John Graham, a man accused of murdering American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, says the U.S. federal court system does not have jurisdiction over the case because neither he nor the victim are American Indian.

Graham is Native from the Yukon in Canada. Aquash, who was murdered on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in December 1975, was Mi'kmaq from Nova Scotia in Canada.

Since he is not a member of a U.S. tribe and neither was Aquash, Graham says he can't be tried in federal court because they don't meet the definition of "Indian" under federal law.

Graham points out that Arlo Looking Cloud, who was convicted of Aquash's murder, was able to be tried in federal court because he is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. So it didn't matter that Aquash was not "Indian," Graham says.

Get the Story:
John Graham asks judge to dismiss murder indictment (The Rapid City Journal 9/25)

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