Jump to content

John Graham (Canadian activist): Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Tag: Reverted
No edit summary
 
(31 intermediate revisions by 18 users not shown)
Line 4: Line 4:
| native_name_lang =
| native_name_lang =
| image = <!-- just the name, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| image = <!-- just the name, without the File: or Image: prefix or enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| image_size =
| alt =
| alt =
| caption =
| caption =
Line 14: Line 13:
| resting_place =
| resting_place =
| monuments =
| monuments =
| residence =
| nationality = Canadian
| nationality = Canadian
| citizenship =
| citizenship = Champagne and Aishihik First Nations
| education =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| alma_mater =
Line 22: Line 20:
| years_active =
| years_active =
| spouse =
| spouse =
| parents = Rachael Thompson (Mother)<ref name="Photo Album">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/photoalbum.htm |title=Photo Album |work=John Graham Defense Committee |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="CAFN">{{cite web |url=http://cafn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/July-August_2011_Dakwania_Newsletter1.pdf |title=Building Relationships |work=CAFN |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>
| parents = Rachael Thompson (Mother)<ref name="Photo Album">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/photoalbum.htm |title=Photo Album |work=John Graham Defense Committee |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="CAFN">{{cite web |url=http://cafn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/July-August_2011_Dakwania_Newsletter1.pdf |title=Building Relationships |work=CAFN |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506051520/http://cafn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/July-August_2011_Dakwania_Newsletter1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| children = 8 children<ref name="Graham Defense Committee">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/position1.htm |title=John Graham Defense Committee |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Champagne and Aishihik First Nations">{{cite web |url=http://cafn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/July-August_2011_Dakwania_Newsletter1.pdf |title=Building Relationships |work=Champagne and Aishihik First Nations |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref><br/>(including Naneek Graham,<ref name="Pacific Free Press">{{cite web |url=http://www.pacificfreepress.com/2007/12/18/opinion/john-graham-extradited-to-face-trumped-charges.html |title=John Graham Extradited to Face Trumped Charges |work=The Pacific Free Press |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref><br />Chusia Graham,<ref name="Common Ground">{{cite web |url=http://commonground.ca/OLD/iss/0709194/cg194_graham.shtml |title=Free John Graham · BC Supreme Court set to decide Graham's extradition fate |work=Common Ground |first= |last= |date=September 2007 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref><br />Jimi<ref name="Photo Album" /><br /> and Dezi<ref name="Photo Album" />)
| children = 8 children<ref name="Graham Defense Committee">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/position1.htm |title=John Graham Defense Committee |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Champagne and Aishihik First Nations">{{cite web |url=http://cafn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/July-August_2011_Dakwania_Newsletter1.pdf |title=Building Relationships |work=Champagne and Aishihik First Nations |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506051520/http://cafn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/July-August_2011_Dakwania_Newsletter1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><br />(including Naneek Graham,<ref name="Pacific Free Press">{{cite web |url=http://www.pacificfreepress.com/2007/12/18/opinion/john-graham-extradited-to-face-trumped-charges.html |title=John Graham Extradited to Face Trumped Charges |work=The Pacific Free Press |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref><br />Chusia Graham,<ref name="Common Ground">{{cite web |url=http://commonground.ca/OLD/iss/0709194/cg194_graham.shtml |title=Free John Graham · BC Supreme Court set to decide Graham's extradition fate |work=Common Ground |first= |last= |date=September 2007 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref><br />Jimi<ref name="Photo Album" /><br /> and Dezi<ref name="Photo Album" />)
| organization = [[American Indian Movement]]
| organization = [[American Indian Movement]]
| known_for = The Native People's Caravan<ref name="Anti-Politics">{{cite web |url=http://www.anti-politics.org/distro/2009/freejohngraham-web.pdf |title=John Graham's Life in Resistance |work=Anti-Politics |first=Martin |last=Dunphy |date=2009 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref><br/>The Beothuk Patrol<ref name="Anti-Politics" /><br />Triggerman in the murder of AIM Activist [[Anna Mae Aquash]]
| known_for = The Native People's Caravan<ref name="Anti-Politics">{{cite web |url=http://www.anti-politics.org/distro/2009/freejohngraham-web.pdf |title=John Graham's Life in Resistance |work=Anti-Politics |first=Martin |last=Dunphy |date=2009 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref><br />The Beothuk Patrol<ref name="Anti-Politics" /><br />Triggerman in the murder of AIM Activist [[Anna Mae Aquash]]<ref name=Lee/>
| relatives =
| relatives =
| awards =
| awards =
Line 31: Line 29:
}}
}}


'''John Graham''' is a Canadian former [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] activist. He is perhaps best known for being the person who shot and killed fellow [[American Indian Movement]] activist [[Anna Mae Aquash]].<ref name="Indigenous Women For Justice">{{cite web |url=http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/graham.html#and%20then |title=The Lies of John Graham |work=Indigenous Women for Justice |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513225817/http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/graham.html#and%20then |archive-date=13 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
'''John Graham''' is a Canadian, Yukoner, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations citizen, and former [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] activist. He is best known for being convicted for the murder of fellow [[American Indian Movement]] activist [[Anna Mae Aquash]].<ref name=Lee>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Stephen |title=Jackley: Aquash case might help solve other cold cases from Wounded Knee|url=https://www.capjournal.com/news/jackley-aquash-case-might-help-solve-other-cold-cases-from/article_4d07ab1c-c164-11e4-8994-2f1bd10207aa.html|access-date=25 June 2021 |agency=[[Capital Journal]] |date=2 March 2015|quote=John Graham is in prison for life for murdering Annie Mae Aquash in December 1975 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation}}</ref><ref name="Indigenous Women For Justice">{{cite web |url=http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/graham.html#and%20then |title=The Lies of John Graham |work=Indigenous Women for Justice |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513225817/http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/graham.html#and%20then |archive-date=13 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Graham was born in Whitehorse, Yukon,<ref name="Defense Committee">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/letter_campaign.htm |title=Letter and Petition Campaign |work=John Graham Defense Committee |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> Canada and is a member of the [[Southern Tutchone]] [[Champagne and Aishihik First Nations]]<ref name="Yukon News">{{cite web |url=http://www.yukon-news.com/news/john-grahams-appeal-shot-down |title=John Graham's appeal shot down |work=Indigenous Women for Justice |first=Roxanne |last=Stasyszyn |date=1 June 2012 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> ethnic group.<ref name="CAFN" /><ref name="Graham Defense Committee" /> One source indicates that Graham is from Haines Junction, Yukon.<ref name="Onsite Review">{{cite web |url=http://www.onsitereview.ca/miscellanea/20Onsite Review |first= |last= |date=20 February 2013 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>
Graham was born in [[Whitehorse, Yukon|Whitehorse]],<ref name="Defense Committee">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/letter_campaign.htm |title=Letter and Petition Campaign |work=John Graham Defense Committee |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> [[Yukon]], Canada and is a member of the [[Southern Tutchone]] [[Champagne and Aishihik First Nations]] people.<ref name="Yukon News">{{cite web |url=http://www.yukon-news.com/news/john-grahams-appeal-shot-down |title=John Graham's appeal shot down |work=Indigenous Women for Justice |first=Roxanne |last=Stasyszyn |date=1 June 2012 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="CAFN" /><ref name="Graham Defense Committee" /> One source indicates that Graham is from [[Haines Junction, Yukon|Haines Junction]], [[Yukon]].<ref name="Onsite Review">{{cite web |url=http://www.onsitereview.ca/miscellanea/20Onsite Review |first= |last= |date=20 February 2013 |access-date=17 August 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>


