SD SD - Perry 'Ray' Robinson, 35, Wounded Knee, 25 April 1973

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1722dmsd.html

Perry Ray Robinson Jr.
Missing since April 1973 from Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Classification: Endangered Missing



Vital Statistics

• Date Of Birth: September 12, 1937
• Age at Time of Disappearance: 35 years old
• Distinguishing Characteristics: Black male.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Ray Robinson, who disappeared at the 1973 American Indian Movement takeover of the Pine Ridge reservation village of Wounded Knee, S.D., had deep ties to the civil rights movement.
Robinson traveled to South Dakota in April 1973 and never returned. That was during a 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee by AIM members and supporters that included the exchange of gunfire with federal agents who surrounded the village.
His body never was found and little is known about what happened. Reliable sources let it be known that Ray had been shot and killed at Wounded Knee and buried there.
His wife, Cheryl Robinson said she filed a missing person's report with the FBI and in October 1974 traveled to Rapid City and then AIM headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., but learned nothing about what happened to her husband.
Two Indians were confirmed to have died during the 1973 siege, and rumors of other deaths persist. FBI documents that now are public suggest the possibility of people buried at Wounded Knee during the occupation.
It is unknown in which state his wife filed her missing persons report with the FBI. According to her they have not responded to any of her inquiries about her husband or his case.

http://www.jfamr.org/raymlk.html

http://www.jfamr.org/ray.html

I have been told that Ray was executed by AIM and is buried at Wounded Knee.

Seems like a lot of conflicting reports about what happened to Robinson at Wounded Knee. What's noticably missing is any kind of LE investigation into the disappearance of Robinson or the deaths of two Indians at Wounded Knee. Maybe they didn't care at the time...

Rle7 said:

Seems like a lot of conflicting reports about what happened to Robinson at Wounded Knee. What's noticably missing is any kind of LE investigation into the disappearance of Robinson or the deaths of two Indians at Wounded Knee. Maybe they didn't care at the time...

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There was a great deal of investigation.

The FBI knows who killed him, but there is a big difference between knowing who did it and being able to prove who did it.

Why haven't I heard of this AIM and Wounded Knee before? Very interesting and I will have to go read up on it.

Mr. Robinson is someone I would have liked to know.

tennessee said:

Why haven't I heard of this AIM and Wounded Knee before? Very interesting and I will have to go read up on it.

Mr. Robinson is someone I would have liked to know.

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The best book on the take-over and related incidents is Wounded Knee II by Rolland Dewing, however I do not recall that the Robinson case is discussed in that book. The book is very well researched and highly objective. I recommend it as a source of solid information for anyone interested in learning about the take-over. However since that book was written there has been much more information that has been made public, much of it coming as testimony in the trial of one of Anna Mae Aquash's killers.

The most well known book on Wounded Knee is In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, by Peter Matthiessen, however that book is largely fiction. Unfortunately there are many who take it as an article of faith that every "fact" in that book is true even though recent evidence and testimony has proven otherwise.

Some generalized information:



US Marshall's website: http://www.usdoj.gov/marshals/history/wounded-knee/
American Indian Movement website: http://www.aics.org/WK/
Random article: http://www.dickshovel.com/aimhis.html
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Movement
Sious's version: http://siouxme.com/siege.html
MSNBC: http://msnbc.com/onair/msnbc/TimeandAgain/archive/wknee/1973.asp?cp1=1
And, of course, Leonard's site: http://www.freepeltier.org/wounded_knee.htm
A movie about it: http://www.warriorsofwoundedknee.com/home.htm
25th Anniversary article: http://rwor.org/a/v19/950-59/952/wound.htm
2003 CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Central/02/27/wounded.knee.ap/

Eoanthropus Dawsoni said:

There was a great deal of investigation.

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Do you have any links to any sources on these investigations? I can't find any on the internet.

bykerladi said:

Some generalized information:



US Marshall's website: http://www.usdoj.gov/marshals/history/wounded-knee/
American Indian Movement website: http://www.aics.org/WK/
Random article: http://www.dickshovel.com/aimhis.html
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Movement
Sious's version: http://siouxme.com/siege.html
MSNBC: http://msnbc.com/onair/msnbc/TimeandAgain/archive/wknee/1973.asp?cp1=1
And, of course, Leonard's site: http://www.freepeltier.org/wounded_knee.htm
A movie about it: http://www.warriorsofwoundedknee.com/home.htm
25th Anniversary article: http://rwor.org/a/v19/950-59/952/wound.htm
2003 CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Central/02/27/wounded.knee.ap/

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Thanks for the links bykerladi! I found a lot of good info in these articles.

Rle7 said:

Do you have any links to any sources on these investigations? I can't find any on the internet.

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The investigations were done by the FBI and BIA. You can do a FOI request here: http://foia.fbi.gov/index.html

I have interviewed FBI agents, BIA officers, and former AIM members. Whenever I get my book finished you can read it, in the mean time I suggest Dewing's Wounded Knee II.

Regarding AIM's execution of Anna Mae Aquash and the subsequent attempt to bring her killers to justice you can learn much at these sites:

http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/

http://www.jfamr.net/doc/


Anna Mae was murdered because she knew too much about Leonard Peltier's involvement in the murder of two FBI agents(RESMURS). For an overview of the Peltier case, Outside Magazine has an excellent article however it was written ten years ago, before much of his involvement with Aquash was made public.
http://outside.away.com/magazine/0795/7f_leo1.html

The FBI maintains a website with some information and several good photos regarding the RESMURS case:
http://minneapolis.fbi.gov/history_peltier.htm



For information on AIM claims of uninvestigated deaths on Pine Ridge, you can read this:
http://minneapolis.fbi.gov/report.htm

Check out the Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash and Ray Robinson Jr. Justice Fund.
http://www.jfamr.org/

Not so much information on Ray Robinson, but fascinating background on the event. You see the problem with violent resistance movements like AIM...they tend to become more Mafia-like in their actions. From my recollection, the Black Panthers had similar internal problems.

