Incident at Oglala (1992)

This film describes the events surrounding a 1975 shootout at the Pine Ridge reservation in S. Dakota where two FBI agents were killed.

Director:

Michael Apted

Stars:

Robert Redford, Norman Zigrossi, Robert Sikma

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Norman Zigrossi	...	Himself - Former Assistant FBI Regional Head, South Dakota
Robert Sikma	...	Himself - Former Assistant U.S. Attorney
Darelle 'Dino' Butler	...	Himself (as Darrelle [Dino] Butler)
Bob Robideau	...	Himself
Norman Brown	...	Himself
Leonard Peltier	...	Himself (archive footage)
Duane Brewer	...	Himself - Former Goon Squad Member
Calvin Jumping Bull	...	Himself
William Muldrow	...	Himself - U.S. Government Commission on Civil Rights
Dennis Banks	...	Himself - Co-Founder American Indian Movement
James Abourezk	...	Himself - Former U.S. Senator, South Dakota
Sam Loud Hawk	...	Himself
Richard Wilson	...	Himself - Tribal Council Chairman (archive footage)
Severt Young Bear Sr.	...	Himself (as Severt Young Bear)
John Trudell	...	Himself - National Spokesperson, American Indian Movement

Storyline

On June 26, 1975, during a period of high tensions on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, two FBI agents were killed in a shootout with a group of Indians. Although several men were charged with killing the agents, only one, Leonard Peltier, was found guilty. This film describes the events surrounding the shootout and suggests that Peltier was unjustly convicted.

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Plot Keywords:

shootout | fbi agent | south dakota | fbi | oppression | 

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Taglines:

A murder. A mystery. A mockery of justice.

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 June 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story

Filming Locations:

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$536,848

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spanish Fork Motion Picture, Wildwood Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Apted first learned of Leonard Peltier's story while he was researching for his thriller Thunderheart (1992).

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Robert Redford (1992)

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Soundtracks

Wounded Knee
Written by Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman (as Floyd Westerman)
Performed by Milton 'Quiltman' Sahme (as Quiltman)
Red Cloud Music

User Reviews

Thoughtful documentary about an under-explored topic

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.