INCIDENT AT OGLALA

"The wind blows here there, wherever, it hastens right back where it came from — again, just a cyclical pattern that goes on". Ecclesiastes

This brilliant documentary by Michael Apted succeeds to reveal the ugly and hidden truth behind the tragic death of two FBI agents that were mistakenly and sadly killed in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1975.

It is crucial to point out that the context in which this incident at Oglala occurred, was during an horrific reign of Klu Klux Klans-like terrorism and Native American traditionalist prejudice. It was in this bloody, hostile environment where turn coated, back stabbing Bureau of Indian Affairs agents, (a.k.a. goon squads, progressive Indians) were working under the black operations and administration of tribal leader and puppet chief Dick Wilson.

The film shows Chief Wilson to have collaborated with the Bureau of Indian Affair agents and FBI affiliates in order to destroy the positive efforts of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who were mostly Native traditionalists, to bring about self empowerment and better living and housing conditions for their children and the elderly.

The traditionalists believed in the ancient ways of the Lakota Sioux and were not willing to capitulate with the white government officials.

It is no coincidence that during that time, the Oglala Sioux had the highest murder rate per capita in the United States and it is also no coincidence that all AIM supporters and traditionalists were the ones who were killed. None of these murders have ever been investigated or solved - close to 100. That is no coincidence either.

What happened the day the agents were killed is the subject matter of Michael Apted's documentary. This film indicates that Leonard Peltier should not be in prison and demonstrates that more than enough doubt exists to give Peltier a re-trial, in which he is still serving his two life sentences in Fort Leavenworth prison.

Short Synopsis: the two FBI agents Wiliams and Coler, in an unmarked car in civilian clothes, followed a red pickup truck onto the property named the Jumping Bull ranch owned by some of the AIM supporters on the Pine Ridge Rez. Shots rang out and several other AIM members including Peltier and two others (who were acquitted), ran to the scene and started firing, thinking these men were there to kill them like 60 of their fellow members who ended up dead with their women and children before them.

The two FBI agents wound up dead, evidently shot at close range. When the gun fight ended, a young Native American named Joe Stuntz also lay dead and shot through the head by a sniper bullet. His killing was never investigated. Clearly the killings of Mr. Stuntz and the two agents under such conditions represents an enormous tragedy for all three men and their families.

During the years between the incident and Peltier's trial, all kinds of new and manufactured information came to light.

An emotionally distraught woman by the name of Myrtle Poor Bear, signed an affidavit that she was Peltier's girlfriend and had seen him murder the two agents. Years later and during the making of the film, she said that she didn't even know Peltier, never mind being his girlfriend. She also said that the police had threatened to kill her or take her children away and "put her through a meat grinder" if she did not cooperate.

Somewhere during that time an eyewitness came forward who claims to have seen everything from a birds-eye-view atop a nearby house. Ironically, he contradicted his initial testimony where he said that he had been at the Jumping Bull Ranch with everyone else. The film also brings to light fraudulent ballistics tests and several other violations by the FBI which culminates in one gigantic frame case. This film leaves one to believe with no doubt that Peltier is a scapegoat.

Mr. Leonard Peltier was one of several high level AIM leaders present during the shoot out. Murder charges were brought against him, as well as his two friends and colleagues, Dino Butler and Bob Robideau, who had been present throughout the incident. Butler and Robideau stood trial separately from Leonard Peltier, who had fled to Canada, convinced he would never receive a fair trial in the United States. At the trial of Butler and Robideau, a key prosecution witness, Mr. Draper admitted that he had been threatened by the FBI and as a result had changed his testimony upon the agents' instructions, so as to support the government's position. The jury found both men not guilty. They found that there was no evidence to link the defendants to the fatal shots. Moreover, the exchange of gun fire from a distance was deemed to have constituted an act of self defense.

The film also reveals that critical ballistic information reflecting Mr. Peltier's innocence was withheld from the defense team, making a fair trial impossible. Specifically, at the trial, the FBI ballistic expert, Evan Hodge, testified that he had been unable to perform the best test, a firing pin test, on certain casings found near the agents' car, because the rifle in question had been damaged in a fire. Instead, he stated that he had conducted an extractor mark test, and found the casing and weapon to match.

Years later, documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showed that in October 1975 a firing pin ballistic test had indeed been performed on the rifle and that the Results were clearly negative. In short, the fatal bullet did not come from Leonard Peltier's weapon. The jury never heard about any of these crucial issues.

Equally disturbing are the numerous story changes and discrepancies regarding the key vehicle in the case. FBI agents Williams and Coler had radioed in that they were chasing a red pick up truck, which they believed was transporting a suspect Jimmy eagle for stealing a pair of cowboy boots. The chase lead to the Jumping Bull Ranch and the fatal shoot out. At trial however, the evidence had changed to described a red and white van, quite a different vehicle, and which not coincidentally was more easily linked to Mr. Peltier.

This documentary indicates that there was no witness testimony that Leonard Peltier actually shot the two FBI agents. It also shows that there was no credible witness testimony that placed Mr. Peltier near the crime scene before the murders occurred. Those witnesses such as Myrtle Poor Bear placing Peltier, Robideau and Butler near the crime scene after the killing were coerced and intimidated by the FBI.

It also appears that there was no forensic evidence as to the exact type of rifle used to commit the murders. Several different high caliber weapons were present in the Jumping Bull vicinity during the shoot out and hypothetically any one of them could have caused the fatal injuries. There was more than one AR-15 in the area at the time of the shoot out. The AR-15 rifle claimed to be Mr. Peltier's was found to be incompatible with the bullet casing near the agents' car. Although other bullets were fired at the crime scene, no other casings or evidence about them were offered by the Prosecutor's office.

In essence, from this filmmaker's perspective, there is no reasonable evidence to draw the conclusion that Mr. Peltier committed the murders. Instead this film produces very strong evidence of egregious FBI misconduct.