Russell Means-Native American Warrior
by D.S. Mitchell
Russell Means & Dennis Banks Prominent Militant Native American Activists Talk to Press
Champion of Native American Rights
Russell Means was a champion of Native American civil rights. Means drew public attention to the mistreatment of native people “with audacious and controversial actions that were equal parts protest and theater,” said biographer Michael Ray.
Charismatic Leader
From the 1970’s thru the early 2000’s Russell Means was as famous as Sitting Bull. Means, tall and ruggedly handsome with long traditional braids was a charismatic Native American actor, activist, painter, politician, musician and writer. Means was born in 1939 on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. His Lakota name “Wanbli Ohitika” means “Brave Eagle.” His mother was a Yankton Dakota Sioux and his father an Oglala Lakota Sioux.
A Harsh Life
His parents left the reservation in 1942 at the beginning of WWII to escape the poverty and depression of the reservation. They settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where his father worked in the shipyards. In his 1995 autobiography Russell Means described a harsh life with his alcoholic father and abused mother. He himself describes how he fell into “years of truancy, crime and drugs”, before finding purpose in the American Indian Movement.
In 1964 Means Joined His Father And Other Indians To Occupy Alcatraz for 24 hours
1964 Alcatraz Occupation
Means and his father joined a protest occupation of Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, CA. in 1964. The protest lasted a mere 24 hours. Native Americans were protesting against the U.S. government for treaty violations. In his autobiography Russell Means remembered the 1964 Alcatraz event as the catalyst for a life time of activism for protecting the rights of Native Americans.
The American Indian Movement
In 1968 Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, Eddie Benton Banai, and George Mitchell came together to form the American Indian Movement. AIM was a militant American Indian civil rights organization. The goals expanded quickly, broadening to “turn the attention of Indian people toward a renewal of spirituality which would impart the strength of resolve needed to reverse the ruinous policies of the United States, Canada, and other colonialist governments of Central and South America.” AIM’s goals were economic independence, revitalization of traditional culture, protection of legal rights, and most especially, autonomy over tribal areas and the restoration of lands that they believed had been seized illegally.
Dennis Banks, Russell Means, and Clyde Bellecourt in 1971 the Heart of AIM
A New Voice
Into a violent and turbulent times Russell Means emerged as the voice of AIM. In 1970 he became the first National Director of the American Indian Movement. Aim became involved in many violent and highly publicized protests in reaction to abhorrent government policies toward American Indians during this time.
Modern Day Warriors
Means’ and other AIM members cultivated a tough persona which they felt was necessary to face the “dark violence of police brutality and the voiceless despair of Indian people.” The view of these activists as “warriors” was essential to the movement.
Prayer Vigil At Rushmore
In 1970, immediately after his installation as National Director of AIM, Means led a prayer vigil on the top of Mt Rushmore to, according to the NY Times, “dramatize Lakota claims to Black Hills land.” (Rushmore is on land sacred to the Lakota people.)
Russell Means Calls For A Day Of Mourning Instead Of Thanksgiving At Plymouth Rock
Taking The Mayflower II
Later that same year, Mean’s led a Thanksgiving Day demonstration in Boston where 200 American Indians captured the Mayflower II (a replica) and painted Plymouth Rock red and began a “Day of Mourning”while a stunned nation watched the action play out on TV.
Chief Wahoo
In 1972 another controversial move the Cleveland chapter of AIM filed a $9 million dollar suit against the Cleveland Indians baseball team for the use of “Chief Wahoo” as its toothy Indian mascot. In defense of the suit Russell Means stated, “It (the logo) attacks the cultural heritage of the American Indian and destroys Indian pride.” Opening day protests against the use of the logo have continued every year since 1971 often resulting in arrests of the Indian demonstrators. In 2014 the Cleveland Indians organization finally agreed to “slowly” eliminate the logo.
The Trail of Broken Treaties
In 1972 The Trail of Broken Treaties brought more than 600 American Indian protesters led by Means and representatives of eight other American Indian organizations who traveled by bus, car truck and camper from California to Washington, D.C. Once in DC the protesters occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs building for a week in protest of broken treaties and government abuses. Bureau of Indian officials complained that numerous records were removed or destroyed and that more than $2 million in damages was done to the building.
The Trail of Broken Treaties Protest March Started In California And Ended With The Seizure of The BIA Building
Rapid City Riot
On February 10, 1973, a club swinging group of Indians and non-Indians confronted one another in a melee in Rapid City, South Dakota that injured 20 and resulted in 40 arrests. Dennis Banks and Russell Means attempted to calm the situation and denied charges that AIM was responsible for the rioting. They had per their statements just termed the town “neutral ground because the people are willing to sit down and recognize injustices.”
AIM Activists Seize The Small Reservation Town of Wounded Knee in 1973
Wounded Knee
On February 27, 1973 Russell Means and a force of 200 Oglala Lakota Sioux and other followers of AIM seized and occupied Wounded Knee, a small town on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The stand-off lasted 71 days. The issue was the continued exploitation of resources of Indian lands by the federal government, aided by corrupt Indian officials, chiefly Oglala tribal chairman Richard Wilson.
Wounded Knee the Most Famous Insurrection in 20th Century
The activists chose the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre for its symbolism. Wounded Knee would become the most famous Indian insurrection of the twentieth century. Two Indian activists were killed by government authorities and 13 more wounded. Two federal agents were wounded by activists, leaving one paralyzed. After the siege ended Dennis Banks and Russell Means, as AIM officials, were arrested and indicted on charges related to the events at Wounded Knee. In 1974 both men had their cases dismissed for “prosecutorial misconduct”.
