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PINE RIDGE RESERVATION OGLALA, SOUTH DAKOTA - Spiritual ceremonies, bands, speakers and a memorial walk are planned for Thursday, June 26, at the 4th Annual Oglala Commemoration.

The Lakota Student Alliance and Kansas City American Indian Movement (AIM) Support Group sponsor the event to honor and remember lives lost during what they call the "1970s Civil War" on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Sponsors also hope to raise awareness of what they say is the unjust imprisonment of AIM member Leonard Peltier, who was convicted after a 1975 shootout between AIM and federal agents at Oglala that left two FBI agents dead.

Organizers say the event also promotes reconciliation and healing for the events of the 1970s, with an emphasis on alternative or restorative justice.

Activities will begin with spiritual ceremonies at the grave sites of Joe Stuntz, Anna Mae Aquash and Jun Little. A planned memorial walk will end at the Jumping Bull property, which was the site of the 1975 shootout.

A community dinner and a concert will follow at Loneman School in Oglala. Musical guests scheduled to perform include Anishnabe artist Wayquay; Lakota rockers Steel River Band; folk singer Jim Page; Oglala hip-hopper Storm; Southern Cheyenne singer J.D. Nash; and the Pine Ridge group Spyderzback.

Scheduled guest speakers include Tony Black Feather of the Teton Sioux Nation Treaty County; Peltier attorney Bruce Ellison; AIM leader Vernon Bellecourt; Tom Cook of the Slim Buttes Land Association; members of the LaCreek Civil Rights Association; Russell Blacksmith of the Lakota Student Alliance and National Council of American Indians Youth Council; Camp Justice founder Tom Poor Bear; and Leland Little Dog of the Sicangu Treaty Law Club.

For more information visit, the Oglala Commemoration web site, or send e-mail to: oglala_commemoration@yahoo.com.