On June 26, 2007, three BC Supreme Court judges in Vancouver rejected an appeal to stop the extradition of former AIM member John Graham to South Dakota to face trial for the murder of his former AIM comrade, Anna Mae Aquash. John has been under house arrest for four years and is now sitting in a Vancouver prison while his lawyers are currently trying to appeal his case to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The date of June 26th also marks the 32nd anniversary of the armed resistance between AIM members and the FBI at the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975. John Graham and Anna Mae Aquash stood in defense of their people along with Leonard Peltier, who has sat in a prison for approximately 30 years since being framed for the deaths of 2 FBI agents at the infamous standoff. It is a now common fact that the FBI fabricated evidence in Leonard’s case to have him extradited from a Canadian Court. It is no coincidence that the same court system that extradited Leonard Peltier to a South Dakota court approximately 30 years ago chose this date to do the same to John Graham.

There is absolutely no evidence suggesting John’s guilt in Anna Mae’s murder. All of the evidence in the case that isn’t fabricated by the FBI, in accordance with their COINTELPRO policies, leads one to realize that the FBI themselves and the U$ state are the ones responsible for the deaths of Anna Mae and many other indigenous warriors who dedicated their lives to the struggle for freedom. Obviously people who are associates of the state aren’t really concerned with finding true justice in this or any other case.

John has given us no reason to think he is anything other than an honorable and principled man through his life as a warrior, a community organizer, a father, grandfather and friend to many. The only reason that the FBI is targeting him that we can be sure of is his many contributions to the struggle against corporate plunder, racist terror and police control.

Unlike charity, our solidarity with John is not fueled by pity or obligation. It’s motivated by the recognition that our struggles are bound by a mutual desire to resist oppression and live in opposition to the colonial institutions that rule over the land, exploit all of the people, and deny native sovereignty.

“The FBI today is yesterday’s cavalry, is yesterday’s Custer. Agent David Prince today is yesterday’s Custer. He’s no different. It’s the same organization, a criminal organization…
“They’re doing this against my family, my loved ones, my people, and they’ve been doing it against Leonard [Peltier], his loved ones and his people for a lot of years now…
I’m a warrior. I was warrior when I first went to South Dakota and I’ll be a warrior this time if I have to go to South Dakota.”
-John Graham, June 26 2007, before handing himself over at his extradition hearing.

For further information check out:

http://grahamdefense.org
http://ourfreedom.wordpress.com
http://leonardpeltier.net