After the massacre by U.S. troops at Wounded Knee in 1890, the last of the Lakota people were forced into concentration camps called “reservations.” Federal authorities tried to force indigenous people to become farmers, to abandon their languages and cultural identities, to view themselves as “U.S. citizens,” and assimilate into larger U.S. society. Children were stolen from Native people, and forbidden to speak their languages. Traditional religious ceremonies were banned.

As part of the wave of radical protest and revolution that swept the planet in the 1960s, a great movement of resistance arose among the Native peoples of the U.S. Its high point came with the armed takeover of Wounded Knee in 1973. On February 27, a caravan of 200 cars of Indians and their supporters led by activists in the American Indian Movement (AIM) wound its way through the darkness towards the village of Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. On arriving they released a statement demanding hearings on the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty that promised a large, unbroken area for the Native peoples of the Dakotas. The U.S. government violently stole that land back when gold was discovered on it. And they demanded an investigation of the U.S. government’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the tribal government at Pine Ridge that served as violent enforcers of repression.

As the book Agents of Repression documents, “In the first instance since the Civil War that the U.S. Army had been dispatched in a domestic operation, the Pentagon invaded Wounded Knee with 17 armored personnel carriers, 130,000 rounds of M-16 ammunition, 41,000 rounds of M-1 ammunition, 24,000 flares, 12 M-79 grenade launchers, 600 cases of C-S gas, 100 rounds of M-40 explosives, helicopters, phantom jets, and personnel, all under the direction of [top Nixon aide] General Alexander Haig.”

The Native Americans dug their own trenches and set up roadblocks. People bypassed the government barricades to bring in food, medicine and ammunition—often coming in on foot or horseback. For 70 days there were almost daily gunfights. Tens of thousands of bullets, plus tear gas were fired into the village—trying to force the fighters to lay down their arms and surrender.

Bold Stand, Broad Support

Millions of people were inspired by the stand at Wounded Knee. Other tribes canceled leases on mining contracts they had signed with major corporations. Indigenous people from over 60 different tribes slipped through the blockades to join their brothers and sisters inside. Hundreds of people hiked many miles over the hills to join the people inside or to bring food and medical supplies. Doctors and nurses came to help in the Wounded Knee clinic. Telegrams of support came in from all over the world. Tens of thousands of people held support demonstrations in many cities across the U.S. and around the world.

The government brought in reinforcements and mounted intensive patrols to stop food, supplies and new recruits from reaching Wounded Knee. They were determined to starve the defenders out. After March 11, fewer and fewer supplies made it past the government roadblocks. On March 26, the phone lines were cut. The major media left. That night, the government launched a massive barrage—shooting over 20,000 rounds into the Indian camp. The following day, the government announced dozens of indictments against the people inside.

On May 5, the White House promised that representatives would meet with the Sioux chiefs within weeks to talk about the Fort Laramie Treaty—on the condition that the Indians lay down their arms. The Indians agreed to end their occupation. The Nixon White House immediately broke the agreement. On May 31, a Nixon aide presented hundreds of Native Americans with a letter that said: “The days of treaty making with the American Indians ended in 1871, 102 years ago...”

During the next three years dozens of AIM members and supporters were killed in the Pine Ridge area under suspicious circumstances. AIM leader Leonard Peltier was framed for the killing of two FBI agents and was railroaded into prison in 1977. Prosecutors and federal agents manufactured evidence against him (including the so-called “murder weapon”); hid proof of his innocence; presented false testimony obtained through torturous interrogation techniques; ignored court orders; and lied to the jury. Peltier—who was subjected to a staggering number of constitutional violations—remains unjustly imprisoned.

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For documentation and background see:

Voices From Wounded Knee: The People Are Standing Up, published by Akwesasne Notes

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, by Peter Mathiessen

Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement, by Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall

The International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee

The movie Thunderheart, which is loosely based on events at Wounded Knee.