THE Michigan Daily Edited and managed by Students of the University of Michigan Thursday, June 20, 1974 News Phone: 764-0552 Loathing in Lansing A BILL INTRODUCED in the state House of Repre- sentat ive~s Tuiesday would require newspapers and the broadcast media to provide an opportunity for reply to criticism directed at any public figure. The measure, already supported by some 60 house members, must be defeated because it seriously threatens the right of a free press as guaranteed in the Constitu- tion. Under the bill as presented the demand for reply may be made for any news article or radio and television report that: "charges any candidate for, or holder of, a public office with malfeasance, misfeasance or other misconduct of a civil or criminal nature, or otherwise attacks the person's official record . ." This proposed law if enacted would injure the media's role as a watchdog on government which when operat- ing unimpeded has been able to bring to the public eye such indiscretions and legal transgressions as the myriad Watergate scandals. Moreover, the media almost always gives those per- sons who come under attack the opportunity to respond before the allegations are actually made public. But these efforts to insure fairness and objectivity are often met with no reaction from those who are the subject of the media's investigations. NOT SURPRISTNGLY Tuesday's bill was introduced by State Rep. John Smeekens (R-Coldwater) whose own unethical - if not illegal dealings were first exposed in the press. A newspaper reported that Smeekens had been sec- retly paid by a foundry in his district, at the time a state commission was investigating the operation for alleged violation of certain anti-pollution laws. Smeekens testi- fied before the commission without revealing his finan- cial ties to the foundry, and as a result the investiga- tion was curtailed. The measure is very similar to a Florida statute that was struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. Hopefully the state house will learn from that pre- cedent and defeat Smeekens' proposal which is nothing more than a vindictive attack on a vigilant press. -THE SENIOR EDITORS The male myth tique ,; . t . A ...- ,, f ' ' k - .,.. . ,, jr.. Jack-Out-Of-The-Box America's longest war By DICK WEST WAShINGTON (UPI) -t- n Monday next, the Public 1road- _asting System is presenting a program called "Male MIc-s pause, the Passe thatePerplex. es."' In conlnCtion therew'' n, P1'S has pren-red a little qwz. to help viewers determine wheth- er the program concerns them personally. The ques:ians in- Jude: 0. "lavesyou lotved dona a couple of steps hut refused to admit it?" "Is the pressure to per- form on the jo and in the bed- room more than you can han- dle?" * "'ave you become con- cerned lately about how yo ulook to younger women?" 0 "Have you become a ser- io reader of the cti'uary AFFIRMATIVE answers to a preponderance of these ques- tions supposedly indicate that you are a middle-aged man in the throes of male menopause. But although I most assu:ed- ly am a middle-aged man, ard although I answered yes to all of them, I don't think 'he quiz is indicative of anything. Most of the young man I Know, and at least half of the voung women, probably would have re- sponded in the affirmative too. If you really want to know where you stand male neno- pause-wise, see how you score on this: I. Do you seriously beieve here is such a thing as mole menopause, or is PBS jut try- ing to compete with Monday sight baseball? 2. When you feel inclined to make a pass at a young wo- man are you inhibited by the realization that you are old. Mnough to be her father? 3. If so, would you be inter- ested in meeting her mother? 4. If not, does she have a sis- ter? 5. Do you ever give up some- thing for Lent and never get it back again? 6. Do you find that most of rotur New Year's resolutions al- ready are being observed? 7 Have you ev r been mis- taken for Gabby Hayes? 8. Were you secretly hoping that Bobby Riggs would lose? 9. During the "Pepsi genera- tion" commercials on television, do you get up and get another beer? 10. When you stroll down me- mory lane, do you ever forget where you are? YES ANSWERS to 8 or more definitely in a sign of m a I e menopause. But look at the bright side, It means you no longer have to worry about acne. Editor's notes This is the second article in a three part series on the American government and the occupation of Wounded Knee. Stephen Most is a free-lance journalist and playwright. CopI riht, Pacific News Service, 1974. By STEPHEN MOST PART II: THE SIEGE OF WOUNDED KNEE WOUNDED KNEE MASSACRE Trading Post * Authentic Arts & Crafts MASS BURIAL GRAVE* INDIAN MUSEUM A BILLBOARD in large Barnum lettering points the way to these attractions for tourists who pass through South Dakota. On the sign, an Indian in headdress brandishing a ceremonial arrow appears within a dreamspace of white cloud; quite a different picture from the 300 