On June 26, 1975, a day of violence erupted on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Oglala, South Dakota, that left three men dead, including a 23-year-old Native American man named Joseph Bedell Stuntz. A member of the American Indian Movement Stuntz, who was of Coeur d'Alene descent, was killed during a fierce shootout between AIM members and two FBI agents, Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams.
The incident took place at the Jumping Bull ranch, a property where AIM members were residing.
The events leading to the fatal confrontation began when the two FBI agents, in separate unmarked cars, followed a red pickup truck onto the Jumping Bull property. The agents were reportedly searching for a young man named Jimmy Eagle in connection with a recent assault and robbery involving a pair of cowboy boots. Soon after following the vehicle, one of the agents radioed that they had come under heavy rifle fire. In the ensuing gunfight, both Agent Coler and Agent Williams were killed.
During the prolonged shootout that involved numerous law enforcement officers who arrived as reinforcements, Joseph Stuntz was fatally shot. Reports indicate he was killed by a bullet to the head, fired by a BIA rifleman or another law enforcement officer at the scene. When his body was found, he was reportedly wearing an FBI jacket that had belonged to one of the deceased agents. Despite the violent circumstances of his death, no investigation was ever conducted into the killing of Joseph Stuntz.
In the aftermath of the shootout, a massive manhunt was launched for the AIM members involved. While Stuntz was killed at the scene, others, including Leonard Peltier, Bob Robideau, and Dino Butler, were identified as being present during the firefight. Robideau and Butler were eventually arrested and tried for the murders of the FBI agents but were acquitted after arguing they acted in self-defense in a volatile and threatening environment on the reservation. Leonard Peltier, who had fled to Canada, was extradited and subsequently convicted of the agents' murders in a highly controversial trial. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences and has maintained his innocence. No suspects were ever named or charged in the death of Joseph Bedell Stuntz.
