AIM Casualties on or near Pine Ridge Reservation, 1973-1976

The period between 1973 and 1976 represents a dark chapter in the history of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. It was a time of intense conflict, political turmoil, and violence, marked by the activities of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the response to it. This period witnessed a surge in violence, resulting in numerous deaths and disappearances, many of whom were AIM supporters. The circumstances surrounding these casualties remain controversial and largely unresolved, fueling ongoing debates about justice, accountability, and the legacy of this tumultuous era. This article will examine AIM Casualties on or near Pine Ridge Reservation, 1973-1976, providing a descriptive account of the known victims and the circumstances surrounding their deaths, based on available records.

At the heart of the conflict lay a deep-seated struggle for self-determination, civil rights, and tribal sovereignty. The Oglala Sioux Tribe, residing on the Pine Ridge Reservation, was grappling with internal divisions and external pressures. The tribal government, led by Chairman Dick Wilson, became a focal point of contention. Wilson, accused of corruption and authoritarianism, faced growing opposition from traditional tribal members and AIM activists.

In response to the rising opposition, Wilson established a private militia known as the Guardians of the Oglala Nation, often referred to by the acronym GOONs. Allegations have surfaced suggesting that the GOONs were funded with federal money, and received training and support from the FBI and CIA personnel. Furthermore, some individuals purportedly acting as GOONs were reportedly off-duty BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) police officers. This force allegedly engaged in widespread intimidation, harassment, and violence against AIM supporters and political opponents of Wilson’s administration. The GOONs were often accused of operating with impunity, shielded from prosecution by the tribal government and, allegedly, by the complicity of federal law enforcement.

The situation escalated dramatically with the Wounded Knee Incident in February 1973. AIM activists, along with Oglala Lakota, occupied the town of Wounded Knee, the site of the infamous 1890 massacre of Lakota people by the U.S. Army. The occupation, intended to protest tribal government corruption and demand federal investigation of treaty rights violations, lasted for 71 days and resulted in a tense standoff with federal law enforcement. While the occupation itself resulted in only a few deaths, it intensified the existing tensions and set the stage for the subsequent violence.

The period following the Wounded Knee Incident became a period of intense conflict and violence. The Pine Ridge Reservation became a battleground, with frequent clashes between AIM members, GOONs, and law enforcement. The atmosphere was thick with fear, suspicion, and mistrust. Against this backdrop, numerous AIM supporters and individuals associated with the movement met violent deaths.

The following is a list of individuals who died on or near the Pine Ridge Reservation between 1973 and 1976. The list provides a brief description of the circumstances surrounding their deaths, according to available records. In many cases, the investigations were either nonexistent, inconclusive, or shrouded in controversy:

1973

• Names Unknown: Between eight and twelve individuals were allegedly intercepted by GOONs and vigilantes while transporting supplies into Wounded Knee on April 12, 1973. These individuals disappeared and have never been heard from again. A subsequent search for a mass grave, led by former Rosebud Tribal President Robert Burnette and U.S. Justice Department Solicitor General Kent Frizzell, proved unsuccessful.
• Priscilla White Plume: An AIM supporter, White Plume was reportedly killed by GOONs at Manderson on April 14, 1973. No investigation was conducted.
• Buddy Lamont: An AIM member, Lamont was struck by M16 fire during the Wounded Knee Incident on April 27, 1973. He bled to death while pinned down by gunfire. No investigation followed.
• Frank Clearwater: Another AIM member, Clearwater was killed by a heavy machine gun round during the Wounded Knee Incident on May 17, 1973. This incident also went uninvestigated.
• Clarence Cross: An AIM supporter, Cross was shot to death in an ambush allegedly perpetrated by GOONs on June 19, 1973. Although eyewitnesses identified the assailants, his brother Vernal Cross, who was wounded in the ambush, was briefly charged with the crime. No further investigation ensued.
• Julius Bad Heart Bull: An AIM supporter, Bad Heart Bull was killed at Oglala on July 30, 1973, by "person or persons unknown." No investigation was conducted.
• Melvin Spider: An AIM member, Spider was killed in Porcupine, South Dakota, on September 22, 1973. No investigation was undertaken.
• Philip Black Elk: An AIM supporter, Black Elk was killed when his house exploded on September 23, 1973. No investigation was conducted.
• Aloysius Long Soldier: An AIM member, Long Soldier was killed at Kyle, S.D., on October 5, 1973, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.
• Phillip Little Crow: An AIM supporter, Little Crow was reportedly beaten to death by GOONs at Pine Ridge on October 10, 1973. No investigation was carried out.
• Pedro Bissonette: An organizer for the Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization (OSCRO) and AIM supporter, Bissonette was assassinated by BIA Police/GOONs on October 17, 1973. His body was removed from Pine Ridge jurisdiction before an autopsy could be performed by a government contract coroner. No investigation was conducted.
• Allison Fast Horse: An AIM supporter, Fast Horse was shot to death near Pine Ridge by "unknown assailants" on November 20, 1973. No investigation was conducted.