The Black Panthers have not been my area of research but I do recall reading that they did have some violent internal conflicts.

However I do know that when AIM was being formed in Minneapolis during the late 1960s they were "helped" by the Black Panthers, with the Panthers assisting Dennis Banks and the Bellecourt brothers gain control of the organization (both Banks and the Bellecourts had criminal backgrounds) so I do not suppose this did AIM much good.

From its start AIM saw itself as a Pan-Indian movement and seemed to assume that their goal of "Red Power" would be welcomed by all Indian peoples. However they failed to realize that many Indian people identify quite closely to their own tribe and that the cultures and values of the many tribes vary greatly from one to another. Another relevant factor is that AIM was founded by Indians who lived in an urban environment and they did not understand the significant cultural differences between life in the city and life on the Reservation.

Prior to AIM's arrival on Pine Ridge the group had already gained a reputation for criminal behavior and cultural ignorance. Their reputation was bad enough that the Tribal Counsel went so far as to pass a resolution banning AIM from that reservation. However Pine Ridge was like any other place, with some people happy with the leadership and some people not. There were some on the reservation who were at odds with the tribal counsel and they welcomed AIM with open arms.

AIM did have one thing going: they were very good at attracting favorable media attention. It did not take long before many people unfamiliar with the reservations to develop the perception that AIM had the popular support of the people. So while the internal situation on Pine Ridge was slowly coming to a boiling point, white outsiders were pouring money and support into AIM.

But what no one in AIM or their white supporters seemed to grasp was the fact the AIM was an organization founded and dominated by Chippewa from Minnesota. The Sioux of the Dakotas simply did not want their traditional enemies coming in and telling them how to run their reservations. After the situation on Pine Ridge exploded AIM attempted to expand onto the Standing Rock Reservation. Having seen what had happened on Pine Ridge, the people of Standing Rock wanted nothing to do with AIM. Spontaneous road blocks appeared all over the reservation as tribal members stopped vehicles and strongly encouraged outsiders to go home. It worked, and Standing Rock remained relatively calm.

Eoanthropus Dawsoni said:

The investigations were done by the FBI and BIA. You can do a FOI request here: http://foia.fbi.gov/index.html

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Gee... how many years will that take? In the meantime I will not just take anybody's word on it without some credible source already listed. You need to link to a source. We've had enough hoaxes around here lately, such as the Delia forum, and I'm a bit of a skeptic. I will just consider the information you post here erroneous until you do establish your credibility on Websleuths.

Rle7 said:

Gee... how many years will that take? In the meantime I will not just take anybody's word on it without some credible source already listed. You need to link to a source. We've had enough hoaxes around here lately, such as the Delia forum, and I'm a bit of a skeptic. I will just consider the information you post here erroneous until you do establish your credibility on Websleuths.

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I really do not care if you believe me or not.

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/me...cle_7758b482-9189-11e1-b454-001a4bcf887a.html

The Associated Press | Posted: Saturday, April 28, 2012 6:00 pm

Means grows angry when asked about missing man

Robinson's wife, Cheryl Buswell-Robinson, flew to Sioux Falls from Detroit to attend the conference examining the 40th anniversary of the Wounded Knee uprising in hopes of finding out where her husband is buried. She took to the stage on Friday, pleading with anyone with information to share where her husband may be. Black and white photocopies of a picture of Ray Robinson from 1971 were passed out to guests.

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Interesting article. I'm not sure I understand the angry response.

Kat said:

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/me...cle_7758b482-9189-11e1-b454-001a4bcf887a.html

The Associated Press | Posted: Saturday, April 28, 2012 6:00 pm

Means grows angry when asked about missing man



Interesting article. I'm not sure I understand the angry response.

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Means himself has often suggested that high ranking AIM members had Anna Mae and Ray killed.

In Indian and Lakota culture to speak of the dead after they have passed is not done; to speak of what truly happened at Wounded Knee is never done. I have friends who live in Wounded Knee now; all these years later there are still those connected to Dickie Wilson and the Goons, as well as there are AIM supporters. My ex's parents were 'at' WKII, before we ever got to Pine Ridge he told me to never mention Annie Mae when we would be there. I tried, to no avail, to learn more but no one would speak of her. The sad part is that, at present time, there are other issues, such as uranium tainted water supplies and abject poverty, that have more impact on present day Pine Ridge/OST Reservation.

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Annie Mae Aquash

A local ME ruled her death 'exposure', failing to see the exit wound from a bullet. The FBI came in and sawed off her hands to make a positive ID. :sigh: Her family commissioned a second autopsy that was correct in saying she was murdered. Who would unbraid her hair: The legend of annie mae is a very good book about Annie Mae. It speaks to the fact that her hands were removed and that, in the Spirit World, she is not whole. Annie Mae was truly a strong woman who lived a life, and died it, for the betterment of Indigenous peoples. She is a heroine. Her daughters have taken up her efforts though times are now different.


http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/
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Russell Means' reaction at the conference: Russell has spent his life fighting for the Lakota peoples, yet there are Lakota who speak ill of him. He is now an Elder who still fights for many causes on Pine Ridge from education to health to environmental issues. He has fought and is at the moment winning a battle against esophageal cancer. I wish him well in that battle and continued good health. There will always be a need for people who speak up and who fight.
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Cheryl Buswell-Robinson just wants to bury her husband as she and her children wish to do. She has that right but I don't think she will ever have that opportunity. She has searched for information for decades. I wish that she could find her answers.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/27/2028344/widow-of-civil-rights-activist.html