Incident at Oglala (1992)
Incident at Oglala(Directed by Michael Apted, 1992). Featuring Leonard Peltier, with Robert Redford as narrator, this documentary tells the story of the deaths of two FBI agents on June 26, 1975, at the poverty-stricken and fearful Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota—and of the trials that followed. The first trial of two AIM members in Cedar Rapids resulted in acquittal, even though the defense feared that white, working class jury members from Iowa would be prejudiced against militant Indians with long hair. The second trial, of Leonard Peltier, held in North Dakota, led to a conviction for both murders. The film argues that that the government was determined that the FBI agents be avenged in court, even if it meant legal chicanery, intimidation of witnesses, and evidence tampering. The film concludes that Peltier is one more victim in a long series of injustices perpetrated by the U. S. government against Native Americans.
Marty Knepper Morningside College knepper@morningside.edu & John Shelton Lawrence Morningside College j.shelton.1@gmail.com