1974

• Edward Means, Jr.: An AIM member, Means was found dead in a Pine Ridge alley on January 17, 1974, having been beaten to death. No investigation was conducted.
• Edward Standing Soldier: An AIM member, Standing Soldier was killed near Pine Ridge on February 27, 1974, by "party or parties unknown." No investigation was conducted.
• Roxeine Roark: An AIM supporter, Roark was killed at Porcupine on April 19, 1974, by "unknown assailants." The investigation remains open but "pending."
• Dennis LeCompte: An AIM member, LeCompte was killed at Pine Ridge by GOONs on September 7, 1974. No investigation was conducted.
• Jackson Washington Cutt: An AIM member, Cutt was killed at Parmalee on September 11, 1974, by "unknown individuals." The investigation remains "ongoing."
• Robert Reddy: An AIM member, Reddy was killed at Kyle by gunshot on September 16, 1974. No investigation was conducted.
• Delphine Crow Dog: The sister of AIM spiritual leader Leonard Crow Dog, she was beaten by BIA police and left lying in a field on November 16, 1974. She died from "exposure." No investigation was conducted.
• Elaine Wagner: An AIM supporter, Wagner was killed at Pine Ridge on November 20, 1974, by "person or persons unknown." No investigation was conducted.
• John S. Moore: A 20-year-old Penobscot from Maine and AIM supporter, Moore was stabbed to death in Lincoln, Nebraska, on December 3, 1974. Despite stab wounds through the neck and face and other injuries, his death was initially ruled a "suicide." Eight years later, the ruling was changed, but no further investigation was ever done.
• Yvette Loraine Lone Hill: An AIM supporter, Lone Hill was killed at Kyle on December 28, 1974, by "unknown party or parties." No investigation was conducted.

1975

• Leon L. Swift Bird: An AIM member, Swift Bird was killed at Pine Ridge on January 5, 1975, reportedly by GOONs. The investigation remains "ongoing."
• Martin Montileaux: Killed in a Scenic, S.D. bar on March 1, 1975. AIM leader Richard Marshall was later framed for his murder. Russell Means was also charged and acquitted.
• Stacy Cotter: Shot to death in an ambush at Manderson on March 20, 1975. No investigation was conducted.
• Edith Eagle Hawk: An AIM supporter, Eagle Hawk, and her two children were killed in an automobile accident after being run off the road by a white vigilante, Albert Coomes, on March 21, 1975. Coomes was also killed in the accident. GOON Mark Clifford, identified as having also been in the Coomes car, escaped. The investigation was closed without questioning Clifford.
• Jeanette Bissonette: An AIM supporter, Bissonette was killed by a sniper at Pine Ridge on March 27, 1975. An unsuccessful attempt was made to link AIM members to her murder; no other investigation was conducted.
• Richard Eagle: The grandson of AIM supporter Gladys Bissonette, Eagle was killed on March 30, 1975, while playing with a loaded gun kept in the house as protection from GOON attacks.
• Hilda R. Good Buffalo: An AIM supporter, Good Buffalo was stabbed to death at Pine Ridge by GOONs on April 4, 1975. No investigation was conducted.
• Jancita Eagle Deer: An AIM member, Eagle Deer was beaten and run over with an automobile on April 4, 1975. She was last seen in the company of provocateur Douglass Durham. No investigation was conducted.
• Ben Sitting Up: An AIM member, Sitting Up was killed at Wanblee on May 20, 1975, by "unknown assailants." No investigation was conducted.
• Kenneth Little: An AIM supporter, Little was killed at Pine Ridge on June 1, 1975, reportedly by GOONs. The investigation remains "pending."
• Leah Spotted Elk: An AIM supporter, Spotted Elk was killed at Pine Ridge on June 15, 1975, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.
• Joseph Stuntz Killsright: An AIM member from the Coeur D’Alene Tribe in Spokane, Washington, Killsright was killed by an FBI sniper during the Oglala firefight on June 26, 1975. No investigation was conducted. Leonard Peltier was convicted of the death of an FBI agent in the same fight.
• James Briggs Yellow: Died of a heart attack caused by an FBI air assault on his home on July 12, 1975. No investigation was conducted.
• Andrew Paul Stewart: Nephew of AIM spiritual leader Leonard Crow Dog, Stewart was killed on June 25, 1975, reportedly by GOONs on Pine Ridge. No investigation was conducted.
• Randy Hunter: An AIM supporter, Hunter was killed at Kyle on August 25, 1975, by "party or parties unknown." The investigation remains "ongoing."
• Howard Blue Bird: An AIM supporter, Blue Bird was killed on September 9, 1975, at Pine Ridge, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.
• Jim Little: An AIM supporter, Little was stomped to death by GOONs on September 10, 1975, in Oglala. No investigation was conducted.
• Olivia Binais: An AIM supporter, Binais was killed in Porcupine on October 26, 1975, by "person or persons unknown." The investigation remains "open."
• Janice Black Bear: An AIM supporter, Black Bear was killed at Manderson on October 26, 1975, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.
• Michelle Tobacco: An AIM supporter, Tobacco was killed at Pine Ridge on October 27, 1975, by "unknown persons." No investigation was conducted.
• Carl Plenty Arrows Sr.: An AIM supporter, Plenty Arrows was killed at Pine Ridge on December 6, 1975, by "unknown persons." No investigation was conducted.
• Frank La Pointe: An AIM supporter, La Pointe was killed at Pine Ridge on December 6, 1975, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.
• Anna Mae Pictou (Aquash): A high-ranking female member of AIM and a member of the MicMac tribe, Aquash was assassinated execution-style on the Pine Ridge Reservation sometime in mid-December 1975. The FBI was allegedly involved in an attempt to conceal the cause of death. There were ongoing attempts to establish AIM involvement in the murder. Key FBI personnel and the coroner were never deposed. Her death was originally attributed to natural causes due to exposure. A second autopsy revealed she was shot in the head at close range.
• Floyd S. Binais: An AIM supporter, Binais was killed at Pine Ridge on December 25, 1975, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.

