Pine Ridge Politics and the Death of Wesley Bad Heart Bull
Perhaps the most famous event in the history of both Russell Means and the American Indian Movement was the takeover of Wounded Knee, scene of the massacre of as many as 300 Lakota women, children, and men in 1890 by the Seventh Cavalry. Among those killed was Miniconjou chief Big Foot. Two other AIM concerns predated and to some extent led to the takeover.
One issue was tribal politics on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where tribal leader Richard Wilson had earned a reputation for corruption, authoritarian
Leadership, and a self-serving and overly cozy relationship with the federal government. His rule was reinforced by his own personal security and enforcement force, the Guardians of the Oglala Nation, commonly referred to, using an acronym for the group’s name, as Wilson’s Goon Squad.
Wilson’s ire and allegedly violent repercussions were felt by those who opposed his rule, and AIM members came in for special animosity from him. In the fall of 1972, Wilson prohibited AIM activities at Pine Ridge, had Dennis Banks arrested and removed from the reservation, and forbade Means from holding any meetings on the reservation where he had been born. He threatened to cut off Means’s braids if he returned and hung a poster up in his office offering $1,000 for his pickled body, an offer probably not entirely facetious.10
The Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization (OSCRO), led by Vernon Long and Pedro Bissonnette, had been formed in response to Wilson’s actions. OSCRO sought help from the tribal council and succeeded in having Wilson face an impeachment trial. Wilson, who was supported by the Area BIA Superintendent Stanley Lyman, presided at his own trial and won acquittal. Wilson now felt confident of his position. According to Akim Reinhardt, federal marshals “were going to remain on the reservation, and the chairman was prepared to confront and attack his opponents.”11 That left AIM as the only remaining organization that might be able to go up against Wilson.
At about the same time, AIM learned of the stabbing death of Wesley Bad Heart Bull in Buffalo Gap, South Dakota. Members of the group decided to go to Custer, where the trial was to be held, to meet with the deputy state’s attorney for the county, Hobart Gates, and try to convince him to raise the charge from second-degree manslaughter to murder.
A contingent including Means and Dennis Banks met with Gates on February 6, 1973, but Gates refused to raise the charge to murder. The meeting was highly confrontational. When Bad Heart Bull’s mother, Sarah, was hit by a trooper when she tried to enter the courthouse where the meeting had occurred, the scene turned extremely violent. A trooper clubbed Means to the floor and dragged him by a braid. Recognizing him, the troopers, according to Means, repeatedly hit and taunted him. Along with 18 other Indians, among them Banks and Sarah Bad Heart Bull, Means was arrested and taken to jail in Rapid City. The next day, they were returned to Custer for arraignment. Means was released later that day on $35,000 bond.
The Custer charges were the second set of legal issues for Russell Means. In January, he had been arrested in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, while attending a conference hosted by a Chicano group. On what appeared to be trumped-up charges, Means was arraigned for supposedly illegally possessing a gun, engaging in disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and assaulting police officers. Others attending the conference—Means’s brothers Dace and Ted, and Leonard Crow Dog—also were charged with such offenses as assault, parking illegally, and driving without a license.
While Means and others faced probable jail time because of the confrontation at Custer, and even Sarah Bad Heart Bull was incarcerated for five months, the killer of her son was acquitted.
Facing two allied enemies—the federal government and Wilson—opponents of Wilson, including tribal elders, members of OSCRO, and AIM leaders, met to consider strategy. Means occupied an important role in these deliberations as both a prominent AIM figure and a native of Pine Ridge. Attempting direct action against Wilson was clearly suicidal, as the BIA agency building was heavily fortified, and Wilson was backed by federal agents as well his Goon Squad. Means reported to AIM, and several members, including Banks, attended another meeting at Calico. Elders, women, and various leaders agreed that something had to be done. Who first suggested going to Wounded Knee is unclear. Means reports that Frank Fools Crow made the suggestion,12 while Dennis Banks suggests that the idea came from one of the women in attendance, Lou Bean.13
Once Wounded Knee was mentioned, the site of the earlier massacre seemed instantly to be the perfect destination, replete with historical and symbolic significance. Before the day was out, Wounded Knee would become the place where much of the United States finally got a good look at the Indian resistance effort. Vine Deloria, Jr., wrote that as the decision was being made to advance to Wounded Knee, “the coalition had finally been formed which was to shuffle Indian affairs beyond recognition. Urban Indian activists seeking an Indian identity and heritage and traditional Indians buttressed by the energies of the young combined forces and made ready to push the Indians who had accommodated the white man off the reservation.”14
The Occupation and Siege
The occupation of the Wounded Knee compound—which consisted of a collection of houses, churches, a store, and a museum—began on February 27, 1973. In the early days of the occupation, the total number of Indians on site was about 350, with fewer than 100 of them being men. According to Means, fewer than two dozen of the protestors were AIM members. Although the group had some weapons and was able to get more from the store, the firepower of those at Wounded Knee was dwarfed by that of the federal agents and later military forces who surrounded the compound.