Graham's birth year falls somewhere between the years of 1954 and 1957. In 1974, when Graham participated in the Native People's Caravan in 1974, he was 17 years,<ref name="Anti-Politics" /> meaning he was either born in 1957, or would be turning 18, and thus born in 1956 and 1957. Several sources also identify Graham as being 55-years-old at the time the guilty verdict was read.<ref name="FrumForum">{{cite web |url=http://www.frumforum.com/three-decades-later-justice-for-murdered-activist/ |title=Three Decades Later: Justice for Murdered Activist |work=Frum Forum |first=Peter |last=Worthington |date=24 December 2010 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> This would place his year of birth at 1954 (if he was 55-year-olds, and going on 56) or 1955 (if he had turned 55-years-old).
Graham's birth year falls somewhere between the years of 1954 and 1957. In 1974, when Graham participated in the Native People's Caravan in 1974, he was 17 years,<ref name="Anti-Politics" /> meaning he was either born in 1957, or would be turning 18, and thus born in 1956 and 1957. Several sources also identify Graham as being 55-years-old at the time the guilty verdict was read.<ref name="FrumForum">{{cite web |url=http://www.frumforum.com/three-decades-later-justice-for-murdered-activist/ |title=Three Decades Later: Justice for Murdered Activist |work=Frum Forum |first=Peter |last=Worthington |date=24 December 2010 |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-date=11 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011205803/http://www.frumforum.com/three-decades-later-justice-for-murdered-activist/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> This would place his year of birth at 1954 (if he was 55-year-olds, and going on 56) or 1955 (if he had turned 55-years-old).


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
John Graham is a father of eight who was living in Vancouver, British Columbia.<ref name="Straight">{{cite web |url=https://www.straight.com/article-373245/vancouver/graham-lawyer-appeal-conviction-life-sentence-aquash-murder-trial-south-dakota |title=John Graham lawyer to appeal conviction, life sentence in Aquash murder trial in South Dakota · "Cruel and unusual punishment" cited as grounds to allow parole |work=Straight |first=Martin |last=Dunphy |date=4 February 2011 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>
John Graham is a father of eight and former resident of [[Vancouver, British Columbia]].<ref name="Straight">{{cite web |url=https://www.straight.com/article-373245/vancouver/graham-lawyer-appeal-conviction-life-sentence-aquash-murder-trial-south-dakota |title=John Graham lawyer to appeal conviction, life sentence in Aquash murder trial in South Dakota · "Cruel and unusual punishment" cited as grounds to allow parole |work=Straight |first=Martin |last=Dunphy |date=4 February 2011 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Graham is a long-term member of the [[American Indian Movement]].
Graham had spent many years in the capacity of an activist. He was known to participate in [[Lakota people|Lakota]] resistance for traditional territories, and protesting [[uranium mining]] Northern Saskatchewan.<ref name="Our Word #2">{{cite web |url=https://ourfreedom.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/no-uranium-mining-on-stolen-native-land/ |title=No Uranium Mining on Stolen Native Land |work=Our Word Press |first= |last= |date=4 March 2008 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>


In 1974, when Graham was 17, he participated in the Native Peoples' Caravan from Vancouver to Ottawa, an unauthorized occupation event in which 300 participants from the Caravan moved into the abandoned Carbide Mill building on Victoria Island, behind the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, for 5 months.<ref name="Anti-Politics" /> Graham was also active in protest throughout other Canadian provinces. In Vancouver, Graham also participated as a member the Beothuck Patrol, a [[First Nations]] group which conducted street level monitoring of police harassment.<ref name="Anti-Politics" />
In 1974, when Graham was 17, he participated in the Native Peoples' Caravan from [[Vancouver]] to [[Ottawa]], an unauthorized occupation event in which 300 participants from the Caravan moved into the abandoned Carbide Mill building on [[Victoria Island (Canada)|Victoria Island]], behind the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, for 5 months.<ref name="Anti-Politics" /> Graham was also active in protest throughout other Canadian provinces. In [[Vancouver]], Graham also participated as a member the Beothuck Patrol, a [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] group which conducted street level monitoring of police harassment.<ref name="Anti-Politics" />


In June 1980, the [[Caravan for Survival]], which included Graham as a protester, consisted of who drove from Regina, Saskatchewan to the northern Saskatchewan uranium boom town of La Ronge to protest the opening of government-operated [[Key Lake mine|Key Lake Uranium Mine Board of Inquiry]].<ref name="JFAMR Photo Album">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/photoalbum2.htm |title=The Anne Mae Aquash Survival Camp, Summer 1981, near Pinehouse, Saskatchewan |work=John Graham Defense Committee |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>
In June 1980, the [[Caravan for Survival]], which included Graham as a protester, consisted of who drove from [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]], [[Saskatchewan]], the capital city of Saskatchewan, to the northern Saskatchewan uranium boom town of [[La Ronge]] to protest the opening of government-operated [[Key Lake mine|Key Lake Uranium Mine Board of Inquiry]].<ref name="JFAMR Photo Album">{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/photoalbum2.htm |title=The Anne Mae Aquash Survival Camp, Summer 1981, near Pinehouse, Saskatchewan |work=John Graham Defense Committee |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref>


Following the conclusion of the Native Peoples' Caravan, Graham partook in his first armed occupation<ref name="Anti-Politics" /> when he traveled to the state of New York group to provide support (as general security) to the [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] land re-occupation at Ganienkeh, also known as Eagle Lake.
Following the conclusion of the Native Peoples' Caravan, Graham took part in his first armed occupation<ref name="Anti-Politics" /> when he traveled to the state of [[New York (state)|New York]] group to provide support (as general security) to the [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] land re-occupation at [[Ganienkeh]], also known as Eagle Lake.


During the summer 1981, the AIM Survival Group, which included John Graham, opened the Anne Mae Aquash Survival Camp near the community of Pinehouse, located in northern Saskatchewan, on the Key Lake road, which was done to create a forum in which Native rights issues and the problems of the uranium industry could be openly discussed (it is said{{by whom|date=August 2018}} that Graham named the camp in honor of Anna Mae).<ref name="JFAMR Photo Album" />
During the summer 1981, the AIM Survival Group opened the Anne Mae Aquash Survival Camp near the community of [[Pinehouse]], located in northern [[Saskatchewan]], on the Key Lake road, which was done to create a forum in which Native rights issues and the problems of the uranium industry could be openly discussed. Graham was one of the people at the camp.<ref name="JFAMR Photo Album" />


During the months of May and June in 1984, John Graham spoke throughout Europe, which was organized by European [[anti-nuclear]], native rights and environmental groups to raise understanding and awareness of on native rights and the environmental problems of uranium mining in Canada faced by the First Nations people.<ref name="WiserInternational">{{cite web |url=https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/602/independent-radiation-surveys-niger-uranium-mines-obstructed |title=Independent Radiation Surveys at Niger Uranium Mines Obstructed |work=Wiser International |first= |last= |date=30 January 2004 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>
During the months of May and June in 1984, Graham spoke throughout [[Europe]], on a tour organized by European [[anti-nuclear]], Native rights and environmental groups to raise awareness of the impact of uranium mining in [[Canada]] on [[Indigenous Canadians]].<ref name="WiserInternational">{{cite web |url=https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/602/independent-radiation-surveys-niger-uranium-mines-obstructed |title=Independent Radiation Surveys at Niger Uranium Mines Obstructed |work=Wiser International |first= |last= |date=30 January 2004 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref>


==Legal history==
==Legal history==
===Murder of Anna Mae Aquash===
===Murder of Anna Mae Aquash===
[[Anna Mae Aquash]] was a prominent voice and female activist within the ranks of the [[American Indian Movement]] (AIM).
[[Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash]] was a prominent voice and leading activist within the ranks of the [[American Indian Movement]].