1976

• Lydia Cut Grass: An AIM member, Cut Grass was killed at Wounded Knee on January 5, 1976, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.
• Byron DeSersa: An OSCRO organizer and AIM supporter, DeSersa was assassinated by GOONs in Wanblee on January 30, 1976. Arrests by local authorities resulted in two GOONs – Dale Janis and Charlie Winters – serving two years of five-year sentences for "manslaughter." Charges were dropped against two GOON leaders, Manny Wilson and Chuck Richards, on the basis of "self-defense," despite DeSersa having been unarmed when shot to death.
• Lena R. Slow Bear: An AIM supporter, Slow Bear was killed at Oglala on February 6, 1976, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.
• Hobart Horse: An AIM member, Horse was beaten, shot, and repeatedly run over with an automobile at Sharp’s Corners on March 1, 1976. No investigation was conducted.
• Cleveland Reddest: An AIM member, Reddest was killed at Kyle on March 26, 1976, by "person or persons unknown." No investigation was conducted.
• Betty Jo Dubray: An AIM supporter, Dubray was beaten to death at Martin, S.D., on April 28, 1976. No investigation was conducted.
• Marvin Two Two: An AIM supporter, Two Two was shot to death at Pine Ridge on May 6, 1976. No investigation was conducted.
• Julia Pretty Hips: An AIM supporter, Pretty Hips was killed at Pine Ridge on May 9, 1976, by "unknown assailants." No investigation was conducted.
• Sam Afraid of Bear: An AIM supporter, Afraid of Bear was shot to death at Pine Ridge on May 24, 1976. The investigation is "ongoing."
• Kevin Hill: An AIM supporter, Hill was killed at Oglala on June 4, 1976, by "party or parties unknown." The investigation is "still open."
• Betty Means: An AIM member, Means was killed at Pine Ridge on July 3, 1976, reportedly by GOONs. No investigation was conducted.
• Sandra Wounded Foot: An AIM supporter and a fifteen-year-old student, Wounded Foot was tortured, raped, and murdered by Federal Officer Paul Duane Herman on July 31, 1976. He was allowed to plead guilty to a charge of manslaughter.

The list of AIM Casualties on or near Pine Ridge Reservation, 1973-1976 is a somber reminder of a painful period in American history. The lack of thorough investigations and the allegations of government complicity have left many questions unanswered and fueled a persistent sense of injustice. The events of these years continue to resonate within the Oglala Lakota community and beyond, highlighting the ongoing struggle for justice, reconciliation, and the recognition of Native American rights. The history of AIM Casualties on or near Pine Ridge Reservation, 1973-1976 serves as a critical reminder of the importance of accountability and the need to address historical injustices to foster healing and understanding.