fired on their own men. 
Exploding shells from artillery leveled tipis and filled the air with
shrapnel , killing many women an children.  The painting above, made from
a photograph, does not show women and children among the dead.  It is
possible that the photographer deliberately chose a view which excluded
them, or the painter may have edited them out afterward.  The incident
became known as the "Battle" of Wounded Knee according to the U.S.
military, while the Indians knew it as the "Massacre."