Armed and Ready

Attempting to reach an agreement was hard with the uncompromising U.S. government officials. When the officials insisted that they could not fill the demand to remove Dick Wilson from office, protesters demanded that the U.S. Secretary of State go to Wounded Knee and negotiate. Demands were not met because the White House was distracted with the Watergate Scandal.

Two protesters "armed and ready" [1]

The government was not the only group of people the protesters had to deal with during the occupation. Dick Wilson and his Goons were still inside the perimeter using their power against the Oglalas. Angry with both the government for not taking over Wounded Knee and the Oglalas for protesting, Dick Wilson and his men shot fire at both sides. Their intent was to start a gun fight between the two sides that they could easily escape. The protesters, familiar with Dick Wilson and his games, knew what he and the Goons were doing. Ironically, many protesters had been trained by the government because of military involvement. Because of this, the protesters were able to assign leaders, give orders, and prepare for war, if it were to come. [2] On the other side of things, the government was willing to do whatever it took to avoid bloodshed. An estimated 90% of Americans followed the occupation on the news. [3] If war were to break out on the same site that the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 took place, the millions of Americans viewing would have a bad image of the government, which is the last thing they wanted. 

[1] Levi Rickert, Setting the Record Straight, photograph, South Dakota: Augustana College, April 27, 2012, Native News Network, The 1973 Wounded Knee War, Web, http://www.nativenewsnetwork.com/the-1973-wounded-knee-war-setting-the-record-straight.html (accessed April 27, 2012).  

[2] John Kusiak, We Shall Remain: Wounded Knee, DVD, Stanley Nelson (2009: PBS), web.

[3] Kusiak, We Shall.

250 Armed Men

Going into the town of Wounded Knee, Joseph Trimbach thought it would be an easy task to end of the occupation. He was entirely wrong. When he told a member of AIM that their only option was to surrender, he was laughed at. Trimbach, shocked, became angry and started to accuse the Indians of "forcibly occupying the village." When the AIM member said the marshals were the invaders because Wounded Knee belonged to the Oglala Lakota, the conversation became heated. Trimbach later stated that, "It soon became apparent that [the AIM member] was getting more excited and I [Trimbach] was getting more nervous." Trimbach decided to end the conversation, as simply giving the Indians the option to surrender was going to do no good. [1] "Scared shitless," according to the AIM member he spoke with, Trimbach called in armed U.S. personnel. [2] By the afternoon of the second day, 250 of them surrounded Wounded Knee. Ironically, This gave the Indians hope; their movement was drawing attention and working the way they had strategically planned. 

The U.S. armed personnel weren't the only people to arrive on the second day. Already, the media had arrived. The media, in a sense, was a safe haven for the protesters. This ensured that they would not be attacked because such an unnecessary act of violence by the government could not be viewed by the rest of the nation. Carter Camp told a reporter, "I tell you, if it were not for you people, this government would have slaughtered us as it did in 1890." [3]

"I felt good. This is why AIM was alive. This is why we came to be. Stand up against the FBI. Stand up against the U.S. marshals. Stand up against the Goons, you know, tribal police, and inside we've got freedom. Don't let nobody in." -Dennis Banks (former AIM leader) [4]

With this, the Oglala Lakota's 71 days of "freedom" began. 

[1] Dennis Banks and Richard Erdoes, Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004), 169.

[2] Banks and Erdoes, 169.

[3] Banks and Erdoes, 170.

[4] John Kusiak, We Shall Remain: Wounded Knee, DVD, Stanley Nelson (2009: PBS), web.

February 27, 1973

Pine Ridge Reservation [1]

Filled with adrenaline and anxiousness, the protesters decided to secure Wounded Knee that night. In a caravan of fifty-four cars filled with almost 200 men armed with weapons, they headed east for Pine Ridge. Upon arrival, they "made a show of defiance by driving through the cold night, right past Wilson's headquarters with [their] lights blazing, car horns honking, and AIM flags fluttering from [their] car antennas." [2] When they finally arrived at the town of Wounded Knee, the Oglala Lakota and AIM members held a prayer meeting. Then, they split up and began what they were there to do; get the government's attention and help.

The Gildersleeve family [4]

Gildersleeve's Trading Post, the town's only store, was stripped bare after a few protesters took from it all the necessary firearms, ammunition, and food they would need for the next couple of days. The few white residents of the town, as well as the minister were being held captive in the local church and all the roads leading in or out of the town were completely blocked and stationed with armed protesters. Within just an hour of the occupation, the town was surrounded by about one hundred U.S. marshals. [3] Joseph Trimbach, a former FBI agent decided to go to Wounded Knee and meet with the protesters to settle the problem with no bloodshed. As he arrived, he was met with guns and a list of demands. 


The government's attention is exactly what the protesters wanted. By using force and violence, they hoped that the government would do as they asked and help them gain equality within the reservation. When Joseph Trimbach arrived, they knew it was time to demand what they wanted and when they wanted it. Hearing the demands of a "federal investigation of corruption on reservations in South Dakota" as well as "immediate Senate hearings on broken treaties with Indian Nations," Trimbach knew this was a problem much larger than what he could solve. [5] 


"We were angry about losing our land. Losing our language. Being ripped off of our ability to live as Indian people. Our parents was telling us 'You have to walk the white man road. The Indian ways are gonna be gone. Be a Christian, you know. Go to school and learn that English but don’t learn your own language.' We wanted to give our lives in such a way that would bring attention to what was happening in Indian country and we were pretty sure that we were gonna have to give our lives." -Carter Camp, former AIM member [6]

[1] Glennia Campbell, South Dakota: Burying My Heart at Wounded Knee, photograph, Pine Ridge: The Silent I, Sep. 6, 2008, The Silent I, South Dakota: Mountains & Missles, http://glenniacampbell.typepad.com/silenti/2008/09/south-dakota-bu.html (accessed March 29, 2012).
[2] Dennis Banks and Richard Erdoes, Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004), 161. 

[3] Banks and Erdoes, 162
[4] Clive Gildersleeve, photograph, Pine Ridge: Blogger, December 8, 2010, Blogger, Wounded Knee Hostages Reveal Their Story, http://woundedkneestory.blogspot.com/ (accessed April 1, 2012). 
[5] John Kusiak, We Shall Remain: Wounded Knee, DVD, Stanley Nelson (2009: PBS), web.
[6] Kusiak, We Shall.