Program about Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota (Part A)

On January 20 1976 Richard Wilson lost the election for tribal chairman of the Pine Ridge. On January 20 1976. Richard Wilson lost the election for tribal chairman of the Pine Ridge Reservation. The newly elected chairman is Albert Trimble a former Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent for Pine Ridge. Since Wilson's defeat American Indian Movement member Byron de Sosa has been killed in June little a native from the village of Oglala has been seriously wounded. Fear has also been voiced for a newly elected tribal chairman Al Trimble's life. Since last year the death toll on the reservation has increased by 13 hundred percent. What has been going on in that

southwestern corner of South Dakota. In November 1972 just a few months after Wilson took office the Bureau of Indian Affairs granted Wilson $50000 to organize a highway patrol for the reservation. Instead Wilson used the funds to form a private auxiliary police force which consisted of deputized friends Bureau of Indian Affairs police chief Richard Col. Hoff was transferred shortly thereafter for he opposed designating authority to untrained persons to secure a law and order. Wilson's notorious police force became known as the goon squad. Ellen Moves Camp and Oglala from the village of one Billie was fired from her job in the public health service for opposition to Wilson. She had this to say about the situation under Wilson's administration quote. Ever since Wilson's been in office. It's just been a one man Council. He's just some kind of a

dictator that got in there. It's really bad to say but our people did go for the money and all the promises he made when he was campaigning. Different men went out to those districts and told with Dick Wilson promised they'd take a cow but cure it and feed the people. Our people must've been pretty hungry to elect him. Then a few months after he was in there he got his goon squad with guns and billy clubs and gas bombs. Plus the policeman on the reservation. They were helping him. They would go around and anybody that stated anything against Dick Wilson was automatically beaten up or threatened. And this is what people got tired of. End of quote. While discontent with Wilson's administration was growing. Wilson failed to call the tribal council into session in January 1973 which was required by the tribal Constitution. In fact January passed and the October session had still not been adjourned.

Wilson finally called session in February. People were so disenchanted with his dictatorial behavior that three councilmen father complained for Wilson's impeachment. Wilson postponed his own impeachment hearing scheduled for February 14 1973. He cited quote road and weather conditions unquote as his excuse. Although over 300 people showed up for the hearing from frustration the American Indian Movement was invited to the pond Ridge Reservation and the liberation of Wounded Knee began on Feb. 27 1973. In January 974 Wilson ran again for tribal chairman Russell Means American Indian Movement leader was the opposition. Means one of the primary by a landslide. But suddenly in the election Wilson won by a few votes the United States Commission on Civil Rights was in pointed to investigate the 1974 election process for illegalities. The

commission declared the election to be quote permeated with fraud unquote. And elections it was filed by the Wounded Knee legal defense oftens Committee and one fills the pipe. A recently elected tribal council member comments on the suit US Commission on Civil Rights of the first geisha. And they found numerous irregularities as they call it. Will With the election. And when Russell Means who the opposing candidate filed the suit and asking for re-election. The Judge Bogue of South Dakota overruled him and said that he had not exhausted his tribal remedies and that he doesn't have

jurisdiction over the matter. Well they appealed to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and those judges there ruled that judge does have jurisdiction and that he should attend to the matter. Well lawyers for Wilson and delayed and I guess you know Other factors include those delayed until the new election took place so although it was a chance today it could have been reelection last time didn't have it. Well there are people that are not from Pine Ridge Reservation that were voting no charges of ballot box stuffing bribing election officials. There are no voting lists for how much the.

Eligible voters will have been determined. Ballot boxes were lost supposedly. Well I think that's enough over the past two years. There have been some 240 deaths on Pine Ridge 40 being murders of American Indian Movement sympathizers. According to and leader Dennis Banks. Seventy five percent of those 240 deaths have been related to the hostility between the government backed forces of Richard Wilson. And the American Indian Movement. Wilson has been brought to trial for assaulting three lawyers two illegal workers and a Wounded Knee defendant in Pine Ridge airport. The Department of Interior is conducting an investigation into Wilson's embezzlement of tribal funds by render services recent murder is suspected to be linked to Wilson's going squad. The source was a wounded a veteran and a vocal critic of Dick Wilson.

Hope does exist on pine ridge around the recent election of Albert Trimble. Trimble served as Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent on Pine Ridge originally with Wilson support but shot differences emerge between Trimble and Wilson as Trimble sought more services for impoverished Indians and drew closer to the American Indian Movement. He was finally removed from his post by the federal government. Edwin feels the pipe sees these changes emerging from the newly elected government. Well Mr Wilson I got into the chairman's position four years ago and his main thing was to centralize tribal operations. That meant that the town of Pine Ridge or the village of Pine Ridge was where the tribal council offices are located or everything would be operated from there. Before him. The

chairman was general one father who. Who advocated the centralization of the tribe to let each each local government district council run their own affairs almost accomplished. But he got defeated by Wilson and Wilson centralized everything and he pretty much controlled everything. And this new election we elected got named Albert Trimble. He's formally a superintendent at Pine Ridge. Before before his policies ran counter to Wilson's wishes. So he was ousted by Wilson with the help of the bureau so he resigned his position as your employee and you ran for election and one of us

promises that tribal government will be returned to the people. I mean the centralization and decentralization is something that the local people had always wanted. They want they want more control over what's happening to them. I think that will be the major shift in tribal. Policy this next two years as American Indian Movement leader Dennis Banks sided Turnbull's victory over longtime incumbent Richard Wilson. He said quote A new day may be dawning unquote.