Leonard Crow Dog, a Native American spiritual leader who played a key role in the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee in South Dakota and who fought to preserve the ancient traditions of his tribe, the Sicangu Lakota, died on June 5 in Rapid City, S.D. The first clash between Native Americans and the United States government at Wounded Knee was in 1890, when federal forces killed hundreds of unarmed Lakota people. He tended to injured protesters and negotiated with federal forces throughout the occupation, which lasted 71 days. He also held a traditional ghost dance ceremony at Wounded Knee to honor those who had died in the massacre nearly a century before. Though the Native American occupiers eventually surrendered, the confrontation brought about a new understanding of the mistreatment of tribes by the federal government.

Source: New York Times June 23, 2021 20:03 UTC