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The Wounded Knee Occupation was a 71‑day protest (February 27–May 8, 1973) during which roughly 200 members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and Oglala Lakota activists seized and held the historic community of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Situated on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Wounded Knee was the site of the 1890 massacre of Lakota men, women, and children by the U.S. Cavalry. By occupying the town, protesters aimed to draw national attention to longstanding grievances against the federal government and corrupt tribal leadership.

There were many reasons why this happened, the protests began initially because of broken Treaties & Sovereignty/ The protesters argued the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie guaranteed the Lakota perpetual use of the Black Hills and self‑government. Subsequent U.S. policies steadily eroded those rights. This was also part of the broader red power movement which demanded enforcement of treaties, investigation of police brutality, and economic justice for Native Americans.

Another reason for the outrage was the corrupt tribal leadership.
Many Oglala Lakota accused their elected president, Richard “Dick” Wilson, of nepotism, voter intimidation, and using a private “Guardians of the Oglala Nation” (GOON) security force to silence critics. This was not hyperbole either and has statistics to show something nefarious was happening under his leadership. Wilson would remain in power after this incident, and the murder rate on the reservation from 1973-1976 averaged 56.7/100,000 (170/100,000 for the three year period). To put this into perspective, Detroit at the time was considered the murder capital of the US, and it averaged about 20/100,000, with the national average being 9.7/100,000. This means that on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that you were three times more likely to be murdered than if you were in Detroit, and almost six times more likely than the rest of the USA.

Initial takeover began on February 27, 1973 when activists were arrested by federal marshals outside Wounded Knee. A shootout ensued, leaving one Native American and one U.S. marshal dead. This sparked the 71‑day siege of the town. Local law enforcement were suppressed by gunfire from activists and AIM volunteers . Federal marshals, FBI agents, and U.S. Army troops surrounded the area, cutting off power and supplies. Sporadic gunfire, arson, and sniper attacks continued throughout March and April. It’s important to note one of the intangible and more important aspects was the media spotlight. Television crews and international journalists descended on Pine Ridge, giving rare visibility to Native grievances, this was especially true when both of South Dakota’s senators showed up to wounded knee

Eventually with both sides under pressure to end the occupation, a ceasefire was agreed to on May 8^th. In the end three activists were killed. One activist, Ray Robinson, was a civil rights activist from Alabama who had joined the occupation. Due to an FBI disinformation operation started shortly after the siege begun, AIM members suspected him of spying for the FBI. Robinson disappeared during the chaos and his body was never found, his widowed wife believes he was murdered by members of AIM. No formal treaty emerged, but a series of federal investigations into tribal corruption followed. Wounded Knee remains a potent symbol of indigenous resistance and a cautionary reminder of the United States’ broken promises to Native nations.