Today is Friday, May 8th, 2020.

On this day in 1973, Native American activists surrendered to federal authorities,

marking the end of a historic 71-day standoff at Wounded Knee. Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original. Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised.

Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13.

Today we're covering the final day of the American Indian Movement's Siege of Wounded Knee in South

Dakota.

Now let's go back to the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation on the morning of Tuesday,

May 8th, 1973.

A bell told from the steeple of a small white church perched atop a hill

echoing across the barren windswept fields of wounded knee South Dakota.

The church's walls were riddled with bullet holes.

A tattered American flag strung upside down, whipped in the wind.

And soon the chapel doors opened.

Dozens of Native Americans, members

of the Oglala Lakota tribe,

and activists from other Native American nations filed out onto the dead

yellow grass. They took in the sight of the months of constant gunfire, the activists had grown used to the echoing

crack of bullets and the acrid smell of napalm. Now it was eerily still,

peaceful almost.

It had been 10 weeks since they occupied the small town of Wounded Knee at the Pine Ridge Reservation,

and though it felt like centuries, the reason for their siege was still fresh in their minds.

That previous winter, unrest among the Oglala Lakota tribe came to a head when the people

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