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CARTOON ANALYSIS
For use with “Wounded Knee” on p. 18 of the magazine
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
THE REASON OF THE INDIAN OUTBREAK.
General Miles declares that the Indians are
starved into rebellion.
Analyze the Political Cartoon
1. This cartoon was published in an American satire magazine in 1890, just days before Wounded Knee.
Tensions between Native Americans and U.S. government officials in frontier areas were escalating.
How is each side portrayed? What signs of tension do you see?
2. The Native American holds a sign reading “starvation rations.” Why do you think Native Americans
on reservations in the late 1800s might not have had enough food? What responsibility did the
government bear?
3. The official depicted here is U.S. Army General Nelson Miles, who was in charge of putting an end
to Native American resistance and getting tribes to accept life on reservations. Why do you think
the cartoonist shows the government as profiting from that situation?
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