Theda Nelson Clarke, born Theda Rose Nelson (1924-2011), was a Native American activist. She is perhaps best known for her involvement in the

Wounded Knee incident The Wounded Knee Occupation, also known as Second Wounded Knee, began on February 27, 1973, when approximately 200 Oglala Lakota (sometimes referred to as Oglala Sioux) and followers of the American Indian Movement (AIM) seized and occupied ...

with the murder of fellow

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 ...

activist

Anna Mae Aquash Annie Mae Aquash (Mi'kmaq name ''Naguset Eask'') (March 27, 1945 – mid-December 1975 ) was a First Nations activist and Mi'kmaq tribal member from Nova Scotia, Canada. Aquash moved to Boston in the 1960s and joined other First Nations and Indi ...

Early life

Clarke was born Theda Rose Nelson in 1924. According to Census records, Theda R. Nelson was born in the state of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. Clarke lived in Scottsbluff,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

at the time, and was the matriarch of a large tiyóšpaye (family), leading to her being designated 'aunt' and 'auntie' by many in the community, including Troy Lynn Yellow Wood and future accomplice in the murder of

, John Graham. Theda Nelson Clarke was aunt (whether this familial affiliation was biological or adopted is unclear) to Darlene Nichols (whom Nichols grew up with), a key material witness in the murder trials of

Arlo Looking Cloud Arlo Looking Cloud (born Fritz Arlo Looking Cloud; March 25, 1954) is a former Native American activist. He is perhaps best known for his involvement with the murder of fellow American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Aquash. Early life Lookin ...

and John Graham for their roles in the murder of AIM activist Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash. In the early 1940s, Clarke graduated from the St. Francis Indian School in St. Francis,

Personal life

Theda Rose Nelson eventually married Edward Lamar Clarke, and had three children with him: Edward "Chip" Samuel Clarke (born September 23, 1962), Ida Rose Clarke (born December 22, 1963) and Patrick Michael Clarke (born September 6, 1965). Theda and Edward eventually divorced. Clarke also married a Julian Pokrywka, although it does not appear that they were married at the time of their death.

Activism

Clark was a member of the Pie Patrol, a group of women active in AIM, consisting of Madonna Gilbert, Lorelei DeCora, Thelma Rios-Conroy, and other women within the AIM movement. and Lorelei DeCora Means.

Mary Crow Dog Mary Brave Bird, also known as Mary Brave Woman Olguin and Mary Crow Dog (September 26, 1954 – February 14, 2013) was a Sicangu Lakota writer and activist who was a member of the American Indian Movement during the 1970s and participated in some ...

(née Moore), wife of

civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

Leonard Crow Dog Leonard Crow Dog (August 18, 1942 – June 5, 2021) was a medicine man and spiritual leader who became well known during the Lakota takeover of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1973, known as th ...

, who was also present during the siege at Wounded Knee, referred to the Pie Patrol as "loud-mouth city women, media conscious and hugging the limelight," who loved the camera and took credit for what the women of AIM were doing behind the scenes.

Legal history

Murder of Anna Mae Aquash

Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash was a female activist within the ranks of the

. On December 12, 1975, Aquash was then forcefully moved to the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as t ...

where AIM supporters refused to house her. Looking Cloud later testified that Clarke was given orders to have Anna Mae eliminated. Looking Cloud, along with Theda Nelson Clarke and John 'John Boy Patton' Graham, forced Aquash into the back of a car and drove her to a remote part of the

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 ...

. Clarke drove from

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

to the scene of the shooting on the

in her red Pinto. Aquash was shot execution style in the back of the head and left to die. Her body was discovered on February 24, 1976 on the

at the bottom of a ravine located in close proximity to an isolated highway. Aquash was revealed to have been executed using a gun, as the autopsy showed that the muzzle of the gun had been pressed into the back of her neck. The coroner's report indicated that in addition to the fatal gunshot wound, exposure contributed to the death of Aquash.

Death

Clarke died on October 8, 2011, at the age of 87 in a nursing home in

Crawford Crawford may refer to: Places Canada * Crawford Bay Airport, British Columbia * Crawford Lake Conservation Area, Ontario United Kingdom * Crawford, Lancashire, a small village near Rainford, Merseyside, England * Crawford, South Lanarkshire, a ...

. She was predeceased by her ex-husband, Edward Lamar Clarke, and two of her children, Edward Lamar Clarke and Ida Rose Clarke.

Legacy

Her only surviving child is Edward "Chip" Samuel Clarke. In December, Clarke was ruled competent to testify in John Graham's

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

. But she exercised her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself in the presence of a jury and deferred the option of testifying under

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Theda Nelson 1924 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Native Americans People from Scottsbluff, Nebraska Lakota people Sioux people Native American history of South Dakota 20th century in South Dakota 20th-century American criminals 1970s in South Dakota American kidnappers American murderers Crimes in South Dakota Members of the American Indian Movement Native American activists Kidnappings in the United States 1975 murders in the United States