Leonard Peltier and the Pine Ridge Shootout

The Incident at Pine Ridge
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is a large plot of land located in the southwest corner of South Dakota. It was set aside by the United States government in 1889 for the Oglala Sioux Native American tribe and since then, has been mired in both financial and legal problems almost continually. Pine Ridge is the eighth largest reservation in the U.S. and also the poorest. Unemployment and suicide run rampant on the reservation and life expectancy for the area is the lowest in the country. With these facts, you can correctly surmise that crime is a major problem for the Native and U.S. government in and around Pine Ridge, South Dakota. One of the most well known shootouts in recent history occurred here in 1975.
On June 26th, 1975, two FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ron Williams, entered the reservation with the intention of arresting a young Native American for an earlier crime he was accused of. The tension had been running high between the FBI and AIM (the American Indian Movement) because of prior circumstances between Native American groups and the U.S. government dating back to the 1800’s. The Oglala Sioux regarded the two agent’s act as trespassing and the situation on the reservation declined quickly. A shootout between the two FBI agents and several members of the tribe began and the two agents were quickly caught in crossfire. The shootout ended sadly when residents of the reservation executed the two wounded men.
Much was (and still is) made about the search for the agent’s killer or killers. Two men, Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, turned themselves in after an extensive manhunt, and were acquitted on controversial evidence. Another man, Leonard Peltier, was caught and convicted of the murders. Peltier’s trial is the subject of much debate as there is feeling (whether perceived or real is up for questioning) that there was a lack of nominal evidence in his case and the verdict is tainted. Mr. Peltier currently resides in prison in Lewisburg, PA awaiting parole.
Michael Roberts
Section 005