On 12 December 1975, Aquash was forced out of the home of Denver, Colorado AIM Troy Lynn S. Yellow Wood despite the latter's objection that something bad would happen to Aquash, and she was taken to an apartment in Rapid City, South Dakota owned by [[Russell Means]]' brother, and during interrogation, she was raped by Graham.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}}
On 12 December 1975, Aquash was forced out of the home of [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]] [[American Indian Movement|AIM]] activist Troy Lynn S. Yellow Wood despite the latter's objection that something bad would happen to Aquash. Aquash was then forcefully taken to an apartment in [[Rapid City, South Dakota|Rapid City]] owned by [[Russell Means]]' brother, where she was interrogated and, prosecutors charge, held captive, tortured and raped by Graham.<ref name="NativeTimes"/>


Looking Cloud, one of Graham's and Nelson-Clark's accomplices, indicated that he heard Graham and Aquash having sex in the bedroom of a Rapid City apartment (whose ownership is attributed to [[Thelma Conroy-Rios|Thelma Rios]] and her mother<ref name="Injustice Busters" />), which led to prosecutors alleging that Graham raped Aquash.<ref name="NativeTimes">{{cite web |url=http://www.nativetimes.com/index.php/news/crime/4718-man-testifies-at-us-trial-he-saw-aim-activist-shot |title=Man testifies at US trial he saw AIM activist shot |work=Heishort |first=Nomaan |last=Merchant |date=8 December 2010 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> Looking Cloud waited outside of the room while Graham raped Aquash, and Graham acknowledged in a taped interview/interrogation that Looking Cloud waited outside of the room Anna Mae was imprisoned inside of.<ref name="Indigenous Women for Justice">{{cite web |url=http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/lie.html |title=Man Indicted for Anna Mae's Murder Refuses to take Lie-Detector Test |work=Heishort |first=Nomaan |last=Merchant |date=2 March 2004 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>
Looking Cloud, one of Graham's and Nelson-Clark's accomplices, said he heard Graham and Aquash "having sex" in the bedroom of a Rapid City apartment (whose ownership is attributed to [[Thelma Conroy-Rios|Thelma Rios]] and her mother<ref name="Injustice Busters">{{cite web |url=http://injusticebusters.org/04/Graham_John.htm |title=Extradition challenged: Misidentification evidence placed before judge |work=Injustice Busters |first= |last= |date=2 February 2005 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref>); the prosecution charges that Graham [[rape]]d Aquash.<ref name="NativeTimes">{{cite web |url=http://www.nativetimes.com/index.php/news/crime/4718-man-testifies-at-us-trial-he-saw-aim-activist-shot |title=Man testifies at US trial he saw AIM activist shot |work=Heishort |first=Nomaan |last=Merchant |date=8 December 2010 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> Looking Cloud waited outside of the room while Graham raped Aquash, and Graham acknowledged in a taped interview/interrogation that Looking Cloud waited outside of the room where Anna Mae was imprisoned.<ref name="Indigenous Women for Justice">{{cite web |url=http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/lie.html |title=Man Indicted for Anna Mae's Murder Refuses to take Lie-Detector Test |work=Heishort |first=Nomaan |last=Merchant |date=2 March 2004 |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306163441/http://indigenouswomenforjustice.org/lie.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>


Aquash was then forcefully moved to the [[Rosebud Indian Reservation]] where AIM supporters refused to house her.<ref name="JFAMR Timeline">{{cite web |url=http://jfamr.org/trialtime.html |title = Aquash Murder Case Timeline |work=JFAMR |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016|archive-date=2004-02-14|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040214075609/http://jfamr.org/trialtime.html}}</ref>{{Better source|date=August 2018}}
Aquash was then forcefully moved to the [[Rosebud Indian Reservation]] where AIM supporters refused to house her.<ref name="JFAMR Timeline">{{cite web |url=http://jfamr.org/trialtime.html |title = Aquash Murder Case Timeline |work=JFAMR |first= |last= |date= |access-date=17 August 2016|archive-date=2004-02-14|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040214075609/http://jfamr.org/trialtime.html}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=August 2018}}
[[Arlo Looking Cloud|Looking Cloud]], along with [[Theda Nelson Clarke]] and Graham, forced Aquash into the back of a car and drove her to a remote part of the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]], where Aquash was shot execution style in the back of the head and left to die.<ref name="Legend of Pine Ridge">{{cite web |url=http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.com/2008/07/why-was-anna-mae-aquash-really-murdered.html |title=Why Was Anna Mae Aquash Really Murdered? |work=Legend of Pine Ridge |first= |last= |date=28 July 2008 |accessdate=16 August 2016}}</ref> Her body was located nearly two months later on 24 February 1976<ref name="Huffington Post">{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-giago/what-is-the-truth-about-t_b_62521.html |title=What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae? |work=The Huffington Post |first= |last= |date=27 August 2007 |accessdate=16 August 2016}}</ref> on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation at the bottom of a ravine located in close proximity to an isolated highway.<ref name="First Nation's Drums">{{cite web |url=http://www.firstnationsdrum.com/2000/12/murder-of-anna-mae-aquash-unsolved-after-23-years/ |title=What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae? |work=First Nation's Drums |first= |last= |date=26 December 2000 |accessdate=16 August 2016}}</ref> Aquash was revealed to have been murdered with a firearm, as the autopsy showed that the muzzle of the gun had been pressed into the back of her neck.<ref name="Mail Archives">{{cite web |url=https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg03815.html |title=NATIVE_NEWS: ANNA MAE: A Badlands trail of secrets and murder |work=Mail Archives |first= |last= |date=7 August 1999 |accessdate=16 August 2016}}</ref> The coroner's report indicated that in addition to the fatal gunshot wound, [[Hypothermia|exposure]] caused the death of Aquash,<ref name="Occupirate">{{cite web |url=http://occupirate.blogspot.com/2013/06/who-killed-anna-mae-aquash-and-who.html |title=Who killed Anna Mae Aquash and who cares anyway? |work=Occupirate |first=CJ |last=Sparrow |date=22 June 2013 |accessdate=16 August 2016}}</ref> as her body was frozen by the time it was discovered.<ref name="CounterPunch">{{cite web |url=http://www.counterpunch.org/2006/01/17/killing-anna-mae-aquash-smearing-john-trudell/ |title=Killing Anna Mae Aquash, Smearing John Trudell |work=Mail Archives |first=Michael |last=Donnelly |date=17 January 2006 |accessdate=16 August 2016}}</ref>
[[Arlo Looking Cloud|Looking Cloud]], along with [[Theda Nelson Clarke]] and Graham, forced Aquash into the back of a car and drove her to a remote part of the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]], where Aquash was shot execution style in the back of the head and left to die.<ref name="Legend of Pine Ridge">{{cite web |url=http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.com/2008/07/why-was-anna-mae-aquash-really-murdered.html |title=Why Was Anna Mae Aquash Really Murdered? |work=Legend of Pine Ridge |first= |last= |date=28 July 2008 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> Her body was located nearly two months later on 24 February 1976<ref name="Huffington Post">{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-giago/what-is-the-truth-about-t_b_62521.html |title=What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae? |work=The Huffington Post |first= |last= |date=27 August 2007 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> on the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] at the bottom of a ravine located in close proximity to an isolated highway.<ref name="First Nation's Drums">{{cite web |url=http://www.firstnationsdrum.com/2000/12/murder-of-anna-mae-aquash-unsolved-after-23-years/ |title=What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae? |work=First Nation's Drums |first= |last= |date=26 December 2000 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> Aquash was revealed to have been murdered with a firearm, as the autopsy showed that the muzzle of the gun had been pressed into the back of her neck.<ref name="Mail Archives">{{cite web |url=https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg03815.html |title=NATIVE_NEWS: ANNA MAE: A Badlands trail of secrets and murder |work=Mail Archives |first= |last= |date=7 August 1999 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> The coroner's report indicated that in addition to the fatal gunshot wound, [[Hypothermia|exposure]] caused the death of Aquash,<ref name="Occupirate">{{cite web |url=http://occupirate.blogspot.com/2013/06/who-killed-anna-mae-aquash-and-who.html |title=Who killed Anna Mae Aquash and who cares anyway? |work=Occupirate |first=CJ |last=Sparrow |date=22 June 2013 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> as her body was frozen by the time it was discovered.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

