FBI explains 57 unsolved Indian deaths

Copyright 2000 Argus Leader

published: 7/11/00

In response to criticism from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the FBI released a report Monday it says reconciles 57 unresolved deaths of American Indians on or near the Pine Ridge Reservation during the early 1970s. 

Members of the American Indian Movement and other reservation residents for decades have accused the FBI of covering up or ignoring dozens of slayings during the '70s. 

But the FBI says only six of the 57 deaths it studied are unsolved. The vast majority have been cleared by arrests or were never crimes, according to the report. 

"The FBI got a definitive list of people who were supposedly murdered on Pine Ridge. We took that, and tried to put out the truth," said Chip Burrus, FBI assistant special agent in charge of Indian Country. 

The chairwoman of the Civil Rights Commission, who has lambasted the FBI for its apparent nonchalant attitude toward the deaths, said Monday the report might not be enough to appease distrustful reservation residents. 

"We have no way of knowing about the accuracy of the reporting, but I'm pleased that that the FBI is attempting to be responsive by accounting for these cold cases," said Chairwoman Mary Francis Berry, who suggested that congressional hearings or a grand jury might be the solution. 

"Such an inquiry may inspire greater confidence (in the FBI), by the Native American people." 

The American Indian Movement blames the FBI for not conducting a thorough investigation into each of the cases, which the movement considers AIM casualties. 

During December 1999 hearings before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Rapid City, Berry and other commission members chastised senior FBI officials for a lack of accountability in the deaths. 

Monday, the FBI responded. 

In a Justice Department document titled: Accounting for Native American Deaths, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota: A report of the FBI Minneapolis Division, the bureau dissects each of the 57 deaths its says it came from media outlets. The document provides the victim's name, allegations surrounding the deaths and the agent's findings. 

"We can't do our job without the trust of the people of Pine Ridge," Burrus said. "This booklet tells the truth." 

The report addresses the much publicized deaths of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash and Joseph Stuntz, both linked to the deaths of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams, for which Leonard Peltier is serving two life sentences. 

Civil Rights Commissioner Elsie Meeks of Interior said the report is a positive step. 

"There's something black an white about these," Meeks said. "It should help people understand what's the truth and what isn't." 

Burrus hand-delivered a copy of the report to her Monday morning. Meeks hopes the report will quiet the rumors about the deaths. 

"I believe the data. I don't have a reason not to," she said. "A lot of the issue was perception. People felt like these things weren't being attended to." 

Marc Feinstein, chair of the South Dakota Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, hopes the report is only the beginning. 

"I would hope it alleviates the perception that the FBI is not doing its job," Feinstein said. "Now, it appears they have done their job in all but the six or so open cases." 

Burrus spent Monday delivering the report to 18 locations across Pine Ridge, including the tribal radio station and convenience stores. 

"We did everything but airdrop it on the reservation," he said. 

The decision to produce the document was made by Burrus and Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Douglas Domin. 

The process, Burrus said, was exhaustive. 

"We spent hundreds of agent hours conducting investigative research. We talked to retired agents who had served on the reservation, and others, and taxed old memories," Burrus said. "For something like this, you can't just check records at the county courthouse." 

He hopes the report will end the rumors about his agency. 

"I hope the document will finally stop the idea that the FBI is letting murders go uninvestigated on the reservation," he said. 

For a family member of one of the victims, the FBI report provides closure. 

"It brings a lot of answers to questions that had run through my mind for years," said Robert Lamont, 67, of Pine Ridge. 

Robert's nephew Buddy is listed in the report as killed during a gunfight with federal officers at a roadblock in Wounded Knee in April 1973. AIM says Buddy Lamont bled to death while pinned down by rifle fire during the occupation and the case was never investigated. 

The FBI report says case facts and autopsy report were reviewed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, and no charges were filed. 

"I never did talk to anybody about it. I was never told," Robert Lamont said. "I heard he had been shot by a sniper." 

Joseph Swift Bird lost his brother in January 1975. AIM says Leon Swift Bird was killed by members of the Guardians of the Oglala Nation, an armed force working under tribal auspices. 

Joseph, now 79, heard the rumors but always knew the truth. 

No one bothered to ask, he said. Leon was stabbed by his girlfriend. 

"They were both drinking, argued a bit, and she put the knife to him," he said, adding he hopes the report will stop the rumors about his family. 

Clyde Bellecourt, AIM co-founder and veteran of the Wounded Knee occupation in 1973, wonders why it took 28 years for the FBI to respond to the deaths. 

"If it was a white rancher, a banker or a politician, it would have been taken care of immediately," he said. 

Like Berry, Bellecourt wants to see more official action, in the form of a federal grand jury. 

"A lot of these cases never went to a grand jury to seek an indictment," he said. "We need a federal grand jury impaneled to get to the bottom of some of the deaths." 

Clyde's brother, Vernon, agrees that a grand jury is needed, but he wants to see congressional hearings into the deaths as well. 

"We feel that if there would be hearings, that would revisit the early 1970s. It would help in healing and reconciliation," Vernon Bellecourt said. "We hope that this release would be an indication that they are leaning that way." 

Burrus said there's no need for a special grand jury, since agents can present evidence to any grand jury. Nor is there any need for congressional hearings, he said. 

The report will be placed on an FBI Web site after a period of public discussion, Burrus said. Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Rapid City FBI office at 605-343-9632. 

"We're interested in being proactive and taking on any problems that could impede our job on the reservation," Burrus said. 

Reach reporter Lee Williams at 331-2318 or lwilliam@argusleader.com