[IPSM] Earthfirst Journal: US Renews War on the American Indian Movement:

[Vancouver NYM]

Feel free to fwd this around.

Hi Everyone,
This is Billie Pierre. Last month, an article published online by writer 
Michael Connelly for CounterPunch titled "Getting Away with Murder, Killing 
Anna Mae Aquash,Smearing John Trudell" was written in response to an article 
I wrote for Earth First called "The US Renews It's War against the American 
Indian Movement-The Anna Mae Picou-Aquash Story".
It was unfortunate that the Earth First article wasn't made available 
online, while CounterPunch made accusations against John Graham, including 
the outright lie that "John confessed to murdering Anna Mae in 2001". That 
is a very grave lie to make, and that CounterPunch needs to be called on. 
This article goes on to say that John's misinformed supporters have 
snitchjacketed John Trudell. This probably has something to do with the 
boycott of John Trudell (his music, movies documentary ect), that was 
announced by the Vancouver NYM in March 2005.
In the spirit of fairness, I've asked author of the valued and respected 
book "Blood of the Land, US and Canadas Corporate Wars on First Nations" Rex 
Weyler to go over my article. He did and he  likes it.

This case is very simple. There are no eye witnesses, and no physical 
evidence. The US government is using this case to smear AIM's couragous 
contributions to indigenous resistance, and to make the FBI look like 
heroes.
Any native who cares about their people, and their land need to step up and 
support John Graham, and the many people being targetted in this corrupt 
murdercase.
All My Revolutionary Relations
Billie

Link to  CounterPunch article: 
http://www.counterpunch.org/donnelly01172006.html

US Renews War on the American Indian Movement:
The Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash Story
by Billie Pierre

In the past few years, the memory of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash—an American 
Indian Movement (AIM) leader from the Mi'kmaq Nation in Nova Scotia, 
Canada—has been reduced to that of a helpless woman who was murdered by her 
own allies. In reality, her murder is part of a ruthless campaign waged by 
the US government—a campaign that, far from being ancient history, is still 
unfolding today.

Thirty years after the death of Pictou-Aquash, the US government has renewed 
its war against the last remnants of AIM. As in the 1970s, this attack is 
only part of a larger war to gain control over Native lands and resources.

The US made its first violent attack against AIM in 1973, in what became 
known as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Takeover. Natives had been 
conducting a peaceful protest outside the BIA headquarters in Washington, 
DC, when they were attacked by riot police. In response, the Natives 
barricaded themselves inside the building, smashed up offices and took 
top-secret documents. These documents proved that the government was 
illegally handing out reservation land, water and mineral rights to 
corporations.

That same year, AIM launched a campaign on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 
South Dakota. Dick Wilson, the corrupt tribal president, had created a 
paramilitary force with stolen federal program funding. With his control of 
the reservation secured by force, Wilson set about ceding uranium-rich areas 
of the sacred Black Hills to the federal government. AIM assisted in 
protecting Pine Ridge's traditional families from the constant onslaught of 
violence, which culminated in the AIM occupation and government siege of 
Wounded Knee in the Spring of 1973. From 1973 to 1976, the people of Pine 
Ridge lived under the "Reign of Terror"—more than 76 Natives, mainly 
traditional Lakota and AIM members, were murdered, primarily by Wilson's 
Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs).

On June 26, 1975—while Wilson was in Washington, DC, signing away an eighth 
of the reservation—the FBI launched an attack on an AIM camp at Pine Ridge. 
The US was dealt a humiliating blow—two FBI agents lost their lives. 
Although Joe Stuntz Killsright, a Native warrior, was killed in the 
shoot-out, an estimated 40 Native men, women and children escaped.

In extreme rage, the FBI violently harassed Lakota families. They drafted a 
list of people that they suspected were present at the shoot-out, and they 
blamed Leonard Peltier, Bob Robideau, Dino Butler and Jimmy Eagle for 
killing the agents. The four young men went on the run. Butler and Robideau 
were eventually arrested, tried and acquitted by an all-white jury, so the 
FBI targeted Peltier for the "murder" of the agents. Of course, there has 
never been an investigation into Stuntz Killsright's death.

At this time, Pictou-Aquash was "snitch-jacketed" by the FBI. This tactic of 
the FBI's Counter-intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) undermined valuable 
members of a group by casting them in suspicious situations. Wherever 
Pictou-Aquash went, arrests would follow. She'd be released, while other AIM 
members were slapped with charges and high bail. In September 1975, FBI 
Agent David Price attempted to force her to sign an affidavit implicating 
Peltier for the murder of the two FBI agents. She refused to cooperate, and 
Price promised her that she wouldn't live to see the year's end.

Pictou-Aquash went underground, turning to AIM for protection and putting 
her fears of the FBI in writing. In late February, her body was found 
outside of Wanbli, on Pine Ridge. Four FBI agents joined the 
"investigation," including Price. They cut off her hands for "fingerprint 
analysis," and despite the visible bullet hole in the back of her head, they 
determined that the cause of her death was exposure. They quickly arranged 
for her to be buried as a Jane Doe. After this cover-up came to light, the 
FBI released a statement announcing that Pictou-Aquash was not a government 
informant. As intended, this statement insinuated that AIM might have 
believed Pictou-Aquash to be an informant and murdered her.