⚫
Graham indicated that he and his family were visited several times in the Yukon during the 1990s, and allegedly threatened to charge him with murder if he did not falsely identify [[American Indian Movement|AIM]] leadership for the murder.<ref name="Anarchist News">{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828071022/https://anarchistnews.org/content/anarchist-solidarity-indigenous-warrior-john-graham |title=Anarchist solidarity with indigenous warrior John Graham |work=Anarchist News |first= |last= |date=19 January 2008 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Anti-Politics" />


===Arrest===
===Arrest===
On 30 March 2003, Graham was charged with the 1975 [[Murder#Degrees of murder|first-degree murder]]/pre-meditated murder of Anna Mae Aquash<ref name="Graham Defense Committee" /> in the United States. Because Graham was a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia at the time, the case required Graham's extradition. On 1 December 2003, Graham was arrested in Vancouver for the murder of Aquash, and his bail was set at $50,000.00.<ref name="Westgate House">{{cite web |url=http://westgatehouse.com/art213.html |title=US Renews War on the American Indian Movement:The Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash Story |first=Billie |last=Pierre |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>
On 30 March 2003, Graham was charged with the 1975 [[Murder#Degrees of murder|first-degree murder]]/pre-meditated murder of [[Anna Mae Aquash|Anna Mae]]<ref name="Graham Defense Committee" /> in the United States. Because Graham was a resident of [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]] at the time, the case required Graham's extradition. On 1 December 2003, Graham was arrested in [[Vancouver]] for the murder of Pictou-Aquash, and his bail was set at $50,000.00.<ref name="Westgate House">{{cite web |url=http://westgatehouse.com/art213.html |title=US Renews War on the American Indian Movement:The Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash Story |first=Billie |last=Pierre |date= |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref>


Graham resisted extradition, and despite being put under house arrest in December 2003, he filed an appeal within British Columbia to keep the case from moving forward.<ref name="Rapid City Journal #0">{{cite web |url=http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/top-stories/john-graham-loses-extradition-appeal-for-pine-ridge-slaying/article_c1d9e9ca-8ae7-5225-8828-87f6b69400ce.html |title=John Graham loses extradition appeal for 1975 Pine Ridge slaying · Former AIM activist charged in 1975 death of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash |first= |last= |date=25 June 2007 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> On 23 June 2006, the presiding judge extended Graham's bail to 23 June 2006, giving Graham's lawyer, Terry LaLiberte time to file an appeal following the British Columbia Supreme Court's decision to extradite Graham.<ref name="AIMovement">{{cite web |url=http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/graham.html |title=American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council· Ministry for Information |first= |last= |date=8 November 2005 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> Graham lost the appeal, had his bail revoked and he was taken to jail to await extradition,<ref name="Rapid City Journal #0" /> which happened on 6 December 2007.<ref name="Anti-Politics" />
Graham resisted extradition, and despite being put under house arrest in December 2003, he filed an appeal within [[British Columbia]] to keep the case from moving forward.<ref name="Rapid City Journal #0">{{cite web |url=http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/top-stories/john-graham-loses-extradition-appeal-for-pine-ridge-slaying/article_c1d9e9ca-8ae7-5225-8828-87f6b69400ce.html |title=John Graham loses extradition appeal for 1975 Pine Ridge slaying · Former AIM activist charged in 1975 death of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash |first= |last= |date=25 June 2007 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> On 23 June 2006, the presiding judge extended Graham's bail to 23 June 2006, giving Graham's lawyer, Terry LaLiberte time to file an appeal following the [[British Columbia Supreme Court]]'s decision to extradite Graham.<ref name="AIMovement">{{cite web |url=http://www.aimovement.org/moipr/graham.html |title=American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council· Ministry for Information |first= |last= |date=8 November 2005 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> Graham lost the appeal, had his bail revoked and he was taken to jail to await extradition,<ref name="Rapid City Journal #0" /> which happened on 6 December 2007.<ref name="Anti-Politics" />


===United States v. Graham===
===United States v. Graham===
John Graham was charged in the United States on 30 March 2003 with the 1975 first-degree murder/pre-meditated murder of [[Anna Mae Aquash]].<ref name="Graham Defense Committee" />
John Graham was charged in the United States on 30 March 2003 with the 1975 [[Murder#Degrees of murder|first-degree murder]]/pre-meditated murder of [[Anna Mae Aquash|Anna Mae]].<ref name="Graham Defense Committee" />
After protracted litigation in the federal courts, the federal premeditated murder charge was dismissed in United States v. Graham, 572 F.3d 954 (8th Cir.2009).<ref name="Case Law">{{cite web |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/sd-supreme-court/1602291.html |title=Supreme Court of South Dakota. STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John GRAHAM a/k/a John Boy Patton, Defendant and Appellant. No. 25899. Decided: 30 May 2012 |work=Case Law |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=7 March 2016}}</ref>
After protracted litigation in the federal courts, the federal premeditated murder charge was dismissed in United States v. Graham, 572 F.3d 954 (8th Cir.2009).<ref name="Case Law">{{cite web |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/sd-supreme-court/1602291.html |title=Supreme Court of South Dakota. STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John GRAHAM a/k/a John Boy Patton, Defendant and Appellant. No. 25899. Decided: 30 May 2012 |work=Case Law |first= |last= |date= |access-date=7 March 2016}}</ref>


===State of South Dakota v. Graham===
===State of South Dakota v. Graham===
However, before Graham could return to Canada, he was indicted by a Pennington County, South Dakota grand jury on state charges of premeditated murder and felony murder.  The underlying felony was alleged to be the kidnapping of Aquash.<ref name="Case Law #2">{{cite web |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/sd-supreme-court/1602291.html#footnote_3 |title=Supreme Court of South Dakota. STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John GRAHAM a/k/a John Boy Patton, Defendant and Appellant. No. 25899. Decided: 30 May 2012 |work=Case Law |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=7 March 2016}}</ref>
However, before Graham could return to Canada, he was indicted by a [[Pennington County, South Dakota|Pennington County]] grand jury on state charges of premeditated murder and [[felony murder]].  The underlying felony was alleged to be the kidnapping of Aquash.<ref name="Case Law #2">{{cite web |url=https://caselaw.findlaw.com/sd-supreme-court/1602291.html#footnote_3 |title=Supreme Court of South Dakota. STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John GRAHAM a/k/a John Boy Patton, Defendant and Appellant. No. 25899. Decided: 30 May 2012 |work=Case Law |first= |last= |date= |access-date=7 March 2016}}</ref>


On 2 December 2010, South Dakota Judge John Delaney forbade any mention of a finding in the first autopsy report for Aquash that suggests she may have had sex shortly before her death to jurors, a finding which prosecutors said originated from Graham allegedly raping Aquash during her kidnapping.<ref name="Native Times #1">{{cite web |url=http://www.nativetimes.com/news/crime/4709-prosecution-rests-in-1975-aim-slaying-trial |title=Prosecution rests in 1975 AIM slaying trial |work=Native Times |first=Norman |last=Merchant |date=8 December 2010 |accessdate=7 March 2016}}</ref>
On 2 December 2010, [[South Dakota]] Judge John Delaney forbade any mention of a finding in the first autopsy report for Aquash that suggests she may have had sex shortly before her death to jurors, a finding which prosecutors said originated from Graham allegedly raping Aquash during her kidnapping.<ref name="Native Times #1">{{cite web |url=http://www.nativetimes.com/news/crime/4709-prosecution-rests-in-1975-aim-slaying-trial |title=Prosecution rests in 1975 AIM slaying trial |work=Native Times |first=Norman |last=Merchant |date=8 December 2010 |access-date=7 March 2016}}</ref>


