2/27/2010:
Two hundred members of the American Indian Movement took over the small village of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on this date in 1973. The group, led by Dennis Banks, Russell Means, and North Dakotan Leonard Peltier, chose the village due to its historic significance as the site of the last major skirmish between Native Americans and the U. S. military in 1890. They hoped to raise awareness of inequality suffered by Native Americans, and called on Congress to review broken treaties between the U. S. Government and the tribes. Gunfire exchanged between the group and federal authorities resulted in the deaths of two AIM members, and the wounding of several others. Not all members of the village sided with AIM, however, and fighting within Wounded Knee was also considerable. Despite being cut off from food and electricity, the group held the village of four hundred for seventy-one days.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
The Fargo Forum. Wednesday, September 18, 1974: p.5.
The Fargo Forum. Thursday, September 19, 1974: p.1.
The Fargo Forum. Thursday, January 20, 1977: p.2.
http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?vendorId=FWNE.fw..wo073400.a#FWNE.fw..wo073400.a
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=4442