After nearly three decades of dormancy, law enforcement attempts to "solve" 
the murder of Pictou-Aquash recently resumed, with a surprising number of 
former AIM members accepting and promoting the FBI's version of events. On 
March 30, 2003, two Native men were accused of her murder—John Graham and 
Arlo Looking Cloud. There is no credible evidence linking either man to the 
crime, and their prosecution seems like nothing more than an effort to 
destroy what little remains of AIM.

US Marshal Robert Ecoffey has played a prominent role in resurrecting the 
investigation. Ecoffey got his start in law enforcement as a GOON in the 
1970s, and he participated in the Oglala shoot-out. In the 1990s, after 
becoming the first Native US Marshal in history, Ecoffey resurrected the 
Pictou-Aquash murder investigation and followed FBI claims that AIM was 
responsible. Ecoffey and Denver, Colorado, Detective Abe Alonzo spent years 
visiting and questioning Looking Cloud about the murder.

Looking Cloud is an Oglala Lakota and a father of two. He also has serious 
substance abuse problems that were exploited by Ecoffey and Alonzo during 
their investigation. In March 2003, in an alleged confession video-taped by 
Ecoffey, Looking Cloud admitted to being under the influence of alcohol. 
Alonzo then fed him leading questions, and Looking Cloud slurred 
contradictory answers. He allegedly confessed that he had been the unwitting 
accomplice in Pictou-Aquash's execution by AIM. He stated that he witnessed 
Graham take her to the edge of a ravine and shoot her in the back of the 
head.

Looking Cloud was denied the right to choose his own lawyer. During his 
trial, every witness for the prosecution presented AIM in the most negative 
light possible, and they contradicted each other in their testimonies. Many 
people could have been called as defense witnesses, to testify that 
Pictou-Aquash had been afraid of the FBI, not AIM. But the defense called 
only one witness—FBI Agent Price! He was questioned for 10 minutes on 
Pictou-Aquash and whether she was an FBI informant. Looking Cloud's lawyer 
made few motions and did not challenge Ecoffey and Alonzo's manipulation of 
his client. Looking Cloud was not allowed to take the stand to defend 
himself; all that was shown was the videotaped interview that he had given. 
In February 2004, after a four-day trial, Looking Cloud was convicted of 
aiding and abetting in the murder of Pictou-Aquash, and he was sentenced to 
life in prison. Looking Cloud's subsequent appeal was denied. In October, 
Looking Cloud fired his most recent lawyer. Unfortunately, without much more 
widespread support in the US and Canada, he is unlikely to challenge the 
dirty tactics used to convict him.

Sadly, many former members of AIM are now cooperating with the FBI's renewed 
war on the movement.

Robideau now lives in Spain, where he operates a "Native museum" and does 
workshops on "Native art" for Europeans. Robideau has also profited from 
Robert Redford's Incident at Oglala, a documentary about the 1975 shoot-out. 
In this movie, Robideau perpetuates rumors of a "Mr. X"—the man who really 
murdered the FBI agents. Rather than exonerating Peltier, this creates an 
opportunity for the FBI to possibly prosecute more AIM members for the 
shootings. Robideau also perpetuates the rumor that Peltier once 
interrogated Pictou-Aquash with a gun, suspecting that she was working for 
the FBI.

In the wake of Pictou-Aquash's death, Robideau stated that the FBI killed 
her "because they knew she was one of us and wouldn't talk." But in February 
2004, he claimed: "I for one applaud the verdict of guilty in the Arlo 
Looking Cloud case." A month later, Robideau resigned from the Leonard 
Peltier Defense Committee (LPDC) "after several discussions with this group 
regarding the ongoing support and comfort that the LPDC... continues to give 
to John Graham and the John Graham Defense Committee.... I personally will 
be overjoyed when the Canadian courts rule to return John Graham... to the 
US to answer for this brutal murder. I will pray that his extradition 
contributes to an escalation of this case."

Another turncoat is Russell Means, the charismatic national director of AIM 
during the 1970s. Since then, he has moved on to Hollywood, starring in The 
Last of the Mohicans and Disney's Pocahontas. Means also has assisted the 
Republican Party in campaigning on Pine Ridge.

In 1998, Means publicly accused Graham and Looking Cloud of murdering 
Pictou-Aquash and demanded that the courts hand down indictments. Following 
Looking Cloud's conviction, however, Means called it a travesty of justice. 
Obviously, he is on whatever side brings him the most attention.

Kelly White, a former AIM member, runs a Native issues radio show in 
Vancouver. A few years before Graham was arrested, she began to target him 
for defamation. At a Peltier support event in Vancouver, she got up on stage 
and accused Graham of murdering Pictou-Aquash, although she didn't have any 
evidence to back this up. Her personality is vindictive, and over the years 
she's targeted various people in the community, including those who have 
supported Graham's struggle against extradition.

