Clad in a gray shirt and jeans, Graham sat calmly, his arms crossed, a beaded feather twirling between his fingers. Dozens of supporters attend the hearing.
"Ms. Aquash was executed because she was involved in the American Indian Movement," Debra Strachan told Justice Elizabeth Bennett. "She was believed by some leaders of that movement to be an FBI informant...
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...Bellecourt is critical of both the Looking Cloud trial and Graham's extradition case.
"From the beginning, it was a trial of the American Indian Movement, he said outside the courtroom.
He said Looking Cloud had been "coerced, coached and intimidated" prior to his "sham" trial.
"I assume the same thing will be going on here," he said. "They use the so-called notoriety -- which exceeds the reality -- of the American Indian Movement to cloak the proceedings."
Bellecourt said he had come to Canada to try and prevent the same from happening to Graham.
In extradition cases, the Canadian government represents the country seeking extradition in the courts.
"This young man is being cloaked with the American Indian Movement," he said. "They will characterize the movement as some violent organization."
Bellecourt dodged questions about who he thought was responsible for Pictou Aquash's death.
As a Canadian, Graham has questioned why his government would believe the United States' accusations against him and act as an agent for the United States in the proceedings. It's expected that question will form the basis of a constitutional argument toward the end of the extradition hearings.
Aquash's death came amid a series of bloody clashes in the mid-1970s between federal agents and AIM, which agitated for treaty rights and self-determination for Indians. Aquash, a member of Mi'kmaq Tribe of Canada, was among the Indian militants who occupied the village of Wounded Knee in South Dakota for 71 days in 1973.
AIM leaders reject the prosecutors' accusations she was killed because she was a government informant.
Full article: Redwebz
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