The Murder Of Anna Mae Aquash Pointed To Leaders Of AIM
Murder of Anna Mae
In 1975 Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, a suspected FBI informant was murdered on the Pine Ridge Reservation by unknown perpetrators. Authorities suspected AIM members including Russell Means of killing Aquash. Her murder went unsolved until 2003. In March 2003 Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham were indicted for Aquash’s murder. Looking Cloud was convicted in 2004, John Graham was convicted in 2010. Both received life sentences. Many of Aquash supporters are convinced that higher-level AIM officials ordered her murder. Means publicly called for continued investigations.
Russell Means Was Arrested Many Times
Hounded by The Man
Between 1974-1976 Means was arrested by the FBI and various state governments for his activism. During that time Means was charged with multiple crimes. In the 12 separate cases he represented himself and won acquittal in each. In 1975 Means and an AIM member, Richard Marshall were indicted and tried for the murder of Martin Montileaux at a saloon in Scenic, South Dakota. The court exonerated Russell Means. His co-defendent Richard Marshall was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Assassination Attempt or Accident?
Less than a month after the Montileaux killing, Means while on pre-trial release was in North Dakota on the Standing Rock Reservation when he was involved in an argument with a BIA officer. Means was shot in the stomach 3 times by the BIA official. The Bureau of Indian Affairs called the shooting an “accident” while AIM leaders called it an “assassination attempt.” Russell Means was charged with assault but was later acquitted.
Escalating Violence
The Violence Around AIM Intensified In The 1970’s
The violence surrounding AIM activists was rapidly accelerating. Within 30 days of his acquittal Means was stopped on the Pine Ridge Reservation and allegedly assaulted by members of the “puppet tribal government” led by Oglala tribal chairman Richard Wilson. In another incident Means was shot at, with a bullet grazing his forehead by a drive-by assassination attempt. He received 12 stitches related to the incident.
The Longest Walk
In 1978 Means and other activists participated in the “Longest Walk”. In a cross-country protest Indians walked across the country from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. creating the largest, single day, peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C. history up till that time.
Jail Time
A South Dakota court convicted Russell Means in 1979 of inciting a “Riot To Obstruct Justice”. The charge originated from a riot at the Sioux Falls courthouse. Means received a four year prison sentence but was paroled after just one year. In 2003 Means was given a pardon ostensibly because the law that was used to convict Means had been repealed as “unconstitutionally vague” BEFORE his original sentencing.
Organizing For the Betterment of Indian People
In 1981 Russell Means founded “Yellow Thunder Camp” a spiritual youth camp in the Black Hills. His goal to return his people to the Black Hills, the Lakota Nation’s Holy Land. In 1982 Means founded MILI radio station on the Pine Ridge Reservation. MILI became the first Indian owed and operated radio station in the country. In 1985 Russell Means organized the building of the first independent health clinic on any Indian Reservation.
Russell Means In The 1980’s Became An Activist For Indigenous People World Wide
Working Nationally and Internationally
While Russell Means was active nationally during these years he was also active internationally. In 1977 he assisted in creating an international conference to discuss the sovereign rights of North, Central and South American Indians a program sponsored by the United Nations. In 1983, he gave two speeches at the Prague Czechoslovakia UN conference on international nuclear development. In 1985 he participated in the first Peace Conference held between the Indians and the Sandinistas of Nicaragua. His international activism lasted through the 1980’s. In 1984 he ran as vice presidential candidate joining Larry Flynt in his unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination. In 1987 he campaigned for the Libertarian party nomination for president but lost to Ron Paul. In 1988 he announced his retirement from AIM.
Rugged Good Looks And A Warrior Attitude Made Him Famous
Charismatic Good Looks
The 1990’s ushered in a new chapter in Russell Means’ life. The charismatic Means with his rugged good looks was tapped for roles in many television programs. Means quickly moved to parts in films, such as The Last of the Mohicans, Natural Born Killers, Windrunner and many more.
Where White Men Fear To Tread
In 1995 he published his autobiography, Where White Men Fear to Tread co-written with M. J. Wolfe. The book drew raves and rants. “It’s American history-warts, wounds and all” said Patricia Holt in the San Francisco Chronicle. M. Wadsworth writing for the Tucson Weekly added, “whatever conclusions one makes of Means’ actions and intentions, his unremitting presence and undaunted outspokenness opened a dialogue that changed the course of American history.”
Music Hall of Fame
Russell Means Challenged The Establishment
In addition to television, movies, and books, Russell Means was an avid painter, and musician with a world-wide audience. During his long career Means had written and produced several successful albums and in 2013 he was recognized posthumously for his contribution to Native American music. He is a member of American Indian Music Awards Hall of Fame.
A Voice for The Voiceless
Physicians diagnosed Means with esophageal cancer in August 2011. After a year of declining health Russell Means died in October 2012. ABC said, “Means spent a lifetime as a modern American warrior..he railed against broken treaties, fought for the return of stolen land and even took up arms against the federal government..he called national attention to the plight of impoverished tribes and lamented the wane of Indian culture.”
Dignity and Leadership
Means was married five times and had seven biological children and multiple adopted children, as is the Lakota way. His son Tatanka spread his cremated remains across his beloved Black Hills. Russell Means was an inspirational visionary. A man whose cry for justice still echoes. His stalwart dignity and uncompromising leadership left an indelible mark on the national character.
Sources:
Biography.com/people/russell-means
www.russellmeansfreedom.com
www.britannica.com/biography/Russell-Means
www.nytimes.com 2/27/1973
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell-Means
www.indiancountry/archive/russell-means-a-look-thru-his-life
