Incident at Oglala
Encyclopedia
Incident at Oglala is a 1992 documentary by Michael Apted
, narrated by Robert Redford
. The film documents the murder of two Federal Bureau of Investigation
agents, Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
in the summer of 1975.
It examines the legal case surrounding the subsequent trials of Robert Robideau
and Darrell Butler, and later the separate trial of Leonard Peltier
, who had to be extradited from Canada. Robideau and Butler were acquitted at their trial, but Peltier was convicted of murder in 1976. Many supporters at the time, including the International Indian Treaty Council
, believed Peltier was innocent of the crimes.
, the highest-ranking woman in the American Indian Movement
, was found dead at the Pine Ridge Reservation. She had been shot in the back of the head, execution style. Eventually investigations revealed that she had been kidnapped in Denver, taken for interrogation to Rapid City, and murdered at Pine Ridge in mid-December 1975. Both Denver police and the FBI investigated the case for years.
In 2002, Paul DeMain, managing editor and owner of News From Indian Country
, published an editorial saying that respected people had told him of hearing Peltier admit to having killed the FBI agents, and to suspicions that Aquash had been ordered killed. In 2003, DeMain withdrew his support for clemency for the activist.
In 2003 a federal grand jury indicted Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham for the December 1975 murder of Aquash. Witnesses testified in their trials of 2004 and 2010, respectively, that they believed Aquash had been executed because of suspicions that she was an FBI agent, after Peltier had told her and a small group of fugitives activists that he had killed the two FBI agents at Pine Ridge. Both men were convicted of her murder and are serving life sentences.
In the trials of Arlo Looking Cloud in 2004 and John Graham in 2010, who were each convicted of the murder of Anna Mae Aquash
, witnesses testified that Peltier had told a small group of AIM activists in 1975 that he had killed the FBI agents.
Michael Apted
Michael David Apted, CMG is an English director, producer, writer and actor. He is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up Series of documentaries and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.On 29 June 2003 he was elected...
, narrated by Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
. The film documents the murder of two Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agents, Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is an Oglala Sioux Native American reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Great Sioux Reservation, Pine Ridge was established in 1889 in the southwest corner of South Dakota on the Nebraska border...
in the summer of 1975.
It examines the legal case surrounding the subsequent trials of Robert Robideau
Robert Robideau
Robert Eugene Robideau was an American Indian activist who was acquitted in the 1975 shooting deaths of two FBI agents in South Dakota.-Early years:...
and Darrell Butler, and later the separate trial of Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier is a Native American activist and member of the American Indian Movement . In 1977 he was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment for first degree murder in the shooting of two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents during a 1975 conflict on the Pine...
, who had to be extradited from Canada. Robideau and Butler were acquitted at their trial, but Peltier was convicted of murder in 1976. Many supporters at the time, including the International Indian Treaty Council
International Indian Treaty Council
-Mission:The International Indian Treaty Council is an organization of Indigenous Peoples from North,Central, South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific working for the Sovereignty and Self- Determination of Indigenous Peoples and the recognition and protection of Indigenous Rights, Treaties,...
, believed Peltier was innocent of the crimes.
Analysis
In February 1976, Anna Mae AquashAnna Mae Aquash
Anna Mae Aquash was a Mi'kmaq activist from Nova Scotia, Canada who became the highest-ranking woman in the American Indian Movement in the United States during the mid-1970s.Aquash...
, the highest-ranking woman in the American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement is a Native American activist organization in the United States, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by urban Native Americans. The national AIM agenda focuses on spirituality, leadership, and sovereignty...
, was found dead at the Pine Ridge Reservation. She had been shot in the back of the head, execution style. Eventually investigations revealed that she had been kidnapped in Denver, taken for interrogation to Rapid City, and murdered at Pine Ridge in mid-December 1975. Both Denver police and the FBI investigated the case for years.
In 2002, Paul DeMain, managing editor and owner of News From Indian Country
News from Indian Country
News From Indian Country is a nationwide, privately owned newspaper, published twice a month, founded by Paul DeMain in 1986, who is the managing editor and an owner. It is the oldest continuing, nationally distributed publication that is not owned by a tribal government...
, published an editorial saying that respected people had told him of hearing Peltier admit to having killed the FBI agents, and to suspicions that Aquash had been ordered killed. In 2003, DeMain withdrew his support for clemency for the activist.
In 2003 a federal grand jury indicted Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham for the December 1975 murder of Aquash. Witnesses testified in their trials of 2004 and 2010, respectively, that they believed Aquash had been executed because of suspicions that she was an FBI agent, after Peltier had told her and a small group of fugitives activists that he had killed the two FBI agents at Pine Ridge. Both men were convicted of her murder and are serving life sentences.
In the trials of Arlo Looking Cloud in 2004 and John Graham in 2010, who were each convicted of the murder of Anna Mae Aquash
Anna Mae Aquash
Anna Mae Aquash was a Mi'kmaq activist from Nova Scotia, Canada who became the highest-ranking woman in the American Indian Movement in the United States during the mid-1970s.Aquash...
, witnesses testified that Peltier had told a small group of AIM activists in 1975 that he had killed the FBI agents.