The Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs) was a private paramilitary group established in 1972 by the elected tribal chairman,

Dick Wilson Dick Wilson (July 30, 1916 – November 18, 2007) was an American actor who was best known as grocery store manager Mr. George Whipple in more than 500 Charmin bathroom tissue television commercials (1965–89, 1999–2000). Biography Dick Wi ...

under authority of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council. It operated on the

Oglala Sioux The Oglala (pronounced , meaning "to scatter one's own" in Lakota language) are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people who, along with the Dakota, make up the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Seven Council Fires). A majority of the Oglala live o ...

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Gr ...

during the early 1970s. It was disbanded after a new chairman was elected in 1976.

Formation

On November 10, 1972, the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council passed several resolutions following the

Bureau of Indian Affairs building takeover The Bureau of Indian Affairs building takeover refers to a protest by Native Americans at the Department of the Interior headquarters in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. from November 3 to November 9, 1972. On November 3, a group of ar ...

in Washington, DC, by members of AIM after the march across the US. One criticized the

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police ...

(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,

, "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

" of the Oglala Sioux. Wilson soon used this authority to create a new private police force, which critics called "the goon squad", from its acronym. The GOONs were financed through the tribal government. In his 1991 book about the tribe and reservation, author

Peter Matthiessen Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, zen teacher and CIA Operative. A co-founder of the literary magazine ''The Paris Review'', he was the only writer to have won the Nation ...

alleges that funding was derived through misappropriation of a federal highway safety program. GOONs soon were accused of intimidation of, and violence against, Wilson's political opponents.

Role during the Wounded Knee Incident

On February 27, 1973, local Oglala protesters and AIM activists seized the village of

Wounded Knee, South Dakota Wounded Knee ( lkt, Čaŋkpé Opí) is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 364 at the 2020 census. The town is named for the Wounded Knee Cr ...

, 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. The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

also closely collaborated with and supported the local tribal chairperson, and his vigilantes. Mr. Wilson was notorious for his corruption and abuse of power on the reservation.

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 Timothy Antoine Giago Jr. (July 12, 1934 – July 24, 2022), also known as Nanwica Kciji, was an American Oglala Lakota journalist and publisher. In 1981, he founded the ''Lakota Times'' with Doris Giago at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, w ...

, editor and publisher at the time of ''

Indian Country Today ''ICT News'' (formerly known as ''Indian Country Today'') is a daily digital news platform that covers the Indigenous world, including American Indians, Alaska Natives and First Nations. It was founded in 1981 as a weekly print newspaper, ''The ...

.'' GOONs were accused of assault, murder, and arson. GOON activities during the 1974 tribal election led the

United States Civil Rights Commission The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eisenhower administration, that is charged with ...

to report "a climate of fear and tension". Wilson stayed in office and in 1974 was re-elected amid charges of intimidation,

voter fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

, 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 allegedly died violently during those years, including Pedro Bissonette, director of the Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization (OSCRO). In 2000, the FBI released a report regarding these alleged unsolved violent deaths during this time on Pine Ridge Reservation and accounted for most of the deaths, and disputed the claims of unsolved and political murders. The report stated that only 4 deaths were unsolved and that some deaths were not murders. Al Trimble was elected and succeeded Wilson as tribal president in 1976. He had listed disbanding the GOONs as the first order of business. Upon taking office he cut off all funding for the GOONs, and the militia faded away shortly afterward.

References in popular culture

GOONs are portrayed in the 1992 film ''

Thunderheart ''Thunderheart'' is a 1992 American Neo-Western mystery film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay by John Fusco. The film is a loosely based fictional portrayal of events relating to the Wounded Knee incident in 1973, when followers of ...

'', which was partially based on historic events.

References

{{reflist

External links

Tim Giago. "Whatever Happened to the So-Called GOONS?"
''Huffington Post,'' September 16, 2007 Oglala Military units and formations established in 1972 Native American history of South Dakota Paramilitary organizations based in the United States 1972 establishments in South Dakota 1976 disestablishments in South Dakota