Wounded Knee incident

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The Wounded Knee Incident began on February 27, 1973, and represented the longest civil disorder in the history of the Marshals Service.

The events of 1973 erupted from tensions within the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) people who make the Pine Ridge Reservation their home. The Oglalas were largely divided into the those supporting the reservation's elected government and those in opposition.

The US government recognized the governing body led by tribal chairman Richard "Dick" Wilson. Wilson's opposition argued that Wilson was distributing government funds to his friends and family in Pine Ridge Village while ignoring those living in the backcountry of the reservation. They also accused Wilson of using the private police force named the Guardians of the Oglala Nation (often called the GOON squad) to terrorize the traditional Oglalas and maintain his power.

To oppose Wilson and his government, the Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization (OSCRO) formed. In 1973, at Calico Hall, the OSCRO met with representatives of the American Indian Movement (AIM), a national Indian rights movement. This meeting precipitated the protest at Wounded Knee that became the standoff.

On Feb. 27, the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota was seized by followers of the AIM, who staged a 71-day occupation of the area. In response to the incident, Marshals Service volunteers stepped forward from all ranks of service to assist in a resolution. U.S. Marshals, Chief Deputies, Deputies, and support personnel alike participated.

Both forces signed a dispossession agreement on May 5. The siege ended on May 8, when half of the AIM community had left Wounded Knee. Two protesters were killed at Wounded Knee: Frank Clearwater on April 17 and Lawrence "Buddy" LaMonte, a Vietnam veteran, on April 27. U.S. Marshal Lloyd Grimm (District of Nebraska) was seriously wounded, as was an FBI agent.