Forty years ago, 200 members of the American Indian Movement took over the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. The group was protesting the federal government’s failure to honor various treaties with native tribes. The location was symbolic. In 1890, as many as 300 Lakota Indians were killed at Wounded Knee by the U-S Army. The standoff lasted 73 days and claimed three lives.
A new book from the Michigan State University Press recounts that incident and other moments in the history of America’s relationship with its indigenous people. Winona LaDuke is the author of “The Militarization of Indian Country.” She’s a member of the Anishinaabe Nation, and she speaks with Current State about her new book.