Statement Regarding Richard Marshall’s Motion to Quash a Subpoena in the trial of John Graham: What is the truth? South Dakota justice system seeks lies as truth in Indian country. November 30, 2010 - What becomes of a country when it’s indigenous people are being taught that, in a foreign court of law, lying under oath is a truthful lie and that truthful lie will set you free? Back in the 1970s when Sovereignty was an idea of the red power movement, Indians were just beginning to examine corruption in their tribal governments. Today, Sovereignty means something different. Today we see that Sovereignty banner in every gaming compact negotiation where tribal leaders plead to states for more slot machines, while the racist state bargains for more jurisdiction in Indian Country, keeping in mind the states goal of gaining more Indian lands. In 1973, Richard Marshall was one of those early Sovereignty rights advocates as he traveled with leaders like Pedro Bissonette. In Apr

In memory of Rick Trailman Gray Buffalo Today, October 26, 2010, our people will be burying a warrior of the 20 th and 21 st century, in the sacred Black Hills. That warrior is Rick Trailman Gray Buffalo. 48,273,000 acres ago we were a unified nation of peoples. The Ft Laramie Treaty of 1851 & 68 declared those 48 million acres to be Great Sioux Reservation territory. However, in the past several decades we have had to occupy those lands to remind the empire that we will continue to sacrifice ourselves so that our future generations will remember they are united as Lakota. Trailman was among those who offered to sacrifice to return to those 48 million acres. The Lakota Student Alliance would like to respectfully remember Rick “Trailman” Gray Buffalo. Trailman was given the name at Wounded Knee in 1973. On March 22, 1999, there was no strategic plan to occupy Laframbois Island in Pierre. There was no strategic meeting announced among our people. Tha

CRAZY HORSE ADVOCATE summer 2010 Paha Sapa: To Accept is to Deny "Thieves Road Leads to Black Hills Settlement Discussions" Amongst tribal leaders and members of the Great Sioux Nation comes a formulated opinion that tribes need to cash in on the Black Hills Claim of more than one (1) billion dollars. Since the United States of America has now seated a minority as President, many tribal leaders now feel that his administration would not be opposed to opening up the discussions to settle the long standing opposition of the Black Hills monetary awards. Barack Obama claims to be a strong believer of tribal sovereignty and believes that tribes are better suited in deciding the outcome of the settlement monies for themselves. Of course, it would be government to IRA government deciding the best options for traditional Lakotas. Those tribal members running for tribal government positions as well as newspaper editors are quick to influence our poverty stricken tribal communiti

Hello Everyone, Just returned from a meeting in Switzerland of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War where I was requested to do a presentation. At the meeting, we learned about the connection between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization. Our concern, from the Indigenous people present, was that our recommendation to the UN more than a year ago, requesting the WHO to come to our Regions to do studies was being ignored. We learned that any information that WHO might gather was censored by the IAEA so our request for the information would be ineffective. We are encouraging an international campaign to open up all information collected by WHO. Others who have tried to do this in the past, we were told, "disappeared." The doctors telling us this were very upset as they knew those that "disappeared." My request to the WHO for these studies was to show that if Indigenous people were impacted by nuclear contamina

"You Can Only Kick So Long..." American Indian Movement leadership in Nebraska 1972-1979 by W. Dale Mason Reprinted with Permission-Originally Printed in Journal of the West 1984 Following the "re-occupation" of Alcatraz Island by Federal authorities in late 1971 after a two-year "occupation" by Indians living near San Francisco, the emerging nationwide Indian movement entered a new phase. Between the mid-1960s and 1971 there had been numerous "fish-ins" and seizures of Federal property by young Indian activists. Many of these acts of direct confrontation occurred without a great deal of planning. They often lacked a broad base of support among the Indian people living in the areas where they took place. Alcatraz itself was not of major concern to many indigenous California Indians. The impetus for the occupation of the Island had come from Indian college students living in the Bay Area led by Richard Oaks, a 27 year-old Mohawk from the St.Regis

Students Gather at Mt. Rushmore Effort Made to explain land struggle by Karen Testerman Indian Country Today. Feb. 29, 1996. B-1. He Sapa: Not For Sale 2.29.96 BLACK HILLS, SD - Wanting to educate visitors on the struggles of the Lakota people, Lakota students recently gathered at Mount Rushmore. The Lakota Student Alliance organized a public assembly at Mount Rushmore to coincide with an MTV filming of a performance by rock band The Presidents of the United States of America, which aired nationally President's Day. The students expressed an alternative viewpoint of the four presidents carved in the mountain and the reasons why the Sioux Nation continues to refuse monetary compensation from the United States government. "We still believe the Black Hills are the heart of our nation," students said. "We must negotiate the unconditional return of our land." In 1980, the United States tried to right a wrong by awarding the Sioux Nation monies for the Black Hills,

The Crazy Horse Advocate newsletter, Summer 2010 issue, is now available. This newsletter is currently not available online. If anyone wishes to recieve a print copy, please send self addressed stamped envelope to: Lakota Student Alliance PO Box 349 Porcupine SD 57772 The Crazy Horse Advocate is a newsletter maintained by sons of Nebraska AIM coordinator Bob Yellow Bird and members of the Lakota Student Alliance. A publication on the Oglala Lakota Nation since 1972 following the Fort Robinson Nebraska Occupation by the Nebraska Chapter of the American Indian Movement. Crazy Horse Advocate was founded by Bob Yellow Bird and William Cross.

