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What occurred when American Indian Movement members occupied Wounded Knee in 1973?

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A Cheyenne River Sioux dancer in colorful traditional regalia performs during the Grand Entry at a powwow, with an American flag and other participants in the background. — Oceti Sakowin A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe performing during the Grand Entry at the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Fair Rodeo and Powwow, Eagle Butte, South Dakota, September 4, 2016.

On February 27, 1973, approximately 200 members of the American Indian Movement (AIM), led by Russell Means and Dennis Banks, occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The activists declared the site the Independent Oglala Sioux Nation and demanded a change in tribal leadership, a formal review of treaties between the U.S. government and Native peoples, and a U.S. Senate investigation into the treatment of Native Americans.1

Federal marshals immediately surrounded the area, initiating a siege that lasted until May 8, 1973. Throughout the standoff, the situation alternated between negotiations and exchanges of gunfire. The occupation concluded when AIM members surrendered and evacuated the hamlet in exchange for a promise of federal negotiations. During the course of the siege, two protesters were killed and one federal marshal was seriously wounded.1