To be clear this was not a violent attempt to kill settlers by the Lakota people. These shirts were thought to protect from bullets and the Ghost dance was believed to bring back spirits of the dead to protect the land settlers were expanding into. It was in this context that the US army massacred 153 people, mostly women and children and ~20 soldiers were given medals of honor for what is known today as the Wounded Knee Massacre.
To be clear this was not a violent attempt to kill settlers by the Lakota people. These shirts were thought to protect from bullets and the Ghost dance was believed to bring back spirits of the dead to protect the land settlers were expanding into. It was in this context that the US army massacred 153 people, mostly women and children and ~20 soldiers were given medals of honor for what is known today as the Wounded Knee Massacre.