A man accused of murdering American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash wants a separate trial.

John Graham, who is from the Southern Tutchone First Nation in the Yukon of Canada, is due to be tried along with Richard Marshall, a Oglala Sioux Tribe. The men are accused of murdering Aquash on the Pine Ridge Reservation in December 1975.

Graham has raised questions about the ability of the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Dakota to prosecute him in federal court. A separate trial could derail the case because he is not a member of a U.S.-recognized tribe.

Prosecutors say Graham is "Indian" but they also say he aided and abetted members of a U.S.-recognized tribe.

The trial is due to start on February 24, 2009.

Get the Story:
Two charged with 1975 AIM murder want separate trials (AP 12/1)
Second AIM slaying defendant wants to see report (AP 12/1)

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