Investigating Wounded Knee in 1973 |
Students investigate the events that occurred at Wounded Knee historically and in 1973 to determine whether Leonard Peltier should be released from prison. |
It was believed that the Ghost Dance religion would return the Indians to the old ways. The world would be restored to the way it was before whites arrived. The ancestors could be brought back along with the buffalo that had been killed by the white man. Army leaders feared that the Ghost Dance religion could lead to an Indian uprising. An army of 5000 soldiers was assembled to handle the Lakota Sioux, some of whom had been practicing the religion. On December 15, 1890, the army attempted to arrest Chief Sitting Bull at his camp. Instead of being arrested, he was killed. In the subsequent days, the Sioux were rounded up and held at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. On December 29, 1890, Colonel James W. Forsyth ordered the Sioux disarmed. A shot was fired and fighting ensued leaving 153 Sioux dead and 44 wounded, half of whom were unarmed women and children.
The above description of the Wounded Knee Massacre is an important component of United States and Native American history. It is a reminder of the tension and conflict that has occurred throughout United States history between the Indian and the White Man. Many things have changed since 1890. In the 1960's the American Indian Movement (AIM) formed in an effort to protect and gain civil rights for Native Americans and to stand up to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The BIA believed that the old traditions must go and and that assimilation was the answer. AIM wanted to preserve the old traditions.
AIM is known for several protests such as the occupation of Alcatraz during the Nixon administration, the takeover of the BIA office in 1972, and the 71 day occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973. On February 28, 1973, 83 years after the Wounded Knee Massacre, AIM occupied the site again. Traditionally, AIM had looked for solutions through peaceful arrangements. When the AIM activists and the local Oglala Lakota people seized the trading post and Catholic church, their intentions were a temporary platform to publicize some grievances. The Native Americans found themselves in a difficult situation, and when fighting occurred, two FBI agents were killed. Then AIM surrendered. Leonard Peltier, a member of the Lakota Oglala Sioux, was arrested and charged with the murder of two FBI agents. He is still in jail today despite the protests and claims of AIM and human rights groups.
In this investigation, you will research AIM and Wounded Knee in the past and present. You will serve as the Judge who must decide the fate of Leonard Peltier. It is your responsibility to understand the facts surrounding the events at Wounded Knee in 1973.
In order to complete this investigation and assignment, you must complete the following tasks. You should utilize online resources and other materials (textbook, public library, oral histories, etc...) as necessary to access information.
1. Research and investigate the following questions. Prepare notes on what information you find to answer the questions.
2. Complete the following assignments:
Utilize the following online resources in order to complete the assigned investigation and tasks. Students are encouraged to locate other resources at the library or on the Internet.
Native Americans play an essential role in the history of the United States. What happened at Wounded Knee in 1890 and 1973 are two of many examples of events where one must look deeply and ask why and how as we study them. Was Leonard Peltier exercising his Constitutional right to protest and defending himself, or did he carry his protest too far and take the lives of the two agents unjustly? Was he the one responsible for the killings? These are questions that must be asked. After completing this investigation, you will have gained an understanding of the history, struggles, and growth of Native Americans and the United States.
Designed by Michael Levinson at TAMISCAL High School