Incident at Oglala (1992) User Reviews

Bleak, righteous, eye-opening documentary - a real must-see

[davidals · 9/10 · 18 September 2003]

Easily one of the finest American documentaries ever, INCIDENT AT OGLALA is also something of a companion to Peter Matthiessen's exhaustive and controversial book 'In The Spirit Of Crazy Horse.' Complementing each other perfectly, they both relate the details surrounding the trial and imprisonment of Leonard Peltier.

Beginning with depictions of the appalling social conditions on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the film builds through depictions of the stand-offs and confrontations on the res between AIM members (American Indian Movement) and authorities both local and federal. If nothing else, INCIDENT AT OGLALA underscores the harsh truism that there's plenty of nasty injustice to be found in the US, and that fairness can be an elusive and nebulous concept with distressing regularity.

See this film (and also director Michael Apted's excellent follow-up, MOVING THE MOUNTAIN).

still an unsolved mystery

[tatesha-1 · 7/10 · 10 August 2005]

I own this documentary on VHS and DVD.

What I'd like to see is Michael Apted do another on the same subject 20 years later.

Can't give it 10/10 because the "incident" has NOT been resolved. Michael Apted has apparently forgotten to seek an ending for the story he felt adamantly about 20 years ago.

I would like to see a final chapter... 20 years imprisoned... Leonard Peltier... FREE... pardoned... and compensated... for the crimes against him... and his Nation.

Watching this documentary brings out the Warrior Spirit in me. And we all should contact the President of the United States... before he categorizes all Warriors as terrorists.

Wow

[snix_rocks · 9/10 · 12 December 2012]

This was very intense you could say. Two sides to this story and for the most part it is pretty obvious which one was right and which was wrong. In my opinion the FBI and government was wrong for sure. They just made up a bunch of bullshit to put somebody in prison. There was many lies during the case. Like for example the van and pick up mix up. I don't know anyone who mixes those up. especially when they have other colors on them. But of course they say whatever they want to get what they want. I don't think that I agree with Leonard being in jail if he really didn't do it. If he knows the person that did it and knows for sure that they did it I think that it should be investigated and have the person who really did it in jail. I think that the government just comes up with whatever they want so they can have things go their way. Overall it was a good movie and I learned lots of information on what happened. I would recommend it to pretty much anyone so that they could see how corrupt the government is.

A Shocking Portrait of the Railroading of an Innocent Man

[jeral · 10/10 · 28 April 1999]

When I first saw this film, I was not terribly informed re the Peltier case. As soon as the credits rolled, I knew that I would have to own this film, if only so that I could lend it to everyone I knew. As I had known would happen, each new person I showed it to became angry and incredulous: how can Leonard Peltier still be in prison? The snow job this soft-spoken, good-humored Ojibwa was given by the U.S. government makes me feel ashamed to be an American. It becomes painfully clear that the FBI popped Leonard because they needed to pop an American Indian, preferably an AIM Indian - and Leonard was there. But if you ask me, no justice has even been done for the 2 dead FBI agents Peltier's conviction was intended to avenge; jailing the wrong man - KNOWING he is the wrong man - is far worse, I feel, than not jailing anyone at all. I think Coler and Williams are still waiting for their killer(s) to be brought to justice; by the same token, Leonard Peltier's supporters are still awaiting justice for Leonard himself. This film clearly shows the mockery made by the U.S. government of its own judicial system; any self-respecting American - of any ethnic background - should cringe at some of the statements made, freely and willfully, by government staff and spokespeople in this film. I hope they all watched this, and could see just how ignorant, unconscionable, and utterly hateful they sounded, with no regard whatsoever for true justice. The bottom line? Watch this film. Then show it to everyone you love. If we continue to raise awareness, then maybe someday, Leonard will find justice - and peace.

FREE LEONARD!!!

Don't believe anyone who says that we don't have political prisoners.

[lee_eisenberg · 10/10 · 17 October 2006]

With "Incident at Oglala", Robert Redford and Michael Apted exposed how American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier was unjustly convicted of murder. It was obvious that the whole thing was politically motivated. And regardless of who committed the murders, they were intimidating the Indians. And anyway, the white people stole the Indians' land to begin with, so the Indians had every right to stand up for themselves.

The point is that any time that the US government talks about freedom and democracy, it's pure hypocrisy. An innocent man sits in jail while thugs rule the White House. This is an important documentary for everyone.

See it and it will open your eyes

[ries-3 · 10/10 · 5 February 1999]

After seeing this film it is unbelievable that Leonard Peltier is still in prison. How is it possible that this is possible nowadays. See this film and let it open your eyes and then do something about it.

