The Guardians Of Oglala Nation (known by the acronym GOONs) were thugs hired by then Tribal Chairman Dick Wilson, paid with federal money, and trained by FBI/CIA personel. Many were actually off-duty BIA police. It is alleged the Goon Squad (as they were commonly known) murdered or caused the death of nearly seventy AIM supporters on the Pine Ridge Reservation between 1973-1976.
1973
Names Unknown – Between eight and twelve individuals packing supplies into Wounded Knee on April 12, 1973, were intercepted by GOONs and vigilantes. None were ever heard from again. Former Rosebud Tribal President Robert Burnette and U.S. Justice Department Solicitor General Kent Frizzell conducted an unsuccessful search for a mass grave after the Wounded Knee siege. No further investigation.
Priscilla White Plume – AIM supporter killed at Manderson by GOONs on April 14, 1973. No investigation.
Buddy Lamont – AIM member hit by M16 fire at Wounded Knee on April 27,1973, bled to death while pinned down by fire. No investigation.
Frank Clearwater – AIM member killed by heavy machine gun round at Wounded Knee on May 17, 1973. No investigation.
Clarence Cross – AIM supporter shot to death in ambush by GOONs on June 19, 1973. Although assailants were identified by eyewitnesses, brother Vernal Cross, wounded in the ambush, was briefly charged with the crime. No further investigation.
Julius Bad Heart Bull – AIM supporter killed at Oglala on July 30, 1973 by “person or persons unknown.” No investigation.
Melvin Spider – AIM member killed in Porcupine, South Dakota on September 22, 1973. No investigation.
Philip Black Elk – AIM supporter killed when his house exploded on September 23, 1973. No investigation.
Aloysius Long Soldier – AIM member killed at Kyle, S.D. on October 5, 1973 by GOONs. No investigation.
Phillip Little Crow – AIM supporter beaten to death by
GOONs at Pine Ridge on October 10, 1973. No investigation.
Pedro Bissonette – Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization (OSCRO) organizer and AIM supporter assassinated by BIA Police/GOONs on October 17, 1973. Body removed from Pine Ridge jurisdiction prior to autopsy by government contract coroner. No investigation.
Allison Fast Horse – AIM supporter shot to death near Pine Ridge by “unknown assailants” on November 20, 1973. No investigation.
1974
Edward Means, Jr. – AIM member found dead in Pine Ridge alley on January 17, 1974, beaten to death. No investigation.
Edward Standing Soldier – AIM member killed near Pine Ridge on February 27, 1974 by”party or parties unknown.” No investigation.
Roxeine Roark – AIM supporter killed at Porcupine on April 19, 1974 by “unknown assailants.” Investigation open, still “pending.”
Dennis LeCompte – AIM member killed at Pine Ridge by GOONs on September 7, 1974. No investigation.
Jackson Washington Cutt – AIM member killed at Parmalee on September 11, 1974 by”unknown individuals.”Investigation still “ongoing.”
Robert Reddy – AIM member killed at Kyle by gunshot on September 16, 1974. No investigation.
Delphine Crow Dog – sister of AIM spiritual leader Leonard Crow Dog, was beaten by BIA police and left lying in a field on November 16, 1974. Died from “exposure.” No investigation.
Elaine Wagner – AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge on November 20, 1974 by “person or persons unknown.” No investigation.
John S. Moore – 20 year old Penobscot from Maine, AIM supporter stabbed to death in Lincoln, Nebraska on December 3, 1974. With stab wounds through the neck and face, and with other cuts and brusies, death was ruled a “suicide”. Eight years later, the “suicide” ruling was changed, but no other investigation was ever done.
Yvette Loraine Lone Hill – AIM supporter killed at Kyle on December 28, 1974 by “unknown party or parties.” No investigation.
1975
Leon L. Swift Bird – AIM member killed at Pine Ridge on January 5, 1975 by GOONs. Investigation is still “ongoing.”
Martin Montileaux – killed in a Scenic, S.D. bar on March 1, 1975. AIM leader Richard Marshall later framed for his murder. Russell Means also charged and acquitted.
Stacy Cotter – shot to death in an ambush at Manderson on March 20, 1975. No investigation.
Edith Eagle Hawk, an AIM supporter, and her two children were killed in an automobile accident after being run off the road by a white vigilante, Albert Coomes on March 21, 1975. Coomes was also killed in the accident. GOON Mark Clifford identified as having also been in the Coomes car, escaped. Investigation closed without questioning Clifford.
Jeanette Bissonette – AIM supporter killed by sniper at Pine Ridge on March 27, 1975. Unsuccessful attempt to link AIM members to her murder; no other investigation.
Richard Eagle – grandson of AIM supporter Gladys Bissonette, was killed on March 30, 1975, while playing with a loaded gun kept in the house as protection from GOON attacks.
Hilda R. Good Buffalo – AIM supporter stabbed to death at Pine Ridge by GOONs on April 4, 1975. No investigation.
