February 27, 1973
The two hundred Lakota activists who took control of the town of Wounded Knee in South Dakota were determined to get the government to listen to their protest of the Tribal President Dick Wilson's actions and corruption, and to reopen treaty negotiations with the federal government. Tribal Police, hired goons, U.S. marshals, and FBI all surrounded the area and exchanged gunfire with the Indians for 71 days.
On Sunday, March 11th, Russell Means announced on national television that the Oglala Sioux Nation had been formed and that it had declared its independence from the United States, that it was to determine its own borders, as defined by the treaty of 1868 with the United States, and that it would shoot anyone who violated those borders."(Deloria,1974,p.88)
Public support and awareness
Amid escalating tactics from law enforcement agencies to intimidate and starve out the Indians, publicity grew for the occupation and soon civil rights activists and movie stars and popular musicians all spoke out with their support for the A.I.M. cause. Eventually, the standoff was ended when Hank Adams , another Sioux activist, who had helped to negotiate the BIA takeover, was able to bring a peaceful conclusion to the more than two month standoff at the site where the U.S. military had committed genocide 100 years earlier.
"In demanding independence for the Oglala Nation, the people at Wounded Knee sought a return to the days of pre-discovery, when the tribes of this land had political independence and sovereignty. They sought the recognition by the nations of the world of their rightful status as nations in the community of nations."(Deloria,1974,p.91)
Conclusion
There isn't really a conclusion. The occupation at Wounded Knee was an important symbolic victory for Indian people. They were able to draw pride in their resistance against a ponderous and brutal machine, and reinvigorate the spirit to fight for their identity. But after Wounded Knee, violence and oppression on the Pine Tree reservation only increased, and Dick Wilson was re-elected in spite of the widely held allegations of ballot fraud and bribery. The Federal Government has not reopened treaty negotiations and to this day the Black Hills, the ancient and sacred site of the Lakota which was stolen by the United States, are still the property of the Federal Government. However, American Indian Movement continues on, as Indians have for centuries.
CITATIONS AND REFERENCES
DELORIA, V. (1974). BEHIND THE TRAIL OF BROKEN TREATIES; AN INDIAN DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. NEW YORK: DELACORTE PRESS.
DELORIA, V. (1974). BEHIND THE TRAIL OF BROKEN TREATIES; AN INDIAN DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. NEW YORK: DELACORTE PRESS.