History 383

Wounded Knee II: A Selected Chronology

February 27 - May 8, 1973 - Wounded Knee II - When members of the Lakota Sioux tribe on the Pine Ridge reservation attempted to have Dick Wilson, the BIA-backed head of the tribal administration, impeached, they received resistance from the federal government, which wanted to keep Wilson and his followers in power.

• Led by leader Russell Means, AIM seized control of Wounded Knee (site of the 1890 massacre) and the perimeter was under siege from the FBI for 71 days. More than 500,000 rounds of ammunition were fired into AIM's bunkers, two Indians and one FBI agent were killed, and nearly 1,200 people were arrested.
• On May 7, the end of the standoff was negotiated with the federal government's promise that Native American grievances would be addressed. Native Americans attended one meeting with White House representatives and were promised congressional review of their concerns and a second meeting, but no further meetings occurred.

1973-1976 - The FBI carried out intensive local surveillance, made repeated arrests, harassed local tribal members, and instituted legal proceedings against AIM leaders and supporters on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

• The Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs), affiliated with BIA-backed Dick Wilson, controlled the reservation with an iron fist and during this period 69 homicides were reported and 350 others were physically assaulted. None of their killers were convicted, and many of the cases were never investigated.
• June 26, 1975 - Two FBI agents entered Jumping Bull Ranch where a large number of AIM supporters were camped. A shootout ensued and the two FBI agents were killed.
• February 6, 1976 - One of the AIM defenders, Leonard Peltier, was captured in Canada. He was extradicted to the U.S. in June.

1977 - Peltier stood trial in Fargo, North Dakota for the murders of the two FBI agents. On June 1, he was convicted to two consecutive life terms in federal prison.

2000 - President Clinton failed to grant Peltier clemency.

2002 - Peltier filed a civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the FBI, Louis Freeh, and a long list of FBI agents who had participated in the campaign against his clemency petition, alleging that they "engaged in a systematic and officially sanctioned campaign of misinformation and disinformation." On March 22, 2004, the suit was dismissed.

2009 - President Bush denied Peltier's clemency petition.