Security was an immediate concern, as fear of an attack was constantly present. Roadblocks were set up, and efforts were made to fortify the area as well as possible. The owners of the trading post and others living at Wounded Knee were moved and placed under guard, more to protect them than to prevent anyone from leaving. Leaders made it clear that the residents could, in fact, leave if they wished and deliberately avoided treating them as hostages.
Means and Pedro Bissonnette composed a set of demands to present to the FBI, drawing heavily on provisions of the 1868 Laramie Treaty. The demands, which included returning the Black Hills to Lakota control and establishing an
Vine Deloria, Jr.
Vine Deloria, Jr. (1933-2005), was a prominent and controversial figure throughout the second half of the twentieth century. His fame began with his book Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto, which he published in 1969. The book appeared as the Civil Rights movement was expanding into the world of the American Indian and the American Indian Movement was being born. In Custer Died for Your Sins, Deloria argues for a new analysis and more accurate understanding of American history, especially as it involves Indians. The book also focuses on Indian sovereignty, which would become a major concern as Indians attempted to regain the basic rights taken from them by Euro-American expansionism.
Deloria would go on to publish some 20 books, have a long academic career teaching at the Universities of Arizona and Colorado, and lead the National Conference of American Indians (NCAI) from 1964 to 1967. The NCAI was founded in 1944 and quickly aligned itself in opposition to termination and assimilation policies—the federal government's attempt to end formal relationships with Indian nations and assimilate Indians into the American mainstream. The NCAI, which is the country's oldest Indian organization, remains active today and, according to its web site, is the largest organization serving the American Indian.
Traditional Indian spirituality, according to Deloria, was as relevant in the twentieth century as ever, as he argued in God Is Red (1973). His most controversial stance, however, may have been his embrace of creationism. He came to deny that Indians crossed the Bering land bridge into America as well as generally held scientific views concerning the age of the planet and the time frame for humans as well as such animals as dinosaurs.
Oglala Nation, in reality had no chance of being accepted by the federal government, but at least could help sensitize the wider U. S. population to the American Indians’ painful history with their oppressors.
The takeover of Wounded Knee immediately became a dual event, both an occupation and a siege. Federal officials and military personnel (wearing civilian clothes) ringed the area. Despite occasional heavy firing, they resorted to a prolonged siege rather than a direct attack to roust the occupying force. The siege would ultimately last for 71 days.
Members of the media periodically were allowed into the Wounded Knee compound, and a variety of visitors arrived. Early in the occupation, South Dakota Senators George McGovern and James Abourezk arrived, partly to ensure that the local inhabitants were not being held hostage. Other famous individuals, including the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and comedian Dick Gregory, visited. In fact, the perimeter, given the uneven terrain, was seldom completely blocked during the siege.
Negotiations began, ended, and began again, with various individuals representing the federal government. Ralph Erickson, and later Harlington Wood, both from the Justice Department, negotiated with a contingent that included Gladys Bissonnette, Pedro Bissonnette, Leonard Crow Dog, Wallace Black Elk, and Ellen Moves Camp. The basic federal position, however, was that those at Wounded Knee should surrender first before the government would make any concessions.
As the takeover reached two weeks, ominous signs were growing. Roadblocks established by the FBI, which had been taken down, went back up. Dick Wilson succeeded in getting a resolution passed forbidding anyone not Oglala from entering the Pine Ridge Reservation. Expecting an imminent attack, Leonard Crow Dog prepared a red paint that those willing to fight to the death could put on their faces. Means and others met at the mass grave where Big Foot and other victims of the 1890 massacre were buried and applied the paint. Nonetheless, the anticipated attack did not materialize.
Later in March, a third negotiator, Kent Frizzell, arrived. Others from the Wounded Knee group, including Means and Carter Camp, joined the negotiations. Still later that month, several prominent lawyers—William Kunstler, Mark Lane, and Ken Tilsen—arrived at Rapid City. Along with other attorneys, they formed the Wounded Knee Legal Defense/Offense Committee (WKLD/OC). AIM and other leaders of the Wounded Knee occupation would soon have great need of their services.
With supplies running out, Means and Dennis Banks managed to sneak out of Wounded Knee during the night of March 26 and make it 100 miles to Crow Dog’s home on the Rosebud Reservation to let people know that they could get into the compound. Means was reunited with his children Michele and Scott, who had been brought to the area by Betty at Means’s request. He continued to believe that he might not survive the siege.
After returning to Wounded Knee, Means found Frizzell seemingly more able or willing than his predecessors to negotiate seriously. Means and Bissonnette had drawn up 10 major demands, and Frizzell suggested the strategic approach of grouping them as 6 to give an impression of having dropped half of the demands. That, he argued, might be more appealing to his superiors in Washington, D. C.
The next step was to select a group of representatives to go to Washington to continue negotiations. Selected as emissaries were Means, Crow Dog, a lawyer named Ramon Roubideaux who was related to Means’s mother, and a respected elder, Tom Bad Cob. The arrangement required Means to submit to arrest, after which he would immediately be released on bond. Means was then flown by helicopter to Rapid City. A wealthy man named Stan Adelstein agreed to put up $35,000 as bail, and Judge Andrew Bogue placed certain restrictions on Means, including prohibiting his return to Wounded Knee.