FREE LEONARD PELTIER!!!!

Ries "A Dutchman in Ireland"

Free Leonard Now

[bandarmae · 10/10 · 4 February 2010]

It's unbelievable that Leonard Peltier remains sitting in prison to this very day. A classic example of extreme oppression and injustice dealt out by the federal government. Though this film was originally released in 1992, it's no less riveting today. The documentary makes its case clearly and logically, unraveling the intricate details like a thriller. This film is not slick--and that is precisely its strength. Without using cheap visual gimmicks, it relies on the power of story and truth.

Few documentaries can match the intense content of this story. Every American needs to see this film to realize exactly what's happening in this country. The war waged against native people continues from centuries ago. You'll also see how this injustice was only a warm-up for the current Green Scare campaign against political activists and ordinary citizens defending earth from destruction. Learn more about the Green Scare in articles by journalists Dean Kuipers and Will Potter.

An excellent documentary.

[tim-1862 · 10/10 · 21 December 2009]

Leonard Peltier is still in prison to date for a crime he didn't commit. He was railroaded with government lies and used as a scapegoat. Injustice still reigns in America. See how the FBI fabricated evidence and coerced and strong armed people during the trial. This movie shows how the US Government can bend justice to suit them at any time. If you sit in your safe warm homes without empathy for the Native American people then you are the problem. Not part of the problem but all of the problem. People need to get involved and stand up against such tyranny and make it into a true democracy. For the people, for all the people and not just the rich white powers that be.

Nice Documentary

[Michael_Elliott · 1 June 2010]

Incident at Oglala (1992)

*** (out of 4)

Documentary about the June 26, 1975 shooting at the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in Oglala, South Dakota where two FBI agents chased a truck onto the property and minutes later they were shot dead. Two people were found not guilty but a third, Leonard Peltier, was found guilty and sentenced to prison but much evidence shows that he wasn't the man pulling the trigger. I had never really heard of this case, although Apted's THUNDERHEART is loosely based around the events here and my main reason for watching this was because of the director as well as narrator/producer Robert Redford. I think those already familiar with the case are going to be the ones who really benefit from this film. As someone not overly familiar with it, I found the documentary to try and show every side of the debate and quite often the stories got mixed together and were rather hard to follow. This hard to follow stuff is perhaps due to the actual case, which seemed to be all over the place in terms of what really happened. Every witness seems to be telling a different story and many of them have changed their stories over the years. The evidence showing that Peltier is pretty interesting but at the same time you have those who are dead certain that he was guilty. The film clearly wants to show him as an innocent victim but I guess it will always be a mystery as that what really happened and in what ordered the events occurred. Director Apted does a very good job at getting many of the original people together for this, including Peltier, who is still in prison.

Thoughtful documentary about an under-explored topic

[runamokprods · 8/10 · 11 October 2016]

Solid, interesting, if slightly dry documentary about a shootout on a Sioux reservation that killed two FBI agents and the government's attempts to blame someone for the crimes, finally railroading Leonard Peltier, using a lot of clearly falsified evidence.

Just as interesting as the trial itself is the examination of the deep political and philosophical split between the 'modern', more white-world assimilated Native Americans, who worked hand in hand with the US government, versus the American Indian Movement (AIM) who were fighting to protect and keep alive Native American heritage -- the conflict leading to a reign of terror by the modern Native American tribe leader.

There is one key element, the mysterious 'Mister X' who supposedly actually confessed to the killings that's awkwardly and strangely under-explored.

In all, this feels like a good episode of PBS's great 'Frontline' series, which - for me- is actually pretty high praise.

I agree with this review 100 percent!

[mdm705 · 30 May 2010]

Reading the other comments on here demonstrates quite well why we elect idiots to Congress -- the average American hasn't the brains to actually read anything for himself, and just believes whatever swill he is fed by the TV, internet or Hollywood. (I agree with your review 100 percent!! Even most of the Indian activists don't believe this fairy tale, and five minutes research on the Web puts the lie to this junk film. For starters, try the Wikipedia entries on Peltier and Anna Mae Aquash, who was murdered because she knew Peltier was guilty and his supporters didn't trust her to keep quiet. Peltier's attorney was named as a co-conspirator because he interrogated Aquash just before she had her brains blown out by AIM activists.

Then start reading the many links listed in those articles, and you begin to see how Michael Apted grossly slanted this piece of ....

I nominate this film for the Leni Riefenstahl Propaganda Prize. It's simply a fairy tale, designed to sell to mindless, politically-correct morons.