Oglala Sioux and members of the American Indian Move- ment who on February 27, 1973 entered the town of Wounded Knee, took over the trading post and the church built near the mass grave, and pro- claimed this a liberated Oglala territory. Surrounded by three ridges and an open valley to the south, Wounded Knee is hardly a military stronghold. A few ravines, clusters of pine, and Wounded Knee Creek' provided scant cover for the town's defenders. Apart from hunting rifles and .22s, the Indians' only protection was the spirit of the 350 Oglala Sioux killed in the 1890 massacre. WITHIN HOURS of the occupation, over 200 FBI agents, federal marshals, and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) police had blockaded the town. These forces were equiped with armored personnel carriers, M-16 automatic rifles, 50 cali- ber machine guns, M-79 grenade launchers; CS gas, and mobile field communications systems. "Either negotiate with us for meaningful re- sults, positive results," declared Russell Means, leader of the occupation forces, "or you're going to have to kill us, and here at Wounded Knee is where it's going to have to happen." Ralph Erickson, special assistant to U.S. At- torney General Richard Kleindienst, insisted that the Indians surrender. "Negotiations cannot be made at gunpoint," he said. THE IRONY was unintended. Erickson was re- ferring to the hostages supposedly captured by the Indians. Protection of their lives and property was the rationale offered for the siege - until newsmen broke through the blockade and dis- covered the "hostages" feared the marshals and FBI agents more than they feared the Indians. One, William Riegert, 86, told reporters, "The fact is that we as a group of hostages decided to stay -to save AIM and our own property. Had we not, those troops would have come down here and killed all of these people." The villagers signed a petition which complain- ed of being held prisoner - by the U.S. mar- shals. They demanded that federal roadblocks be removed, and said their rights were being vio- lated. They referred to the occupiers as their guests., During much of the siege newsmen were re- stricted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. building where they received government press releases. On one occasion federal marshals fired at a CBS truck; on another, a CBS camera crew was evicted from the reservation; and at least once troopers took newsmen returning from "The Knee" inside an armored personnel carrier and interrogated them. NOR WERE federal actions confined to South Dakota. On March 7, a plane brought 304 pounds of food collected by Michigan Indians to Wounded Knee. The next day FBI agents arrested the pilot and the Michigan physician who had hired the plane. In Nevada, Interior Department agents ar- rested 11 Indians and 5 others who were taking food, clothing, and medical supplies to South Dakota. Jack Murphy, the Department's public information officer, said the arrests were part of a nation-wide sweep. On March 8 a cease-fire achieved when the National Council of Churches agreed to mediate the dispute ended when marshals inside an arm- ored personnel carrier attacked Oglalas patrolling the edge of the village, injuring two. A Justice Department spokesman claimed that the Indians, armed with .22s, fired first at the heavily armor- ed vehicle. That night 40 Indians joined the besieged town's defenders, despite flares, searchlights and countless rounds of fire. DURING THE following weeks, federal mar- shals trained BIA police in offensive military tactics. These police, given APCs and high- powered rifles,- established a perimeter encirc- ling the federal blockade. Their roadblock pre- vented lawyers and medics, guaranteed f r e e passage by court order, from entering Wounded Knee. U.S. Border Patrol dogs prowled the combat zone in an attempt to catch infiltrators. And vigilante groups formed by South Dakota and Nebraska ranchers worked in tandem with U.S. forces throughout the region. One vigilante bul- let accidentally struck U.S. Marshal Lloyd Grimm, crippling .him from the waist down. Federal strategy seemed to call for a waiting game until increasing military pressure and de- creasing supplies forced the Indians inside Wound- ed Knee to capitulate. One tactic, temporary withdrawal of the blockade, failed when Indians refused to abandon Wounded Knee, choosing to fight it out if necessary and negotiate if possible. FINALLY, ON APRIL 5, assistant attorney gen- eral Kent Frizzell signed a six-point agreement with occupation leaders. Russell Means was to submit to arrest, then meet with White House representatives in Washington. Once that meet- ing was well underway, people remaining inside Wounded Knee would disarm and after 30 to 60 days, those under indictment would be arrested. In return, the federal government promised to investigate Indian affairs on the Pine Ridge re- servation and audit tribal funds. The Justice De- (Continued on Page 5)