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Madonna Thunder Hawk

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Madonna Thunder Hawk is of the Oohenumpa band of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Before the Occupation of Wounded Knee, Thunder Hawk was already a seasoned AIM activist, having joined AIM in the 1969 Occupation of Alcatraz. On the first night of the Occupation of Wounded Knee, Thunder Hawk was arrested and spent a few nights in jail. After release, she headed straight for Wounded Knee and stayed there until the siege ended. During the occupation, Thunder Hawk served as a medic and would crawl out each night to the bunkers to help any injured personnel. During the 50th anniversary celebration of the Occupation of Wounded Knee, Thunder Hawk said, “Those weeks under siege were hard, but they were worth it. We took a stand that mattered, and we held the world’s attention on nightly newscasts. We inspired later landback and occupy movements, and we formed connections that last until the present day.”

After the Occupation of Wounded Knee, Thunder Hawk continued to be a strong voice for international Indigenous sovereignty. Thunder Hawk co-founded the We Will Remember Survival School, the Lakota People’s Law Project, Women of All Red Nations, the Black Hills Alliance, and, more recently, the Women Warrior Project in 2018. Through these organizations, Thunder Hawk has spoken around the world on Indigenous sovereignty and was a delegate to the United Nations. Along with fellow elder Regina Brave, Thunder Hawk was present during the 2016 Standing Rock Protest and was an organizer against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
 

Sources:

Benallie, Kalle. “Women of Wounded Knee: ‘Why Creator gave me my life.’” ictnews, Feb. 24, 2023, https://ictnews.org/news/women-of-wounded-knee-why-creator-gave-me-my-life/. 
Castle, Beth. “A conversation with the self-described ‘original gangsta granny.’” Aspen Ideas, Oct. 20, 2020, https://www.aspenideas.org/articles/madonna-thunder-hawk-warrior-woman. 
Thunder Hawk, Madonna, “Madonna Thunder Hawk: A Firsthand Personal Account of Wounded Knee 1973.” Native News Online, Feb. 27, 2023, https://nativenewsonline.net/opinion/madonna-thunder-hawk-a-firsthand-personal-account-of-wounded-knee-1973.

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  1. Wounded Knee Taylor Robertson

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