Wounded Knee Occupation (1973) in February 27, 1973, a 71-day uprising began when approximately 200 Oglala Lakota and American Indian Movement (AIM) members seized the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to demand treaty negotiations. Paul Manhart S.J. and ten other residents of the area were apprehended at gunpoint and taken hostage.

The town was promptly surrounded by an army of U.S. personnel. John Sayer, author of “Ghost Dancing the Law: The Wounded Knee Trials”, wrote - “The equipment maintained by the military while in use during the siege included fifteen armored personnel carriers, clothing, rifles, grenade launchers, flares, and 133,000 rounds of ammunition, for a total cost, including the use of maintenance personnel from the National Guard of five states and pilot and planes for aerial photographs, of over half a million dollars.”

Although the Department of Justice (DoJ) prohibited media from the site, the occupation received support from the Congressional Black Caucus and prominent public figures, including Marlon Brando, Johnny Cash, Angela Davis, and Jane Fonda. Angela Davis was turned away by federal forces as an “undesirable person” when she attempted to enter Wounded Knee in March 1973.

Marlon Brando asked Sacheen Littlefeather, President of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee, to speak at the 45th Academy Awards on his behalf. She appeared at the March 27th ceremony in traditional Apache clothing and stated that Brando declined the award due to “the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry…and on television and movie reruns and also with recent happenings at Wounded Knee”.

Tribal leaders called off the occupation after 71 days after the killing of Lawrence “Buddy” Lamont, a local Oglala man, by U.S. sniper fire. The terms of ending the occupation included a mandated meeting at Chief Fools Crow’s land to discuss reinstating the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which stated that the Black Hills of South Dakota belonged to the Sioux people.

In the 1980 Supreme Court case United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians, the Court held that the taking of property that was set aside for the use of the nation required just compensation, including interest. The Sioux have not accepted the compensation awarded to them by this case, valued at $1.3 billion as of 2011.

“If we accept the money, then we have no more of the treaty obligations that the federal government has with us for taking our land, for taking our gold, all our resources out of the Black Hills…we’re poor now, we’ll be poorer then when that happens.”

former Oglala Sioux Tribe President Theresa Two Bulls

• Wounded Knee from 1890 to 1973

• The 1973 Part, well almost

• Megathread for 27On February 27th-29th, 1973 the Independent Oglala Nation was declared by AIM, OSCRO and Traditional Chiefs

I hope you nerds have a great next week and also first week of March.

Remember no crackers