What led up to the incident at Wounded Knee?
Shortly after President Nixon defeated George McGovern in the 1972 election, AIM members took part in a march across Washington, D.C., called the Trail of Broken Treaties, which culminated in our taking over the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), where we presented the president with a list of demands. We demanded the restoration of treaty-making, a review of treaty commitments and violations, and federal protection for offenses against Indians, among other things. Negotiations between the White House administrators and AIM members resulted in an agreement that included a pledge to deal with economic, social, and educational grievances of American Indians. For almost three months we were inside Wounded Knee to protest poor conditions on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The goals outlined by AIM leaders included support for the reformation of tribal government and congressional investigations into conditions on all reservations and the corruption of the BIA. What was your role at Wounded Knee?
