Step 1 : Introduction to the question "The US Federal authorities were trying to control AIM. For what does the acronym AIM stand?"
...AIM was formed in 1968. Russell Means was one of its more controversial leaders.In its simplest form it was an effort to unite diverse elements of persons of Native American heritage. This included urban Indians, reservation Indians, student and intellectual Indians toward correcting what they felt were abuses heaped upon Indians by the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. In 1973 AIM, again at Wounded Knee, orchestrated a 71 day stand-off with federal authorities about what AIM called "The Trail of Broken Treaties". On the Pine Ridge Reservation at the time of the 'incident' AIM represented traditional values as opposed to being absorbed by the white majority.
