There are 2 gendered terms for elk in Lakota language - heȟáka - male/buck, with antlers, and uŋpȟáŋ,[3] female, referred to as 'cow' in english.

Following the Sioux Wars, the government placed the Miniconjou on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, South Dakota.

Spotted Elk encouraged adaptation to reservation life, by way of developing sustainable agriculture and building schools for Lakota children.

Although governmental reservation rules outlawed the practice of the religion, the movement swept like wildfire through the camps and local Indian agents reacted with alarm.

After ( 1890-12-15)15 December 1890, when Sitting Bull was killed on Standing Rock Reservation, his followers fled for refuge at the camp of his former-ally and half-brother, Chief Spotted Elk.

Seeking safety, flying a white flag and with no intention of fighting, Spotted Elk contracted pneumonia on the journey to Pine Ridge.

Ill with pneumonia, Spotted Elk surrendered peacefully, with his band; the cavalry took them into custody, escorting them to a campsite near Wounded Knee Creek, Pine Ridge, where they were to set camp.

The night before the massacre, Col. James W. Forsyth arrived at Wounded Knee Creek and ordered his men to position four Hotchkiss cannons around the area in which the Lakota had been forced to camp.