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Kristi Eaton

In this Jan. 31, 1989, photo, Russell Means, who headed the American Indian Movement, testifies before a special investigative committee of the Senate Select Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Means, a former American Indian Movement activist who helped lead the 1973 uprising at Wounded Knee, reveled in stirring up attention and appeared in several Hollywood films. He died early Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, at his ranch in Porcupine, S.D., says Oglala Sioux Tribe spokeswoman Donna Solomon. He was 72. (Associated Press file photo)

Longtime Indian activist Russell Means dies at 72

Dirk Lammers, Kristi Eaton The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, October 22, 2012 - 11:19pm

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Russell Means spent a lifetime as a modern American Indian warrior. He railed against broken treaties, fought for the return of stolen land and even took up arms against the federal government.

A onetime leader of the American Indian Movement, he called national attention to the plight of impoverished tribes and often lamented the waning of Indian culture. After leaving the movement in the 1980s, the handsome, braided activist was still a cultural presence, appearing in several movies.

Means, who died Monday from throat cancer at age 72, helped lead the 1973 uprising at Wounded Knee — a bloody confrontation that raised America’s awareness about the struggles of Indians and gave rise to a wider protest movement that lasted for the rest of the decade.

Activist, American History, American Indians, Deaths Read more Comments

Former Sen. George McGovern takes questions after speaking to students at St. Augustine High School in Fla. in February 2010. McGovern, who lost the 1972 presidential bid to Richard Nixon, died Sunday at 90. (Associated Press file photo)

George McGovern, who lost 1972 presidential bid, dies at age 90

Kristi Eaton, Walter R. Mears The Associated Press

Last updated Sunday, October 21, 2012 - 11:16pm

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — George McGovern once joked that he had wanted to run for president in the worst way — and that he had done so.

It was a campaign in 1972 dishonored by Watergate, a scandal that fully unfurled too late to knock Republican President Richard M. Nixon from his place as a commanding favorite for re-election. The South Dakota senator tried to make an issue out of the bungled attempt to wiretap the offices of the Democratic National Committee, calling Nixon the most corrupt president in history.

But the Democrat could not escape the embarrassing missteps of his own campaign. The most torturous was the selection of Missouri Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton as the vice presidential nominee and, 18 days later, following the disclosure that Eagleton had undergone electroshock therapy for depression, the decision to drop him from the ticket despite having pledged to back him “1,000 percent.”

Politics, Deaths Read more Comments

In this Jan. 5, 2012 photo, Geriann Headrick, acting food service manager at the Flandreau Indian School in Flandreau, S.D., cuts bison meat. The school began preparing school meals with fresh bison meat this year as part of a project between the Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe and South Dakota State University researchers to restore the cultural significance of the animal and consumption of bison meat among community members, particularly the youth. Through cooking demonstrations and educational outreach opportunities, the students are learning that there are healthier _ and tasty _ options available that also connect them to their ancestors. (AP Photo/Kristi Eaton)

Will teens eat bison burgers over hamburgers?

Kristi Eaton The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, January 13, 2012 - 11:23am

FLANDREAU, S.D. -- It seems an unlikely concept: teenagers forgoing the immediacy of a McDonald's Big Mac to learn how to cook their own lower-fat version.

Features, Bison, Healthy eating, Indian tribe, Teens Read more Comments