Wesley Bad Heart Bull (June 10, 1952 – January 27, 1973) was a Native American man whose murder at the hands of Darld Schmitz was the catalyst for leading to the events later known as the Wounded Knee incident.
Early life
Wesley Charles Bad Heart Bull was born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota on 10 June 1952. He was the middle brother of Verlyn Dale 'Butch' Bad Heart Bull (b. 14 July 1949) and Vincent Eli Bad Heart Bull, Jr. (b. 9 March 1955), and older brother to Trina Lynn Bad Heart Bull (b. 5 January 1959), Henry Gerald Bad Heart Bull (b. 18 May 1957), Imogene "April" Bad Heart Bull (b. 7 April 1961), Julie Ann Bad Heart Bull (b. 24 May 1964) as well as older half-brother and first cousin to Jamie Merle Bad Heart Bull (b. 30 September 1966). This was owed to the fact that after Sarah and Vincent Sr. had divorced, Sarah married her brother-in-law, Matthew "Kayo" Bad Heart Bull.
According to Fall River County, South Dakota, sheriff Jack Manke, Bad Heart Bull had a record consisting of 19 arrests, including assault on a police officer, in the past two years and had been jailed in Custer, Hot Springs, South Dakota, and Hill City on assault, disturbing the peace and public intoxication charges.
Murder
On 27 January 1973, John Wesley Bad Heart Bull was stabbed in Buffalo Gap, South Dakota after going to Bill's Bar in Custer, South Dakota. There are conflicting accounts of what events led up to the stabbing.
According to Custer County authorities, some witnesses claimed that Schmitz was acting in self-defense, as Bad Heart Bull had been harassing patrons at Bill's Bar. Witnesses also stated that Bad Heart Bull used his 18-inch logchain to beat a James "Mad Dog" Geary, before Schmitz intervened and inadvertently stabbed him with a knife while trying to push Bad Heart Bull back with his hand. However, a friend of Bad Heart Bull claimed to have heard Schmitz state that "he was going to kill him an Indian." Robert High Eagle, an individual from Hot Springs, who witnessed the murder, stated the stabbing was deliberate and unprovoked. Five minutes later after the alleged statement, and in front of six witnesses (four White and two Indian), Schmitz stabbed Bad Heart Bull. Around 2:00 A.M., Bad Heart Bull lay in the street, bleeding from the wound made by a knife that was still buried in his chest. Bad Heart Bull died from blood loss, while en route to a Hot Springs hospital.
Schmitz was arrested three days after killing Bad Heart Bull and charged with second-degree murder; the Sheriff said there was not enough evidence for the first-degree charge. This was the second assault Schmitz had committed against a Native American. Schmitz was later released on a $5,000.00 bond. One source, The Observer-Reporter, wrote that he was out of jail on a $2,500.00 bond. Schmitz's charge of second-degree murder was the lowest degree of murder a person could be charged with in South Dakota. At the time, this was a common charge given to White people who caused the deaths of Native Americans. Schmitz plead guilty to second-degree murder i.e. involuntary manslaughter and spent one day in jail for the murder.
Custer Courthouse Riot
In response to repeated murders of American Indians by White Americans and lenient punishments issued to the assailants (the most infamous case occurring with Raymond Yellow Thunder), indigenous rights proponents became involved with the Bad Heart Bull case. In January 1973, Dennis Banks proclaimed that AIM members should gather in Rapid City, South Dakota in order to initiate a paramount campaign for civil rights. Sarah Bad Heart Bull, Wesley's mother, contacted the American Indian Movement, known more commonly by the acronym AIM, in order to demonstrate the importance of Native American lives and the disproportionate charges in light of the crime committed.