Wounded Knee Siege 1973
Where / When
-The town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota was seized on February 27, 1973, by followers of the American Indian
Movement (AIM), who staged a 71-day occupation of the area.
Purpose
-to commemorate Wounded Knee I, to explain the "massacre" aspect of Wounded Knee, to identify Ghost Dance materials,
and to provide a vehicle for the expression of the Sioux peoples.
Leader
-AIM Leaders, Russell Means and Dennis Banks
Summary
-In the summer of 1968, two hundred members of the American Indian community came together for a meeting to discuss
various issues that Indian people of the time were dealing with on an everyday basis. Among these issues were, police
brutality, high unemployment rates, and the Federal Government's policies concerning American Indians.
It began as the American Indians stood against government atrocities, and ended in an armed battle with US Armed Forces.
Corruption within the BIA and Tribal Council at an all time high, tension on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation was on the
increase and quickly getting out of control. With a feeling close to despair, and knowing there was nothing else for them to
do, elders of the Lakota Nation asked the American Indian Movement for assistance. This bringing to a head, more than a
hundred years of racial tension and a government corruption.
Successful?
-They had their greatest success on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, after a group of young whites murdered a
Sioux Indian named Yellow Thunder. Although Yellow Thunder's attackers only received six-year prison sentences, this was
widely seen as a victory by the local Sioux accustomed to unfair treatment by the racist Anglo judicial system. AIM's highly
visible publicity campaign on the case was given considerable credit for the verdict, winning the organization a great deal of
respect on the reservation.
-The town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota was seized on February 27, 1973, by followers of the American Indian
Movement (AIM), who staged a 71-day occupation of the area.
Purpose
-to commemorate Wounded Knee I, to explain the "massacre" aspect of Wounded Knee, to identify Ghost Dance materials,
and to provide a vehicle for the expression of the Sioux peoples.
Leader
-AIM Leaders, Russell Means and Dennis Banks
Summary
-In the summer of 1968, two hundred members of the American Indian community came together for a meeting to discuss
various issues that Indian people of the time were dealing with on an everyday basis. Among these issues were, police
brutality, high unemployment rates, and the Federal Government's policies concerning American Indians.
It began as the American Indians stood against government atrocities, and ended in an armed battle with US Armed Forces.
Corruption within the BIA and Tribal Council at an all time high, tension on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation was on the
increase and quickly getting out of control. With a feeling close to despair, and knowing there was nothing else for them to
do, elders of the Lakota Nation asked the American Indian Movement for assistance. This bringing to a head, more than a
hundred years of racial tension and a government corruption.
Successful?
-They had their greatest success on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, after a group of young whites murdered a
Sioux Indian named Yellow Thunder. Although Yellow Thunder's attackers only received six-year prison sentences, this was
widely seen as a victory by the local Sioux accustomed to unfair treatment by the racist Anglo judicial system. AIM's highly
visible publicity campaign on the case was given considerable credit for the verdict, winning the organization a great deal of
respect on the reservation.
Unique / Important points
The Wounded Knee of 1973 proved that despite centuries of encroachment,
warfare, and neglect, Indians remained a vital force in the life of America.
warfare, and neglect, Indians remained a vital force in the life of America.