On 3 December 2010, Nichols-Ecoffey testified that an AIM activist later convicted of killing two FBI agents made an "incriminating" statement in front of her and Aquash, who was later shot and killed.<ref name="Native Times #1" /> The "incriminating" statement referred to Peltier's admission by "shooting the motherf***** that was begging for his life, and still shooting him."<ref name="JFAMR #5">{{cite web |url=http://www.jfamr.org/trialtime.html |title=Aquash Murder Case Timeline |work=JFAMR |first=Paul |last=DeMain |date= |accessdate=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114250/http://www.jfamr.org/trialtime.html |archive-date=13 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ecoffey, the former common-law wife of AIM leader Dennis Banks, was forbidden by Circuit Court Judge John Delaney from telling jurors exactly what she alleges group member [[Leonard Peltier]] told her six months before Aquash was killed. The judge deemed it hearsay. But under questioning from prosecutors, she was allowed to say that Peltier made an "incriminating" statement.<ref name="Native Times #1" />
On 3 December 2010, Nichols-Ecoffey testified that an AIM activist later convicted of killing two FBI agents made an "incriminating" statement in front of her and Aquash, who was later shot and killed.<ref name="Native Times #1" /> The "incriminating" statement referred to Peltier's admission by "shooting the motherf***** that was begging for his life, and still shooting him."<ref name="JFAMR #5">{{cite web |url=http://www.jfamr.org/trialtime.html |title=Aquash Murder Case Timeline |work=JFAMR |first=Paul |last=DeMain |date= |access-date=7 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114250/http://www.jfamr.org/trialtime.html |archive-date=13 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ecoffey, the former common-law wife of AIM leader Dennis Banks, was forbidden by Circuit Court Judge John Delaney from telling jurors exactly what she alleges group member [[Leonard Peltier]] told her six months before Aquash was killed. The judge deemed it hearsay. But under questioning from prosecutors, she was allowed to say that Peltier made an "incriminating" statement.<ref name="Native Times #1" />


Graham was convicted of felony murder on 10 December 2010 after jurors heard evidence that he aided in the abduction of Aquash from Denver, Colorado in December 1975.<ref name="Rapid City Journal #3">{{cite web |url=http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/graham-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/article_5dc46ba0-27f0-11e0-8b71-001cc4c03286.html |title=Graham sentenced to life in prison |work=Rapid City Journal |first=Heidi Bell |last=Geise |date=24 January 2011 |accessdate=7 March 2016}}</ref> Graham was sentenced to minimum mandatory life in prison for the murder.<ref name="Rapid City Journal #3" /><ref name="Indianz #2">{{cite web |url=http://www.indianz.com/News/2011/000237.asp |title=John Graham sentenced to life in prison for 1975 Aquash murder |work=Indianz |first= |last= |date=25 January 2011 |accessdate=7 March 2016}}</ref>
Graham was convicted of felony murder on 10 December 2010 after jurors heard evidence that he aided in the abduction of Aquash from [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]] in December 1975.<ref name="Rapid City Journal #3">{{cite web |url=http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/graham-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/article_5dc46ba0-27f0-11e0-8b71-001cc4c03286.html |title=Graham sentenced to life in prison |work=Rapid City Journal |first=Heidi Bell |last=Geise |date=24 January 2011 |access-date=7 March 2016}}</ref> Graham was sentenced to minimum mandatory life in prison for the murder.<ref name="Rapid City Journal #3" /><ref name="Indianz #2">{{cite web |url=http://www.indianz.com/News/2011/000237.asp |title=John Graham sentenced to life in prison for 1975 Aquash murder |work=Indianz |first= |last= |date=25 January 2011 |access-date=7 March 2016}}</ref>


===2012 Appeal===
===2012 Appeal===
Graham continued to maintain his innocence and attempted to secure an appeal that would grant him a release from prison. The South Dakota Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding his 2010 conviction on 19 March 2012 in Vermillion, South Dakota.<ref name="Rapid City Journal">{{cite web |url=http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/john-graham-appeal-accepted-for-supreme-court-hearing/article_5833e19e-5f5c-11e1-bf4a-001871e3ce6c.html |title=Rapid City Journal |work=Indianz |first=Andrea J. |last=Cook |date=25 February 2012 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> Graham's attorney, John Murphy, argued that the government should not have had the authority to transfer his case from federal to state jurisdiction following his extradition to the US,<ref name="Native Times #2">{{cite web |url=http://www.nativetimes.com/index.php/news/crime/7000-canadian-appeals-conviction-in-75-aim-slaying |title=Canadian appeals conviction in '75 AIM slaying |work=Native Times |first=Dirk |last=Lammers |date=20 March 2012 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled that the state was within its rights to prosecute Graham, there was sufficient evidence to convict Graham, and his life-sentence imprisonment without parole was commensurate with the crime committed. The South Dakota Supreme Court thus dismissed the John Graham Appeal.<ref name="South Dakota Attorney General">{{cite web |url=https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=1054 |title=South Dakota Supreme Court Dismisses John Graham Appeal |work=South Dakota Attorney General |first= |last= |date=10 September 2013 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> Graham is currently{{When|date=August 2018}} incarcerated at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.<ref>http://www.grahamdefense.org/</ref>
Graham continued to maintain his innocence and attempted to secure an appeal that would grant him a release from prison. The [[South Dakota Supreme Court]] heard oral arguments regarding his 2010 conviction on 19 March 2012 in [[Vermillion, South Dakota|Vermillion]], [[South Dakota]].<ref name="Rapid City Journal">{{cite web |url=http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/john-graham-appeal-accepted-for-supreme-court-hearing/article_5833e19e-5f5c-11e1-bf4a-001871e3ce6c.html |title=Rapid City Journal |work=Indianz |first=Andrea J. |last=Cook |date=25 February 2012 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> Graham's attorney, John Murphy, argued that the government should not have had the authority to transfer his case from federal to state jurisdiction following his extradition to the US,<ref name="Native Times #2">{{cite web |url=http://www.nativetimes.com/index.php/news/crime/7000-canadian-appeals-conviction-in-75-aim-slaying |title=Canadian appeals conviction in '75 AIM slaying |work=Native Times |first=Dirk |last=Lammers |date=20 March 2012 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> the [[South Dakota Supreme Court]] ruled that the state was within its rights to prosecute Graham, there was sufficient evidence to convict Graham, and his life-sentence imprisonment without parole was commensurate with the crime committed. The South Dakota Supreme Court thus dismissed the John Graham Appeal.<ref name="South Dakota Attorney General">{{cite web |url=https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=1054 |title=South Dakota Supreme Court Dismisses John Graham Appeal |work=South Dakota Attorney General |first= |last= |date=10 September 2013 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> Graham is currently{{When|date=August 2018}} incarcerated at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota|Sioux Falls]], South Dakota.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.grahamdefense.org/ |title=Home |website=grahamdefense.org}}</ref>