The four Wounded Knee negotiators then flew to Washington. The trip proved completely disappointing, as White House officials refused to negotiate until everyone at Wounded Knee turned in their weapons. Unable to return to
Wounded Knee, Means, at the suggestions of WKLD/OC, set out to raise money for the anticipated legal cases by speaking at universities. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, while responding to a reporter’s question about future AIM actions, Means jokingly said that the group planned to take over western South Dakota militarily. Judge Bogue missed the humor and revoked his bond. Arrested on his way to the Los Angeles airport, Means was taken briefly to jail in Los Angeles, then flown to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and later to Scotts-bluff, Nebraska, for a hearing in connection with his earlier arrest there.
By the time Means was finally freed, he had been in jail for 43 days. At that point, the occupation and siege of Wounded Knee had ended. Two Indians had been killed—Frank Clearwater (shot on April 17 but died on April 25) and Buddy Lamont (April 26)—and an agreement had been reached on May 4 providing for the federal government to hear grievances relating to the 1868 treaty once everyone had given up their weapons and left the compound. On May 8, the last holdouts departed Wounded Knee. Many immediately faced arrest, including Means, Banks, Crow Dog, Pedro Bissonnette, Clyde Bellecourt, Stan Holder, and Carter Camp. Means now faced charges from Wounded Knee as well as from Custer and Scottsbluff.
The Wounded Knee Trial
Means and Banks were tried together for their actions at Wounded Knee. The charges included, among other acts, burglary at the trading post, assault, wounding an FBI agent, arson, and conspiracy. Faced with a highly charged political climate in South Dakota, the trial was moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, with the same judge, Alfred Nichol, presiding. Means’s lead attorney was William Kunstler, and both Means and Banks acted as co-counsels. Other members of their legal team were Mark Lane, Ken Tilsen, Larry Leventhal, and Doug Hall. Leading the prosecution were Earl Kaplan, William Clayton, David Gienapp, and Richard Hurd.
Jury selection began on January 8, 1974, with the presentation of evidence commencing on February 12. In between those dates, Means ran for tribal chairman against Richard Wilson, who “told his people that electing Means was as good as giving their reservation to the Communists, the clergy, and the white hippie lawyers of WKLDOC.”15 Means came in first in the January 22 primary, outpolling Wilson 534 to 457. However, given the large number of candidates (12), no one received the majority required to avoid a run-off. The follow-up election took place on February 7, and Means again led Wilson in raw votes. However, the tribal electoral system relied on a winner-take-all approach that awarded the entire district to the top vote-getter. Wilson, helped by alleged voting violations, and undoubtedly assisted by a three-man election board that he personally had appointed, won more districts and hence the election.16
As the Wounded Knee trial proceeded, Means came increasingly to respect Judge Nichol, who was deeply offended by the prosecution’s deceptive practices. The prosecution withheld files from the defense and allowed witnesses
To engage in misstatements, if not outright lies. Denying that there had been wiretaps of phone calls made from Wounded Knee and that the military had played a significant role in the siege were among the government deceptions that came to light during the trial.
During an April recess in the Wounded Knee trial, Means attended a sacred pipe ceremony on the Cheyenne River Reservation and then went to the trial at Sioux Falls involving Sarah Bad Heart Bull and several other defendants. Prosecuting the case was Means’s former friend, William Janklow, then running for Attorney General of South Dakota. The trial, presided over by Judge Joseph Bottum, had become contentious, with Bottum citing one of the defense lawyers, the only Indian on the defense team, Ramon Roubideaux, for contempt and jailing him. Indians at the trial responded by refusing to stand when the judge entered.
Judge Bottum summoned Means to his chambers and asked Means to try to persuade Indian spectators to show respect by standing. Although Means relayed the request, they remained seated. A large group of police then entered the courtroom in riot gear and attacked some of the seated Indians, including Means. Means responded physically, and the battle became extremely violent. When Lakotas outside started to break windows and doors, the police backed off, allowing those inside the courtroom to leave.
When Means arrived at the airport the following morning, he was arrested. Learning of the arrest, Judge Nichol angrily demanded that Means be released and returned so that the trial in Saint Paul could resume. It would not be the last that Means would hear from the Sioux Falls trial, however.
Back in Saint Paul, the Wounded Knee trial moved fitfully toward its conclusion. By August 16, the defense rested its case; on September 12, the jury began its deliberations. The verdict was clearly going the defense’s way when one of the jurors, Therese Cerrier, suffered a stroke. The defense agreed to conclude the trial with 11 jurors, but the prosecution, hoping that a second try might be successful for its side, sought a mistrial. Judge Nichol sternly upbraided the prosecution for its behavior, saying, “I’m rather ashamed that our government was not represented better in the trial of this case.”17 He then dismissed all remaining charges against both Russell Means and Dennis Banks.
World History