By Barbara Soderlin Journal staff | Posted: Saturday, May 15, 2010 Rapid City Journal Charmaine White Face, known as an environmental and Native American activist, organized a protest Friday that was more personal than usual. Her son, Marc Wisecarver, 40, has been incarcerated for more than 15 months. Now, he is being held in Pennington County Jail, awaiting trial Tuesday on charges of depredation of government property. She said he is being held unlawfully and that the charges should not have been filed. The charges stem from an April 29, 2008, incident in which a Bureau of Indian Affairs soil conservationist drove a government pickup truck onto Wisecarver's land near Manderson on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. After an argument, in which Wisecarver told the agent to leave his property, Wisecarver fired a rifle round into the grille of the truck, because he heard the agent rev the engine and was afraid he would be run over, he testified in a January 2009 federal court trial presid

By Journal staff Posted: Friday, May 14, 2010 3:24 pm Rapid City Journal Article The murder trial of John Graham and Thelma Rios has been moved to Nov. 29. Graham, 54, and Rios, 64, are charged in connection with the 1975 slaying of American Indian Movement activist Annie Mae Aquash. The state charges involve incidents that allegedly took place in Rapid City shortly before Aquash was killed on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, had been scheduled for July. During a Friday hearing, 7th Circuit Judge Jack Delaney also granted a request to remove defense attorney Matt Stephens from Rios' case. Rios' other attorney, Matt Kinney, said he would ask Delaney to appoint new co-counsel. Rios' attorneys have asked that her trial be severed from Graham's, but Delaney has not ruled on that motion. Two other men have already been tried in federal court for Aquash's murder. Arlo Looking Cloud was convicted in 2004 and is serving a sen

The South Dakota state trial date for John Graham is set for Tuesday July 6, 2010. Recent court documents have been added at: http://www.grahamdefense.org/courtdocs/ Amongst other things more information is available about destruction of evidence by the Denver Police Department and the money and benefits Serle Chapman received from the US Government for his activities. Regarding Chapmen see e.g. http://www.grahamdefense.org/courtdocs/740.pdf Chapman's own statement from March 29, 2010 is at: http://www.grahamdefense.org/courtdocs/719.pdf

Richard Marshall found not guilty in 1975 AIM slaying Heidi Bell Gease Journal staff | Posted: Friday, April 23, 2010 6:30 am A federal jury deliberated for less than two hours Thursday before finding Vine Richard "Dickie" Marshall not guilty of murder in connection with the 1975 slaying of American Indian Movement activist Annie Mae Aquash. Marshall's supporters, who filled one side of the U.S. District courtroom, erupted in cheers and applause when the verdict was read about 2 p.m. Marshall stood and hugged Dana Hanna, his court-appointed attorney. Afterward, Hanna noted that people have said a Native American cannot get a fair trial in front of an all-white jury in South Dakota. "We have proved them wrong today," he said. Prosecutors had tried to prove that Marshall, 59, provided the handgun used to kill Aquash, who some in AIM believed was a government informant. Arlo Looking Cloud, who was convicted in 2004 of her murder and is serving life in prison, was t

The following biography and essay are written by the author: (Mario Gonzalez is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and presently serves as legal counsel to several Sioux tribes. He is the first recipient of the Distinguished Aboriginal Lawyer Achievement Award (1995) given by the Native Law Center of Canada, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask. He is also co-author of The Politics of Hallowed Ground: Wounded Knee and the Struggle for Indian Sovereignty (1999). He can be reached at mario@mariogonzalezlaw.com). [Part One] Why the Docket 74-A award must be rejected By Mario Gonzalez A federal class action lawsuit called Different Horse v. Salazar was filed in U.S. District Court by the Ketterling Law Firm of Yankton, S.D. on April 15, 2009, to force the Interior Department to distribute the Dockets 74-A and 74-B Sioux land claims awards in per capita payments to tribal members. The awards with (interest) now total over $1 billion. The Rosebud Sioux Tribe has taken the le

U.S. Supreme Court UNITED STATES v. SIOUX NATION OF INDIANS, 448 U.S. 371 (1980) 448 U.S. 371 UNITED STATES v. SIOUX NATION OF INDIANS ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF CLAIMS. No. 79-639. Argued March 24, 1980. Decided June 30, 1980. Link to Opinion http://laws.findlaw.com/us/448/371.html

Here is our first posting to the new blog created by the Lakota Student Alliance . Declaration of Purpose December 2, 1995 The Lakota Student Alliance is an alliance of grassroots Indigenous peoples and Students of the Lakota Nation whose mission is to advocate, sponsor, promote and encourage public awareness education among grassroots Indigenous people in the struggle toward Sovereignty and Independence. The fundamental purposes of the LSA are: * To extend our support to grassroots peoples movements by assisting our communities in their goals toward Sovereignty and Independence. * To provide continuing education for the grassroots people and the Lakota populations. * To increase awareness of cultural, tribal and academic objectives of Lakota Colleges and universities.. * To assist local organizations and peoples in achieving their goals. * To advocate, educate and promote the fundamental rights and duties of students of Lakota Universities, colleges, and secondary institu