===2018 Appeal===
===2018 Appeal===
On 30 March 2018, Graham appealed his conviction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on the premise that "the court lacked jurisdiction over him because he is a Canadian citizen whose extradition allegedly violated a treaty,".<ref name="Black Hills Fox">{{cite web |url=https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=1054 |title=Murder conviction of AIM member affirmed |work=Black Hills Fox |first= |last= |date=30 March 2018 |accessdate=18 July 2019}}</ref> Graham's legal defense argued that his 2011 conviction in South Dakota was for felony murder, a crime which does not exist in Canada, and a crime that was not mentioned his extradition request.<ref name="Argus Leader">{{cite web |url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2018/04/04/man-loses-bid-overturn-anna-mae-aquash-murder-conviction/484104002/ |title=Man loses bid to overturn Anna Mae Aquash murder conviction |work=Argus Leader |first=Jonathan |last=Ellis |date=4 April 2018 |accessdate=18 July 2019}}</ref> However, the Eighth Circuit ultimately upheld Graham's conviction, and his appeal was denied.<ref name="Case Text">{{cite web |url=https://casetext.com/case/graham-v-young-2 |title=Graham v. Young |work=Case Text |first= |last= |date=30 March 2018 |accessdate=18 July 2019}}</ref> The three-judge panel concurred that felony murder was not written in the original extradition request authored by the United States. However, the subsequent waiver issued by Canada expanded the authority of the extradition, and, based on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit's opinion, it is beyond the Eight Circuit's jurisdiction to interpret Canadian laws.<ref name="Argus Leader"/>
On 30 March 2018, Graham appealed his conviction to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit]] on the premise that, "the court lacked jurisdiction over him because he is a Canadian citizen whose extradition allegedly violated a treaty".<ref name="Black Hills Fox">{{cite web |url=https://atg.sd.gov/OurOffice/Media/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?id=1054 |title=Murder conviction of AIM member affirmed |work=Black Hills Fox |first= |last= |date=30 March 2018 |access-date=18 July 2019}}</ref> Graham's legal defense argued that his 2011 conviction in South Dakota was for felony murder, a crime which does not exist in Canada, and a crime that was not mentioned his extradition request.<ref name="Argus Leader">{{cite web |url=https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2018/04/04/man-loses-bid-overturn-anna-mae-aquash-murder-conviction/484104002/ |title=Man loses bid to overturn Anna Mae Aquash murder conviction |work=Argus Leader |first=Jonathan |last=Ellis |date=4 April 2018 |access-date=18 July 2019}}</ref> However, the Eighth Circuit ultimately upheld Graham's conviction, and his appeal was denied.<ref name="Case Text">{{cite web |url=https://casetext.com/case/graham-v-young-2 |title=Graham v. Young |work=Case Text |first= |last= |date=30 March 2018 |access-date=18 July 2019}}</ref> The three-judge panel concurred that felony murder was not written in the original extradition request authored by the United States. However, the subsequent waiver issued by Canada expanded the authority of the extradition, and, based on the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|Eight Circuit Court]]'s opinion, it is beyond the Eighth Circuit's jurisdiction to interpret Canadian laws.<ref name="Argus Leader"/>


==Legacy==
==Aftermath==
⚫
Graham's trial and sentencing have been the subject of both scrutiny and controversy, with independent bloggers and activists writing pieces in support, or advancing alternate theories about the crimes Graham has been convicted of. Some have written that Graham claimed he and his family were visited several times in the Yukon during the 1990s, and allegedly threatened that he would be charged with murder if he did not implicate [[American Indian Movement|AIM]] leadership in the murder.<ref name="Anarchist News">{{cite web |url=https://anarchistnews.org/content/anarchist-solidarity-indigenous-warrior-john-graham |title=Anarchist solidarity with indigenous warrior John Graham |work=Anarchist News |first= |last= |date=19 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828071022/https://anarchistnews.org/content/anarchist-solidarity-indigenous-warrior-john-graham |access-date=17 August 2016|archive-date=28 August 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Anti-Politics" />
Graham's trial and sentencing have been the subject of both scrutiny and controversy.


⚫
Following Graham's extradition to the United States, the John Graham Defense Committee was formed.<ref name="Folk Kampen">{{cite web |url=http://www.folkkampanjen.se/doc1/mg20040106.html|title=John Graham Arrested on 1 Dec. 2003 |first=Miles |last=Goldstick |date=6 January 2006 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> The organization's intent is to prove his innocence. Despite Looking Cloud's plea bargain which involved testifying against John Graham in exchange for a reduction in his prison sentence, the Graham Defense Committee indicated that it would help Looking Cloud form a legal appeals team. According to a representative from the Graham Defense Committee, in addition to Looking Cloud's conviction being based on a lack of forensic evidence, they also indicated that, "Yet the Graham Defense committee will help form a legal appeals team for Looking Cloud. Why help him when he implicated John? We don't believe he intended to implicate John."<ref name="IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork #2">{{cite web |url=http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2004/02/12/looking-cloud-trial-raises-questions-89957 |title= Looking Cloud trial raises questions |work=Indian Country Today Media Networkz |first=David |last=Melmer |date=12 February 2004 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref>
There are accounts which indicate that 'John Graham' and 'John Boy Patton' are not the same person. The "John Boy Patten" in question is the nephew of [[Theda Nelson Clarke]] (Patten's mother, Corky Nelson Patten, is the sister of Theda Nelson Clarke), is around the same age as Graham, and bears a striking resemblance to Graham.<ref name="IndyBay">{{cite web |url=https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/12/03/18465002.php?show_comments=1 |title=South Dakota Supreme Court Dismisses John Graham Appeal |work=South Dakota Attorney General |first= |last= |date=3 December 2007 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> This view is corroborated by Graham's attorney, Terry LaLiberte, who indicated that the U.S. was looking for a white male, 188&nbsp;cm tall (approximately 6&nbsp;ft. 2 in), weighing 87&nbsp;kg (approximately 192&nbsp;lbs.), and that "the guy they [the U.S.] want is six inches taller than Mr. Graham, and there is a problem with the weight and the racial description."<ref name="Injustice Busters">{{cite web |url=http://injusticebusters.org/04/Graham_John.htm |title=Extradition challenged: Misidentification evidence placed before judge |work=Injustice Busters |first= |last= |date=2 February 2005 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> Additionally, LaLiberte has disputed that his client was known by the name John Boy Patton. "Also known by whom? We have requested that they clarify these points, and they have not proffered that evidence."<ref name="Injustice Busters" /><ref name="Lakota Perspectives">{{cite web |url=http://www.lakotaperspectives.com/Graham_not_kill_Anna_Ma.html |title=Graham not kill Anna Mae |work=Lakota Perspectives |first= |last= |date= |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>

There are also factions which claim Graham's imprisonment was the result of a corporate cover-up. Around the time Graham's appeal against extradition was denied, Cash Minerals Ltd., a Canadian-based company whose objective was to further uranium exploration in the Yukon, discovered uranium near Graham's property.<ref name="Common Ground" /><ref name="Our Freedom">{{cite web |url=https://ourfreedom.wordpress.com/2008/06/ |title=Picket action in Vancouver for John Graham, indigenous prisoner of war |first= |last= |date=28 June 2008 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref>

⚫
Following Graham's extradition to the United States, the John Graham Defense Committee was formed.<ref name="Folk Kampen">{{cite web |url=http://www.folkkampanjen.se/doc1/mg20040106.html|title=John Graham Arrested on 1 Dec. 2003 |first=Miles |last=Goldstick |date=6 January 2006 |accessdate=17 August 2016}}</ref> The organization's intent is to prove his innocence. Despite Looking Cloud's plea bargain which involved testifying against John Graham in exchange for a reduction in his prison sentence, the Graham Defense Committee indicated that it would help Looking Cloud form a legal appeals team. According to a representative from the Graham Defense Committee, in addition to Looking Cloud's conviction being based on a lack of forensic evidence, they also indicated that, "Yet the Graham Defense committee will help form a legal appeals team for Looking Cloud. Why help him when he implicated John? We don't believe he intended to implicate John."<ref name="IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork #2">{{cite web |url=http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2004/02/12/looking-cloud-trial-raises-questions-89957 |title= Looking Cloud trial raises questions |work=Indian Country Today Media Networkz |first=David |last=Melmer |date=12 February 2004 |accessdate=16 August 2016}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
* [[American Indian Movement]]
*[[American Indian Movement]]
* [[Arlo Looking Cloud]]
*[[Arlo Looking Cloud]]
* [[Theda Nelson Clarke]]
*[[Theda Nelson Clarke]]
* [[Darlene Ka-Mook Nichols|Darlene Nichols]]
*[[Darlene Ka-Mook Nichols|Darlene Nichols]]
* [[Anna Mae Aquash]]
*[[Anna Mae Aquash|Annie Mae Pictou-Aquash]]
* [[Uranium mining and the Navajo people]]
*[[Uranium mining and the Navajo people]]


