Restore permissions on an external hard drive

I have recently upgraded my computer. My external hard drive, a LaCie 320GB, is full of stuff that I want to get rid of. Can't delete it. Looked into the permissions and it turns out they belong to an unknown user. I tried clicking the little lock and trying to change permissions, but it will not let me interact with the drop down menu.
I believe there is a terminal command to reset permissions locally, however, I cannot figure out how to do so on an external drive.
Suggestions?
Thanks

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