Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

parts. Some worms can develop new

bodies from parts of their own body.

#More to explore

Animal • Parasite

Wotan

#see Odin.

Wounded Knee

Wounded Knee is a small town that is

important in Native American history.

Two conflicts between Native Americans

and U.S. officials took place there, one

in 1890 and the other in 1973.

Wounded Knee is located on the Pine

Ridge Indian Reservation in South

Dakota. An Indian reservation is a piece

of land that the U.S. government has set

aside for Native Americans. The Pine

Ridge Reservation is home to the Lakota

Sioux people.

1890

During the 1800s white settlers and

gold miners took away much Sioux

land. They also killed many bison (buffalo),

which the Sioux depended on for

food. But a religious leader named

Wovoka gave the Sioux new hope. He

told them that a ceremony called the

Ghost Dance would drive away the

whites and bring back the bison. The

U.S. government sent troops to stop the

Ghost Dance. Government police killed

Sitting Bull, a Sioux chief, while trying

to arrest him.

A few hundred Sioux then left their

homes. U.S. troops followed them. The

Sioux surrendered and camped near

Wounded Knee Creek. On December

29, 1890, while the soldiers were taking

away the weapons of the Native Americans,

a shot went off. Then the soldiers

fired their machine guns at the Sioux.

More than 200 Sioux were killed,

including many women and children.

1973

More than 80 years later, on February

27, 1973,Wounded Knee was the site of

another dispute. About 200 members of

a group called the American Indian

Movement took control ofWounded

Knee by force. They felt that Native

Americans were not being treated well,

and they wanted the government to

help. They refused to leave.

The protest lasted 70 days. Government

workers shot and killed two Native

Americans during that time. The Native

Americans leftWounded Knee only after

American Indian Movement members meet

with a U.S. Department of Justice worker

(right) during the Wounded Knee protest of

1973.

72 Wotan BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

the government agreed to hear their

complaints.

#More to explore

Native Americans • Sioux • Sitting Bull

Wrestling

In the sport of wrestling, two opponents

try to throw each other to the ground.

Wrestlers need skill, physical strength

and quickness, and good conditioning.

Wrestling is one of the world’s oldest

sports. The ancient Egyptians wrestled.

In ancient Greece wrestling was an

important part of the Olympic Games.

Wrestling probably developed into a

sport from hand-to-hand combat in

wartime.

Wrestling Styles

Professional wrestling in the United

States is a mixture of sport and entertainment.

Professional wrestlers use

spectacular and dangerous moves that

they must practice together in order to

avoid injury.

Other countries have their own styles of

wrestling. In Japan, for example, sumo

wrestling is very popular. Sumo wrestlers

wear loincloths and grip each other by

the belt. Sambo is a wrestling style that

started in the Soviet Union in the 1930s.

It includes moves from the Japanese

martial art called judo.

Two styles of wrestling are included in

the modern Olympic Games: Greco-

Roman and freestyle. A version of freestyle

wrestling is a sport at high schools

and colleges in the United States. Greco-

Roman wrestling is more popular in

Europe. The rest of this article has to do

with Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.

Wrestling Mats and

Equipment

Wrestling matches take place on padded

mats. The mats vary in size and layout

depending on the level of the competition.

For example, an Olympic wrestling

mat is similar but not quite the same as

a mat used at a high school.

Wrestlers wear tights that cover the

thighs, waist, and midsection. Special

shoes help wrestlers to grip the mat.

Wrestlers sometimes wear kneepads and

headgear to protect the ears.

AWrestling Match

Contests of freestyle and Greco-Roman

wrestling are similar.Wrestlers in each

style try to throw or press the opponent

onto his back. The goal is to have both

of the opponent’s shoulder blades touch

Sumo is a wrestling style that is popular in

Japan. A sumo wrestler tries to push his

opponent out of the ring or to force him to

the floor.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Wrestling 73

 

the mat at the same time. This is called a

fall, or a pin.

A match starts when two wrestlers meet

at the center of the mat. Both wrestlers

are standing as the match begins. They

then try to grab and control the

opponent by using various moves,

which are called holds. In the Greco-

Roman style, wrestlers can use holds

only above the waist. They cannot trip

or wrap the legs around an opponent.

Freestyle wrestling allows almost all

types of leg and arm holds. Freestyle

wrestlers use their legs to trip, wrap, or

hold the opponent. The rules usually

forbid only actions that may injure an

opponent, such as strangling, kicking,

and punching.

A referee stands on the mat with the

wrestlers. The referee awards points for

successful moves. The referee also

declares when a fall takes place. In

international freestyle and Greco-

Roman wrestling, a fall occurs when

one wrestler forces the other’s shoulder