==References==
==References==
Line 116: Line 108:


{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, John}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, John}}
⚫
[[Category:1954 births]]
⚫
[[Category:1970s in South Dakota]]
[[Category:20th-century First Nations people]]
[[Category:20th-century First Nations people]]
[[Category:21st-century First Nations people]]
[[Category:21st-century First Nations people]]
Line 128: Line 122:
[[Category:1975 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:1975 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:Native American history of South Dakota]]
[[Category:Native American history of South Dakota]]
⚫
[[Category:1970s in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Crimes in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Crimes in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in South Dakota]]
Line 134: Line 127:
[[Category:Rapes in the United States]]
[[Category:Rapes in the United States]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by South Dakota]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by South Dakota]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Dakota]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
⚫
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:People extradited from Canada to the United States]]
[[Category:People extradited from Canada to the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian male criminals]]
[[Category:Canadian male criminals]]
[[Category:Canadian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]

Latest revision as of 03:18, 21 June 2024

John Graham
Born
John Graham

1954-7 (age 62–63)
NationalityCanadian
CitizenshipChampagne and Aishihik First Nations
OccupationActivist
OrganizationAmerican Indian Movement
Known forThe Native People's Caravan[1]
The Beothuk Patrol[1]
Triggerman in the murder of AIM Activist Anna Mae Aquash[2]
Children8 children[3][4]
(including Naneek Graham,[5]
Chusia Graham,[6]
Jimi[7]
and Dezi[7])
ParentRachael Thompson (Mother)[7][8]
WebsiteJohn Graham Defense Committee

John Graham is a Canadian, Yukoner, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations citizen, and former Native American activist. He is best known for being convicted for the murder of fellow American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Aquash.[2][9]

Early life[edit]

Graham was born in Whitehorse,[10] Yukon, Canada and is a member of the Southern Tutchone Champagne and Aishihik First Nations people.[11][8][3] One source indicates that Graham is from Haines Junction, Yukon.[12]

Graham's birth year falls somewhere between the years of 1954 and 1957. In 1974, when Graham participated in the Native People's Caravan in 1974, he was 17 years,[1] meaning he was either born in 1957, or would be turning 18, and thus born in 1956 and 1957. Several sources also identify Graham as being 55-years-old at the time the guilty verdict was read.[13] This would place his year of birth at 1954 (if he was 55-year-olds, and going on 56) or 1955 (if he had turned 55-years-old).

Personal life[edit]

John Graham is a father of eight and former resident of Vancouver, British Columbia.[14]

Career[edit]

Graham is a long-term member of the American Indian Movement.

In 1974, when Graham was 17, he participated in the Native Peoples' Caravan from Vancouver to Ottawa, an unauthorized occupation event in which 300 participants from the Caravan moved into the abandoned Carbide Mill building on Victoria Island, behind the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, for 5 months.[1] Graham was also active in protest throughout other Canadian provinces. In Vancouver, Graham also participated as a member the Beothuck Patrol, a First Nations group which conducted street level monitoring of police harassment.[1]

In June 1980, the Caravan for Survival, which included Graham as a protester, consisted of who drove from Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of Saskatchewan, to the northern Saskatchewan uranium boom town of La Ronge to protest the opening of government-operated Key Lake Uranium Mine Board of Inquiry.[15]

Following the conclusion of the Native Peoples' Caravan, Graham took part in his first armed occupation[1] when he traveled to the state of New York group to provide support (as general security) to the Mohawk land re-occupation at Ganienkeh, also known as Eagle Lake.

During the summer 1981, the AIM Survival Group opened the Anne Mae Aquash Survival Camp near the community of Pinehouse, located in northern Saskatchewan, on the Key Lake road, which was done to create a forum in which Native rights issues and the problems of the uranium industry could be openly discussed. Graham was one of the people at the camp.[15]

During the months of May and June in 1984, Graham spoke throughout Europe, on a tour organized by European anti-nuclear, Native rights and environmental groups to raise awareness of the impact of uranium mining in Canada on Indigenous Canadians.[16]

Legal history[edit]

Murder of Anna Mae Aquash[edit]

Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash was a prominent voice and leading activist within the ranks of the American Indian Movement.

On 12 December 1975, Aquash was forced out of the home of Denver AIM activist Troy Lynn S. Yellow Wood despite the latter's objection that something bad would happen to Aquash. Aquash was then forcefully taken to an apartment in Rapid City owned by Russell Means' brother, where she was interrogated and, prosecutors charge, held captive, tortured and raped by Graham.[17]

Looking Cloud, one of Graham's and Nelson-Clark's accomplices, said he heard Graham and Aquash "having sex" in the bedroom of a Rapid City apartment (whose ownership is attributed to Thelma Rios and her mother[18]); the prosecution charges that Graham raped Aquash.[17] Looking Cloud waited outside of the room while Graham raped Aquash, and Graham acknowledged in a taped interview/interrogation that Looking Cloud waited outside of the room where Anna Mae was imprisoned.[19]

Aquash was then forcefully moved to the Rosebud Indian Reservation where AIM supporters refused to house her.[20][better source needed] Looking Cloud, along with Theda Nelson Clarke and Graham, forced Aquash into the back of a car and drove her to a remote part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where Aquash was shot execution style in the back of the head and left to die.[21] Her body was located nearly two months later on 24 February 1976[22] on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation at the bottom of a ravine located in close proximity to an isolated highway.[23] Aquash was revealed to have been murdered with a firearm, as the autopsy showed that the muzzle of the gun had been pressed into the back of her neck.[24] The coroner's report indicated that in addition to the fatal gunshot wound, exposure caused the death of Aquash,[25] as her body was frozen by the time it was discovered.[citation needed]

Arrest[edit]

On 30 March 2003, Graham was charged with the 1975 first-degree murder/pre-meditated murder of Anna Mae[3] in the United States. Because Graham was a resident of Vancouver at the time, the case required Graham's extradition. On 1 December 2003, Graham was arrested in Vancouver for the murder of Pictou-Aquash, and his bail was set at $50,000.00.[26]

Graham resisted extradition, and despite being put under house arrest in December 2003, he filed an appeal within British Columbia to keep the case from moving forward.[27] On 23 June 2006, the presiding judge extended Graham's bail to 23 June 2006, giving Graham's lawyer, Terry LaLiberte time to file an appeal following the British Columbia Supreme Court's decision to extradite Graham.[28] Graham lost the appeal, had his bail revoked and he was taken to jail to await extradition,[27] which happened on 6 December 2007.[1]

United States v. Graham[edit]

John Graham was charged in the United States on 30 March 2003 with the 1975 first-degree murder/pre-meditated murder of Anna Mae.[3] After protracted litigation in the federal courts, the federal premeditated murder charge was dismissed in United States v. Graham, 572 F.3d 954 (8th Cir.2009).[29]

State of South Dakota v. Graham[edit]

However, before Graham could return to Canada, he was indicted by a Pennington County grand jury on state charges of premeditated murder and felony murder.  The underlying felony was alleged to be the kidnapping of Aquash.[30]

On 2 December 2010, South Dakota Judge John Delaney forbade any mention of a finding in the first autopsy report for Aquash that suggests she may have had sex shortly before her death to jurors, a finding which prosecutors said originated from Graham allegedly raping Aquash during her kidnapping.[31]

On 3 December 2010, Nichols-Ecoffey testified that an AIM activist later convicted of killing two FBI agents made an "incriminating" statement in front of her and Aquash, who was later shot and killed.[31] The "incriminating" statement referred to Peltier's admission by "shooting the motherf***** that was begging for his life, and still shooting him."[32] Ecoffey, the former common-law wife of AIM leader Dennis Banks, was forbidden by Circuit Court Judge John Delaney from telling jurors exactly what she alleges group member Leonard Peltier told her six months before Aquash was killed. The judge deemed it hearsay. But under questioning from prosecutors, she was allowed to say that Peltier made an "incriminating" statement.[31]

