INCIDENT AT OGLALA (Part 2)

INCIDENT AT OGLALA (PART 2)

Last week I began discussing the documentary Incident at Oglala which gives an overview of the shoot-out between the FBI and members of AIM (America Indian Movement) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota on June 26, 1975.   My previous blog summarized the perspective of the government; this week I will finish the discussion by presenting AIM’s point of view.  While both sides agree that there were escalating tensions between progressive Indians (sometimes called mixed blood) and traditional Indians (referred to in the film as full blood), their explanations of what caused the intensification differ greatly.  The FBI argues that the problems increased after AIM members took possession of the town of Wounded Knee in 1973.  Traditionalists, on the other hand, contend that the firefight was inevitable given the years of governmental maltreatment and neglect of the native people.   


According to AIM, their organization was just one of many that formed in the 1960s and 1970s in response to centuries of discrimination that culminated in poor living conditions including unemployment, poverty, and imprisonment.  In general, the organizations’ primary goals were to force the government to honor treaties and acknowledge the Indians’ civil rights.  Common causes included fishing rights, better living conditions, and freedom of religion.  In the case of AIM, occupations of Alcatraz, Mt. Rushmore, and the BIA building in Washington occurred in the years prior to the takeover of Wounded Knee.  AIM, in fact, differed in general from most other groups in that members came from urban areas, represented many tribes, and used “confrontational politics”, including carrying weapons, to attain their goals.  Well known men like Dennis Banks, Russel Means, and John Trudeau became leaders, but there were many members, including Darrel ‘Dino’ Butler, Robert ‘Bob’ Robideau, and Leonard Peltier, the accused shooters in the 1975 fire fight.  Although Trudeau and Robideau died in the last few years, they were still alive at the time of filming and are interviewed along with Butler, Peltier, and numerous others.  


According to those interviewed, there had always been problems between the Traditionalists and Progressives because the former sought to honor the old ways while the latter cooperated with the federal government.   Tensions between the two factions, however, reached a boiling point after Dick Wilson was elected President of the Lakota Tribal Council because he acted as a puppet for the federal government in exchange for preferential treatment.  After taking power, for example, he began to embezzle federal funds meant for creating jobs on the reservation to enrich himself, his family, and his friends.  In exchange for his loyalty, the FBI and BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) ignored his criminal activity, choosing instead to arm him with weaponry to build a Goon Squad.  The squad used violent methods to quell Traditionalists in their attempts to impeach Wilson and destroy AIM.  What ensued was a Reign of Terror with drive-by shootings, rapes, and murder of Wilson’s enemies.  Instead of backing down, the Traditionalists sent Severt Young Bear to AIM to ask for help.  Among the members that answered this request were Dino Butler, Bob Robideau, and Leonard Peltier.


In the film, John Trudeau, who served as chairman for AIM during the 1970s, states that the FBI did not really come to the Jumping Bull Compound on June 26 to arrest Jimmy Eagle for stealing cowboy boots and assault with a deadly weapon, as the government claims.  Instead, he says, the feds trumped up the charges as an excuse to enter the property because a dozen AIM members were known to be camping there.  He argues that the agents, who had been at the Jumping Bull’s the prior evening, did not have a legal right to be there because they didn’t have a warrant.  He believes that their call to dispatch that they had seen a red truck, which had previously been connected to Eagle, pull into the Jumping Bull’s ranch was just an excuse to go onto the property.  He supports his contention by pointing out that a lot of FBI agents had already moved to the vicinity as if getting ready for a major event.  People present on the Compound that day state that the agents fired their weapons first and that the Indians, who were already living in a state of fear due to the recent increase in government-backed violence, fired back in self-defense.   Unfortunately, Coler and Williams were wounded which left them unable to defend themselves from their final executioner.  The result was that incident did succeed in destroying AIM because key members became too entangled in court battles to continue their activities.


Indians didn’t trust the government because the government didn’t protect them.  During Wilson’s reign, there were sixty-plus murders on the reservation and the FBI didn’t look into any of them.  Joe Stutz, an Indian killed at the shoot-out is a good example of this because his death was never investigated.  One woman interviewed states, “There were shootouts all the time.”  In fact, the residents were so certain they could not trust the government, people present the day of the firefight ran, not because they were guilty of any wrongdoing, but because they believed the government was out to kill them.  Nilak Butler, former member of AIM and ex-wife of Dino Butler, says, “You’re assuming they’re (the FBI) coming to kill you.”   


The government took the deaths of their own seriously, however, and quickly located a witness who identified Butler, Robideau, and Peltier as the likely murderers.  Within three days, over 350 agents had been assigned to find the three men in one of the largest federal manhunts ever.  The campaign resulted in the arrests of Butler and Robideau three months later.  They were put on trial and found not guilty by reason of self-defense.  When the two men were exonerated, the FBI went out of its way to pin the agents’ murders on Peltier who had been arrested on a reservation in Canada.  Fearing for his life, Peltier fought extradition back to the states.


Those interviewed for the film state that Peltier’s trial was rigged from the start and point out that several questionable tactics were used in his case.  For instance, Canada was reluctant to release Peltier to the United States, so, the FBI produced a statement by Myrtle Poor Bear, who claimed to be the fugitive’s girlfriend, saying Peltier planned the murder of the agents and that she was with him when he carried it out.  A later judge found this statement not believable and the witness unreliable which meant the government used false tactics to get Peltier released back to the states.  When Peltier had his trial, the irregularities continued.  Firstly, the government produced an eyewitness, Mike Anderson, who was given immunity to testify that he saw the defendant heading toward the vicinity of the agents shortly before they were killed.  Anderson later recanted this statement, accusing the government of threatening him if he didn’t do what they wanted.     Secondly, the government’s forensic specialist stated that the bullets that killed the agents could be tied to Peltier’s gun.  However, the gun had been in an explosion rendering it virtually untestable.  Lastly, the trial was moved to a different venue with a judge who favored the government.  He allowed questionable testimony in and accepted the introduction of faked evidence.  Peltier, who was found guilty of murder and sentenced to two consecutive life terms, was sent to federal prison where he has been since 1976.   


There are many more points made by both sides regarding this case, but this covers the gist.  If you are curious, I encourage you to check this film out.  Or you can get the full story, from the AIM perspective, in the book, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter Matthiessen.  I’ll be back next week to discuss another favorite movie of mine, which I haven’t selected yet.  Until then enjoy a flick…or two.