This behavior is unacceptable; a basic principle of any resistance movement 
is non-collaboration with the enemy. As Peltier has written regarding the 
arrest of Graham: "When we talk of sovereignty, we must be willing to solve 
our own problems and not go running to the oppressor for relief.... We have 
been and still are at odds with the most dangerous, well-funded, strongest 
military and political organization in the history of the world."

John Trudell, a onetime AIM spokesperson turned actor and musician, is also 
helping the FBI pin Pictou-Aquash's murder on former AIM members. Trudell's 
testimony at Looking Cloud's trial can be summed up as: "Though I have no 
recollection of ever meeting Looking Cloud, he tracked me down and confessed 
his role in Anna Mac's murder—but until this time, I chose to stay silent." 
Graham's extradition was made possible by Trudell’s positive identification 
of him to the FBI.

Former AIM member Kamook Nichols also gave testimony at Looking Cloud's 
trial. She stated that Dennis Banks, her former husband and cofounder of 
AIM, and Peltier believed that Pictou-Aquash was working for the FBI. 
Nichols stated that they had planned to bomb strategic locations on Pine 
Ridge and wanted Pictou-Aquash's fingerprints on the explosives.

Not only did the FBI give Nichols immunity, it also gave her $42,000 for her 
cooperation. She also admitted to wearing a wire for the FBI over the. 
years. It is suspected that Nichols may have implicated her exhusband for 
personal reasons; it has been documented that Pictou-Aquash and Banks were 
having an affair—something Nichols has known of since August 1975. Nichols' 
testimony is suspect for another reason: In September 2004, she married 
Robert Ecoffey, following a five-year-long relationship.

On December 1, 2003, John Graham, a Southern Tuchone from the Yukon and a 
father of eight, was arrested in Vancouver, Canada, for the murder of 
Pictou-Aquash. To raise his $50,000 bail, his family had to sell their 
trapline, their traditional way of living off the land. In early 2005, the 
government of British Columbia approved his extradition to the US. His 
appeal is scheduled for June.

Graham is a warrior. As a young man, he went to South Dakota to join the AIM 
campaign on Pine Ridge. Over the years, he has continued to make great 
contributions to indigenous resistance to uranium mining. I've met many 
people who've worked with him and have heard only good things about him. 
Unlike many former AIM members, he refuses to cooperate with the FBI and 
refuses to implicate anyone for any reason.

Graham has stated that Pictou-Aquash was his sister and that they stuck 
together because Natives from Canada tended to be given a hard time by their 
US brothers and sisters. His job was to transport Pictou-Aquash, who was 
hiding from Agent Price and a violent infiltrator named Douglas Durham. 
Graham has stated that he drove her from Denver to a safe house on Pine 
Ridge.

Graham says that the FBI started to visit him in the Yukon during the 
mid-1990s. On four separate visits, they offered him immunity and a new 
identity if he testified that any of the former AIM leaders had ordered 
Pictou-Aquash's execution. He refused. On their last visit, they stated that 
this would be his final chance to cooperate; if he would not testify, they 
would charge him with her murder.

During Graham's extradition hearing, Peltier submitted an affidavit stating 
that he had been offered his freedom within ten days if he signed an 
affidavit to implicate John Graham in Anna Mac's murder, Peltier refused. 
There is no physical evidence against Graham, only more unreliable, 
FBI-tainted testimony. Furthermore, US and Canadian court systems have no 
jurisdiction or authority over indigenous people. We have the right to 
practice our own justice system—something recognized in Canadian law.

Graham's current legal struggle reflects the political repression faced by 
Native activists who have defended their land and their traditional way of 
life. Most of British Columbia has never been ceded to any colonial 
government, and the indigenous nations living there have full jurisdiction 
over their lands and resources.

British Columbia is very rich in natural resources—it has the eighth-highest 
mineral potential in the world. The province also has plans to carve up the 
mountains with wall-to-wall ski resorts by 2010. Currently, there is much 
indigenous resistance to mining and resort development. The most extreme 
case was the Gustafsen Lake standoff in 1995, when the government deployed 
400 Royal Canadian Mounted Police tactical-assault-team members to kill 
about 20 Natives who had defied a trespass notice and were living within 
their traditional tribal territories. Since then, dozens of Native people 
who have defended their lands have been criminalized.

John Graham and Arlo Looking Cloud's current struggle for their own freedom 
is a clear message being sent out to all Native land defenders. This is a 
threat being made against anyone who dares to stand up to the corporations 
that are stealing our lands. Now is the time to come together and make a 
strong stand. We will be tested more in the coming years.

For more infomation, contact the John Graham Defense Committee, 15 Firth Rd, 
Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 4R5, Canada; (867) 633-2480; email; John Graham 
Defense Committee; Native Youth Movement (NYM)-Coast Salish Territories, 
email.

Billie Pierre is a Nlaka'Pamux/Saulteaux woman based in Vancouver. She's a 
NYM OG and joined in 1995.

© Earth First! Journal January/February 2006

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