Means Leaves Indian Movement

Russell Means, a leader in the 1973 Wounded Knee, S.D., uprising, today announced his retirement from the American Indian Movement and said the organization “has worked itself out of a job.”

Means said in a prepared statement that the movement, which he co-founded, has converted most Indians into activists. The Wounded Knee affair, led by Means and Dennis Banks, left two Indians dead and a federal marshal paralyzed. Means, an Oglala Sioux, and Banks were charged with 10 felony counts each after the 71-day uprising. A federal judge, citing misconduct by the prosecution, threw out the case after an eight-month trial.