Biography
Leonard Crow Dog was a Sicangu Lakota medicine man and spiritual leader of the American Indian Movement who restored the Ghost Dance during the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee. He was convicted in 1975 on multiple charges arising from Wounded Knee and a later incident, and originally sentenced to 13 years. After an international campaign by Amnesty International, William Kunstler and others, his sentence was reduced and he was paroled in 1977.
Note: Some reporting gives June 6, 2021; this record uses June 5, 2021 (National Indian Gaming Association memorial).
The Militant, March 25, 1977, page 2: The issue, with closing news date March 16, announced that Crow Dog would be paroled March 21, 1977. It connected his two convictions with Wounded Knee and the September 1975 FBI raid on his Rosebud home, and noted support from the National Council of Churches governing board. This is a prospective release announcement, not proof of an accomplished physical discharge. Source: https://www.themilitant.com/1977/4111/MIL4111.pdf#page=2
The COINTELPRO Papers identifies R. D. Hurd as prosecutor and Robert Merhige as judge in Crow Dog’s two 1975 assault proceedings; it reports a five-year sentence imposed on November 28, 1975, followed by another consecutive five-year sentence.
