In 1975, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was the site of a deadly shootout on June 26, 1975, where Leonard Peltier and other members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) were present. Two FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, entered the Jumping Bull Ranch to arrest Jimmy Eagle, but a firefight ensued between the FBI agents and the occupants.
During the conflict, AIM member Joe Stuntz was killed, and both FBI agents were wounded and then fatally shot at close range. Peltier, a prominent AIM leader, was charged with the agents’ murder and fled to Canada. Later extradited to the United States, he was convicted in 1977 on two counts of first-degree murder and received two consecutive life sentences.