Graham was convicted of felony murder on 10 December 2010 after jurors heard evidence that he aided in the abduction of Aquash from Denver in December 1975.[33] Graham was sentenced to minimum mandatory life in prison for the murder.[33][34]

2012 Appeal[edit]

Graham continued to maintain his innocence and attempted to secure an appeal that would grant him a release from prison. The South Dakota Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding his 2010 conviction on 19 March 2012 in Vermillion, South Dakota.[35] Graham's attorney, John Murphy, argued that the government should not have had the authority to transfer his case from federal to state jurisdiction following his extradition to the US,[36] the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled that the state was within its rights to prosecute Graham, there was sufficient evidence to convict Graham, and his life-sentence imprisonment without parole was commensurate with the crime committed. The South Dakota Supreme Court thus dismissed the John Graham Appeal.[37] Graham is currently[when?] incarcerated at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.[38]

2018 Appeal[edit]

On 30 March 2018, Graham appealed his conviction to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on the premise that, "the court lacked jurisdiction over him because he is a Canadian citizen whose extradition allegedly violated a treaty".[39] Graham's legal defense argued that his 2011 conviction in South Dakota was for felony murder, a crime which does not exist in Canada, and a crime that was not mentioned his extradition request.[40] However, the Eighth Circuit ultimately upheld Graham's conviction, and his appeal was denied.[41] The three-judge panel concurred that felony murder was not written in the original extradition request authored by the United States. However, the subsequent waiver issued by Canada expanded the authority of the extradition, and, based on the Eight Circuit Court's opinion, it is beyond the Eighth Circuit's jurisdiction to interpret Canadian laws.[40]

Aftermath[edit]

Graham's trial and sentencing have been the subject of both scrutiny and controversy, with independent bloggers and activists writing pieces in support, or advancing alternate theories about the crimes Graham has been convicted of. Some have written that Graham claimed he and his family were visited several times in the Yukon during the 1990s, and allegedly threatened that he would be charged with murder if he did not implicate AIM leadership in the murder.[42][1]

Following Graham's extradition to the United States, the John Graham Defense Committee was formed.[43] The organization's intent is to prove his innocence. Despite Looking Cloud's plea bargain which involved testifying against John Graham in exchange for a reduction in his prison sentence, the Graham Defense Committee indicated that it would help Looking Cloud form a legal appeals team. According to a representative from the Graham Defense Committee, in addition to Looking Cloud's conviction being based on a lack of forensic evidence, they also indicated that, "Yet the Graham Defense committee will help form a legal appeals team for Looking Cloud. Why help him when he implicated John? We don't believe he intended to implicate John."[44]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Dunphy, Martin (2009). "John Graham's Life in Resistance" (PDF). Anti-Politics. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b Lee, Stephen (2 March 2015). "Jackley: Aquash case might help solve other cold cases from Wounded Knee". Capital Journal. Retrieved 25 June 2021. John Graham is in prison for life for murdering Annie Mae Aquash in December 1975 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
  3. ^ a b c d "John Graham Defense Committee". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Building Relationships" (PDF). Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  5. ^ "John Graham Extradited to Face Trumped Charges". The Pacific Free Press. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Free John Graham · BC Supreme Court set to decide Graham's extradition fate". Common Ground. September 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  7. ^ a b c "Photo Album". John Graham Defense Committee. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  8. ^ a b "Building Relationships" (PDF). CAFN. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  9. ^ "The Lies of John Graham". Indigenous Women for Justice. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  10. ^ "Letter and Petition Campaign". John Graham Defense Committee. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  11. ^ Stasyszyn, Roxanne (1 June 2012). "John Graham's appeal shot down". Indigenous Women for Justice. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  12. ^ . 20 February 2013 Review http://www.onsitereview.ca/miscellanea/20Onsite Review. Retrieved 17 August 2016. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ Worthington, Peter (24 December 2010). "Three Decades Later: Justice for Murdered Activist". Frum Forum. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  14. ^ Dunphy, Martin (4 February 2011). "John Graham lawyer to appeal conviction, life sentence in Aquash murder trial in South Dakota · "Cruel and unusual punishment" cited as grounds to allow parole". Straight. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  15. ^ a b "The Anne Mae Aquash Survival Camp, Summer 1981, near Pinehouse, Saskatchewan". John Graham Defense Committee. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Independent Radiation Surveys at Niger Uranium Mines Obstructed". Wiser International. 30 January 2004. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  17. ^ a b Merchant, Nomaan (8 December 2010). "Man testifies at US trial he saw AIM activist shot". Heishort. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  18. ^ "Extradition challenged: Misidentification evidence placed before judge". Injustice Busters. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  19. ^ Merchant, Nomaan (2 March 2004). "Man Indicted for Anna Mae's Murder Refuses to take Lie-Detector Test". Heishort. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  20. ^ "Aquash Murder Case Timeline". JFAMR. Archived from the original on 14 February 2004. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  21. ^ "Why Was Anna Mae Aquash Really Murdered?". Legend of Pine Ridge. 28 July 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  22. ^ "What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae?". The Huffington Post. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  23. ^ "What is the Truth About the Murder of Anna Mae?". First Nation's Drums. 26 December 2000. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  24. ^ "NATIVE_NEWS: ANNA MAE: A Badlands trail of secrets and murder". Mail Archives. 7 August 1999. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  25. ^ Sparrow, CJ (22 June 2013). "Who killed Anna Mae Aquash and who cares anyway?". Occupirate. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  26. ^ Pierre, Billie. "US Renews War on the American Indian Movement:The Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash Story". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  27. ^ a b "John Graham loses extradition appeal for 1975 Pine Ridge slaying · Former AIM activist charged in 1975 death of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash". 25 June 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  28. ^ "American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council· Ministry for Information". 8 November 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  29. ^ "Supreme Court of South Dakota. STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John GRAHAM a/k/a John Boy Patton, Defendant and Appellant. No. 25899. Decided: 30 May 2012". Case Law. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  30. ^ "Supreme Court of South Dakota. STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. John GRAHAM a/k/a John Boy Patton, Defendant and Appellant. No. 25899. Decided: 30 May 2012". Case Law. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  31. ^ a b c Merchant, Norman (8 December 2010). "Prosecution rests in 1975 AIM slaying trial". Native Times. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  32. ^ DeMain, Paul. "Aquash Murder Case Timeline". JFAMR. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  33. ^ a b Geise, Heidi Bell (24 January 2011). "Graham sentenced to life in prison". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  34. ^ "John Graham sentenced to life in prison for 1975 Aquash murder". Indianz. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  35. ^ Cook, Andrea J. (25 February 2012). "Rapid City Journal". Indianz. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  36. ^ Lammers, Dirk (20 March 2012). "Canadian appeals conviction in '75 AIM slaying". Native Times. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  37. ^ "South Dakota Supreme Court Dismisses John Graham Appeal". South Dakota Attorney General. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  38. ^ "Home". grahamdefense.org.
  39. ^ "Murder conviction of AIM member affirmed". Black Hills Fox. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  40. ^ a b Ellis, Jonathan (4 April 2018). "Man loses bid to overturn Anna Mae Aquash murder conviction". Argus Leader. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  41. ^ "Graham v. Young". Case Text. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  42. ^ "Anarchist solidarity with indigenous warrior John Graham". Anarchist News. 19 January 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  43. ^ Goldstick, Miles (6 January 2006). "John Graham Arrested on 1 Dec. 2003". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  44. ^ Melmer, David (12 February 2004). "Looking Cloud trial raises questions". Indian Country Today Media Networkz. Retrieved 16 August 2016.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Graham_(Canadian_activist)&oldid=1230169793"