I was not yet 30 years old and had few adult responsibilities at that time. Even so, the situation at Wounded Knee was unacceptable to me and I decided to go do whatever I could to help the people.
The Oglalas, the tribe of the Great Crazy Horse - who helped defeat Custer - were being led by Dick Wilson, who was treating his people like Custer used to treat them. As Chairman of the Tribal Council at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Dick Wilson was oppressing his own tribal members by withholding benefits, i.e., jobs and health services. It was the old "Hang Around the Fort" syndrome.
At the heart of the issue was land, the Black Hills - the heart of everything that is - the most sacred land in the entire world.
The struggle in the Indian world is the view of land: the traditionals believe that "one never sells the land that we walk on; it is our mother earth; it is dishonor to sell the land. The other view in conflict, held by Dick Wilson, is that the land is only to be exploited. Mr. Wilson could care less about the ceremonies and giving back to creation. He was considered a dictator by some Oglalas. He went so far as to forbid his opposition from having meetings. The Oglalas requested help from the American Indian Movement.
AIM was born out of despair. The despair suffered from the dark dungeons of incarceration, alcoholism and police brutality. In Minnesota it was common for police to hit the Indian bars at closing, 2 a.m., to beat and incarcerate drunk Indians.
Many among my generation were in places of higher education; we had been encouraged by our elders to obtain education to help the Indian communities and to right the wrongs committed against our ancestors.
For example, "The Massacre at Wounded Knee", what the History books called the "Battle of Wounded Knee" 80 plus years previous, was an occasion where those U.S. Calvary soldiers who participated were given medals of honor. Through speakers like Lee Brightmann, a Sioux himself, we learned of the true happenings. The battle was actually a wanton slaughter of 300 unarmed men, women and children who were attacked at dawn, in one of the coldest winters in South Dakota, with swords and guns while they slept. Their crime was doing a ghost dance which was outlawed by the U.S. Government.
Examples of the Calvery's bravery were the cutting off of women's breasts and the men's private parts from which they made pouches; the hacking of children out of the arms of their mothers as they ran. It is important to me that this wrong be corrected. That, at least, this country take back those medals of honor and make amends by giving back the Black Hills. Mt. Rushmore, the Shrine of Democracy, bears the slogan "Land of the free, home of the brave..."
Several events leading up to the Wounded Knee takeover depict the injustice afforded Indians. One involved Wesley Bad Heart Bull, a native who was murdered by a Non-Indian. The murderer was charged only with involuntary manslaughter by the Justice system in Custer, South Dakota. The Natives rioted.
Then the scene was set for Mr. Wilson, his goons and the Wounded Knee takeover.
End of Part I
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited