Biography
Bob Yellow Bird was the Nebraska state coordinator of the American Indian Movement. On September 15, 1976, police in Gordon, Nebraska arrested Bob Yellow Bird and his wife Jo An after he sought police assistance following a reported mace attack outside a hotel. A contemporary report said officers beat the couple, charged them with malicious destruction of property, and released Bob after he posted $1,000 bail. The report gives no precise release date or final disposition. Source: The Black Panther, November 6, 1976, p. 10.
Friends Journal’s December 1979 report describes Bob Yellow Bird’s organizing against police brutality and his effort to reclaim Fort Robinson under Lakota treaties. It states that he was charged with attempted murder in May 1976 and later acquitted by an all-white jury. The report distinguishes that prosecution from the September 1976 Gordon confrontation involving Bob and Jo Ann; it does not establish custody dates for the earlier charge.
Friends Journal, December 1, 1979, volume25 no.20, PDF page 8; Friends Journal, December 1, 1979, volume25 no.20, PDF page 9; Friends Journal, December 1, 1979, volume25 no.20, PDF page 10.
