American Experience

S21E09 We Shall Remain (5): Wounded Knee

On the evening of February 27, 1973, a convoy of fifty-four cars, horns honking, arrived in a tiny village on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Within a matter of hours, around 200 Oglala Lakota and American Indian Movement (AIM) activists took control of the town's key buildings, prompting law enforcement to seal off the area. Thus began the occupation of Wounded Knee. The protesters, seeking justice for grievances dating back over a century, captivated global attention for an intense 71 days.