Today in Labor History May 8, 1973: A 71-day standoff at the Pine Ridge Reservation, at Wounded Knee, ended today, after American Indian Movement (AIM) members surrendered. In 1890, U.S soldiers massacred nearly 300 Lakota people at Wounded Knee. Ever since, native peoples on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where Wounded Knee is located, have faced poverty, and racism by their neighbors. They also had a corrupt local government on the reservation. So, on February 27, 1973, 200 Lakota activists and members of AIM, seized control of Wounded Knee. They demanded the resignation of their corrupt tribal leader. They also demanded that the U.S. government start obeying its treaties with indigenous peoples. Within hours of the occupation, police surrounded the them, marking the beginning of the siege. The cops were joined by federal marshals and national guards, who traded fire with AIM activists on a daily basis. Two native activists died in the conflict and one federal agent was shot and paralyzed. AIM leaders Dennis Banks and Russell Means were arrested, but their case was dismissed by the federal court for prosecutorial misconduct. Two years later, there was another shootout at Pine Ridge. AIM leader Leonard Peltier was wrongfully arrested and imprisoned until 2025.