Guardians of the Oglala Nation

The Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs) was a private paramilitary group established in 1972 by the elected tribal chairman, Dick Wilson under authority of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council. It operated on the Oglala Sioux Pine Ridge Indian Reservation during the early 1970s. It was disbanded after a new chairman was elected in 1976.

Guardians of the Oglala Nation
Active1972-1976
DisbandedYes
Country Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, United States
Size~60 militants
Nickname(s)GOON's

Formation

On November 10, 1972, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council passed several resolutions following the Bureau of Indian Affairs building takeover in Washington, DC, by members of AIM after the march across the US. One criticized the American Indian Movement (AIM) for the destruction of records in the building takeover, as this adversely affected many Native American tribes by the loss of land, leasing, and other financial records. Another resolution authorized the elected tribal president, Dick Wilson, "to take whatever action that he felt would be necessary to protect the lives and property and to insure the peace and dignity of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation" of the Oglala Sioux.[1]

Wilson soon used this authority to create a new private police force, which critics called "the goon squad", from its acronym.[2][3] The GOONs were financed through the tribal government. In his 1991 book about the tribe and reservation, author Peter Matthiessen alleges that funding was derived through misappropriation of a federal highway safety program.[4]

GOONs soon were accused of intimidation of, and violence against, Wilson's political opponents.[5][6]

Role during the Wounded Knee Incident

On February 27, 1973, local Oglala protesters and AIM activists seized the village of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in an armed protest of their failed effort to dislodge Wilson from office. A 71-day standoff with law enforcement commenced, and ultimately Federal forces were sent to the reservation, as Federal law enforcement has jurisdiction over most criminal matters. During the standoff, GOONs exchanged gunfire with the occupiers. GOONs also placed their own roadblocks.[7] The FBI also closely collaborated with and supported the local tribal chairperson, and his vigilantes. Mr. Wilson was notorious for his corruption and abuse of power in the reserve.

After Wounded Knee

A reconciliation between Federal law enforcement and opposition leaders was reached in 1973. But fighting between GOONs and AIM militants on the reservation continued after Wounded Knee. AIM claimed that during the next three years, more than sixty persons died violently on the reservation. This number has been contested by Tim Giago, editor and publisher at the time of Indian Country Today. GOONs were accused of assault, murder, and arson.[8][9][10] GOON activities during the 1974 tribal election led the United States Civil Rights Commission to report "a climate of fear and tension".[11] Wilson stayed in office and in 1974 was re-elected amid charges of intimidation, voter fraud, and other abuses. The rate of violence climbed on the reservation as conflict opened between political factions in the following three years; residents accused Wilson's private militia, Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs), of much of it. More than 60 opponents of the tribal government died violently during those years, including Pedro Bissonette, director of the Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization (OSCRO).[12][13]

Al Trimble was elected and succeeded Wilson as tribal president in 1976. He listed disbanding the GOONs as the first order of business,[14] and the militia faded away.[15]

GOONs are portrayed in the 1992 film Thunderheart, which was partially based on historic events.

References
  1. Reihardt, Akim D. (2007). Ruling Pine Ridge. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. pp. 152–153.
  2. Reihardt, Akim D. (2007). Ruling Pine Ridge. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. p. 157.
  3. Frazier, Ian (2000). On the Rez. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. pp. 61.
  4. Matthiessen, Peter (1991). In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. New York: Viking. pp. 61.
  5. Means, Russell (1995). Where White Men Fear to Tread. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 249.
  6. Reihardt, Akim D. (2007). Ruling Pine Ridge. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. p. 171.
  7. Matthiessen, Peter (1991). In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. New York: Viking. pp. 74.
  8. Frazier, Ian (2000). On the Rez. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. pp. 57.
  9. Reihardt, Akim D. (2007). Ruling Pine Ridge. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. p. 205.
  10. Starita, Joe (1995). The Dull Knives of Pine Ridge. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 311–315.
  11. Reihardt, Akim D. (2007). Ruling Pine Ridge. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press. p. 207.
  12. Ward Churchill, From a Native Son: Selected Essays on Indigenism, 1985–1995, South End Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pages 256–60.
  13. "Honor the Goons? Never!". Indian Country Today. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  14. Lichtenstein, Grace (January 29, 1976). "Tribal Leader Is Defeated in Election on Troubled Pine Ridge Reservation". New York Times. p. 48.
  15. Starita, Joe (1995). The Dull Knives of Pine Ridge. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 315.
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