Theda Nelson Clarke, born Theda Rose Nelson (1924-2011), was a Native American activist. She is perhaps best known for her involvement in the

Wounded Knee incident The Wounded Knee Occupation, also known as Second Wounded Knee, began on February 27, 1973, when approximately 200 Oglala Lakota (sometimes referred to as Oglala Sioux) and followers of the American Indian Movement (AIM) seized and occupied the ...

with the murder of fellow

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an Native Americans in the United States, American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues ...

activist

Anna Mae Aquash Annie Mae Aquash (Mi'kmaq name ''Naguset Eask'') (March 27, 1945 – mid-December 1975) was a First Nations activist and Mi'kmaq tribal member from Nova Scotia, Canada. Aquash moved to Boston in the 1960s and joined other First Nations and Indig ...

Early life

Clarke was born Theda Rose Nelson in 1924. According to Census records, Theda R. Nelson was born in the state of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. Clarke lived in Scottsbluff,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

at the time, and was the matriarch of a large tiyóšpaye (family), leading to her being designated 'aunt' and 'auntie' by many in the community, including Troy Lynn Yellow Wood and future accomplice in the murder of

, John Graham. Theda Nelson Clarke was aunt (whether this familial affiliation was biological or adopted is unclear) to Darlene Nichols (whom Nichols grew up with), a key material witness in the murder trials of Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham for their roles in the murder of

AIM AIM or Aim may refer to: Computing * AIM alliance, an Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance * AIM (software), AOL Instant Messenger * Fortyfive, a Japanese software development company previously known as AIM Military * Abrams Integrated Management, an ...

activist

Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash Annie Mae Aquash (Mi'kmaq name ''Naguset Eask'') (March 27, 1945 – mid-December 1975) was a First Nations activist and Mi'kmaq tribal member from Nova Scotia, Canada. Aquash moved to Boston in the 1960s and joined other First Nations and Indig ...

. In the early 1940s, Clarke graduated from the St. Francis Indian School in St. Francis,

Personal life

Theda Rose Nelson eventually married Edward Lamar Clarke, and had three children with him: Edward "Chip" Samuel Clarke (born September 23, 1962), Ida Rose Clarke (born December 22, 1963) and Patrick Michael Clarke (born September 6, 1965). Theda and Edward eventually divorced. Clarke also married a Julian Pokrywka, although it does not appear that they were married at the time of their death.

Activism

Clark was a member of the Pie Patrol, a group of women active in

, consisting of Madonna Gilbert, Lorelei DeCora, Thelma Rios-Conroy, and other women within the AIM movement. and

Lorelei DeCora Means Lorelei DeCora Means ( DeCora; born 1954) is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American nurse and Native American civil rights, civil rights activist. She is best known for her role in the second siege in the town of Wounded Knee, ...

. Mary Crow Dog (née Moore), wife of

civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

Leonard Crow Dog Leonard Crow Dog (August 18, 1942 – June 5, 2021) was a medicine man and spiritual leader who became well known during the Lakota takeover of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in 1973, known as the ...

, who was also present during the siege at Wounded Knee, referred to the Pie Patrol as "loud-mouth city women, media conscious and hugging the limelight," who loved the camera and took credit for what the women of AIM were doing behind the scenes.

Legal history

Murder of Anna Mae Aquash

was a female activist within the ranks of the

. On December 12, 1975, Aquash was then forcefully moved to the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as th ...

where AIM supporters refused to house her. Looking Cloud later testified that Clarke was given orders to have Anna Mae eliminated. Looking Cloud, along with Theda Nelson Clarke and John 'John Boy Patton' Graham, forced Aquash into the back of a car and drove her to a remote part of the

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota, with a small portion extending into Nebraska. Originally included within the territory of the ...

. Clarke drove from

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

to the scene of the shooting on the

in her red Pinto. Aquash was shot execution style in the back of the head and left to die. Her body was discovered on February 24, 1976 on the

at the bottom of a ravine located in close proximity to an isolated highway. Aquash was revealed to have been executed using a gun, as the autopsy showed that the muzzle of the gun had been pressed into the back of her neck. The coroner's report indicated that in addition to the fatal gunshot wound, exposure contributed to the death of Aquash.

Death

Clarke died on October 8, 2011, at the age of 87 in a nursing home in Crawford,

. She was predeceased by her ex-husband, Edward Lamar Clarke, and two of her children, Edward Lamar Clarke and Ida Rose Clarke.

Legacy

Her only surviving child is Edward "Chip" Samuel Clarke. In December, Clarke was ruled competent to testify in John Graham's

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

. But she exercised her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself in the presence of a jury and deferred the option of testifying under

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Theda Nelson 1924 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Native American people People from Scottsbluff, Nebraska Lakota women Native American history of South Dakota 20th-century American murderers American kidnappers American female murderers Crimes in South Dakota Members of the American Indian Movement American Indigenous rights activists Lakota activists 1970s kidnappings in the United States 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women Native American people from Nebraska