Jancita Eagle Deer – AIM member beaten and run over with automobile on April 4, 1975. Last seen in the company of provocateur Douglass Durham. No investigation.
Ben Sitting Up – AIM member killed at Wanblee on May 20, 1975 by “unknown
assailants.” No investigation.
Kenneth Little – AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge on June 1, 1975 by GOONs.
Investigation still “pending.”
Leah Spotted Elk – AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge on June 15, 1975 by GOONs.
No investigation.
Joseph Stuntz Killsright – AIM memberfrom the C’oeur D’Alene Tribe in Spokane, Washington, was killed by FBI sniper during the Oglala firefight on June 26, 1975. No investigation. Leonarld Peltier was convicted of death of FBI agent in same fight.
James Briggs Yellow – Heart attack caused by FBI air assault on his home on July 12, 1975. No investigation.
Andrew Paul Stewart – nephew of AIM spiritual leader Leonard Crow Dog, killed on June 25, 1975 by GOONs on Pine Ridge. No investigation.
Randy Hunter – AIM supporter killed at Kyle on August 25, 1975 by “party or
parties unknown.” Investigation still “ongoing.”
Howard Blue Bird – AIM supporter killed on September 9, 1975 at Pine Ridge by
GOONs. No investigation.
Jim Little – AIM supporter stomped to death by GOONs on September 10, 1975 in Oglala. No investigation.
Olivia Binais – AIM supporter killed in Porcupine on October 26, 1975 by
“person or persons unknown.” Investigation still “open.”
Janice Black Bear – AIM supporter killed at Manderson on October 26, 1975 by GOONs.
No investigation.
Michelle Tobacco – AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge on October 27, 1975 by “unknown persons.” No investigation.
Carl Plenty Arrows Sr. – AIM supporter killed at Pine
Ridge on December 6, 1975 by “unknown persons.” No investigation.
Frank La Pointe – AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge on December 6, 1975 by
GOONs. No investigation.
Anna Mae Pictou (Aquash) was assassinated execution style on the Pine Ridge Reservation sometime in mid-December, 1975. The FBI was allegedly involved in an attempt to conceal the cause of death. There were ongoing attempts to establish AIM involvement in the murder. Key FBI personnel were never deposed. Coroner was never deposed.
Anna Mae Pictou (Aquash) was the highest ranking female member of AIM and was present at the Wounded Knee standoff in1973. She was a member of the MicMac tribe from Shubencadie, Nova Scotia. Her death was originally attributed to natural causes due to exposure. A second autopsy revealed she was shot in the head at close range.
Floyd S. Binais – AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge on December 25, 1975 by GOONs.
No investigation.
1976
Lydia Cut Grass – AIM member killed at Wounded Knee on January 5, 1976 by GOONs. No investigation.
Byron DeSersa – OSCRO organizer and AIM supporter assassinated by GOONs in Wanblee on January 30, 1976. Arrests by local authorities resulted in two GOONs – Dale Janis and Charlie Winters, serving two years of five year sentences for “manslaughter.” Charges were dropped against two Goon leaders, Manny Wilson and Chuck Richards , on the basis of “self-defense” despite DeSersa having been unarmed when shot to death.
Lena R. Slow Bear – AIM supporter killed at Oglala on February 6, 1976 by GOONs.
No investigation.
Hobart Horse – AIM member beaten, shot, and repeatedly run over with an automobile at Sharp’s Corners on March 1, 1976. No investigation.
Cleveland Reddest – AIM member killed at Kyle on March 26, 1976 by “person or persons unknown.” No investigation.
Betty Jo Dubray – AIM supporter beaten to death at Martin,
S.D on April 28, 1976. No investigation.
Marvin Two Two – Aim supporter shot to death at Pine Ridge on May 6, 1976. No investigation.
Julia Pretty Hips – AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge on May 9, 1976 by
“unknown assailants.” No investigation.
Sam Afraid of Bear – AIM supporter shot to death at Pine Ridge on May 24, 1976. Investigation “ongoing.”
Kevin Hill – AIM supporter killed at Oglala on June 4, 1976 by “party or parties unknown.”
Investigation “still open.”
Betty Means – AIM member killed at Pine Ridge on July 3, 1976 by GOONs. No investigation.
Sandra Wounded Foot – AIM supporter and a fifteen year old
student, was tortured, raped and murdered by Federal Officer Paul
Duane Herman on July 31, 1976. He was allowed to plead guilty to a charge of manslaughter!
External Links:
http://www.aics.org/WK/pineridge.html
http://peltierpireiri.blogspot.com/2017/05/aim-leonard-peltier.html
https://www.nativetimes.com/archives/22/2024-around-the-campfire-in-memory-of-raymond-yellow-thunder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Native_American_rights_organizations
https://www.aimovement.org/iitc/index.html#ABOUREZK
https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/native-american-activism-1960s-to-present/