In the aftermath of last week’s successful July 4th Coalition rally in San Francisco, THE BLACK PANTHER conducted an exclusive interview with John Trudell, the national director of the American Indian Movement (AIM). In the interview, Trudell talked at length about the current trial of AIM activist Bob Robideau and Dino Butler in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the savage FBI repression AIM has had to endure since its inception. The following are excerpts from that interview.
BLACK PANTHER: John, what are the latest developments in the trial of Bob Robideau and Dino Butler?
JOHN TRUDELL: The defense has subpoenaed FBI head Clarence Kelley, Senator Frank Church, Representative Otis Pike and a man whose name I can’t remember…He’s the head of public relations for the FBI. I’m very surprised about this because it is the first time where we are going to get the head pig, Kelley, down to where we can at least ask him some questions. It’s an indication that serious question are beginning to be raised about the whole issue of the FBI’s involvement in the suppression of people’s movements in this American state. The FBI has been operating outside of the law from the beginning of the Indian movement and now it is accelerating its tactics.
I don’t know how much this is going to help Dino and Bobby. They are charged with two counts of first-degree murder but they are not charged with shooting anybody. They are charged with aiding and abetting all because they will not talk to the FBI.
We understand that you were to testify in their trial.
I was to testify when the defense got the case. My testimony related to special agent David Price, who was in charge of the whole Pine Ridge Reservation operation. He was one of the agents who arrested Dino Butler and Anna Mae Aquash. They told Dino that if he would cooperate and name names he would get a new identity, a new place to live, federal protection and money. They offered Anna Mae Aquash the same deal. All she did was cuss them out.
Special agent Price told Anna Mae at that time, ‘If that is your attitude, I’ll personally guarantee I’ll see you dead within a year.’ Anna Mae was later busted in Oregon, sent back to South Dakota on charges and she dropped out of sight while she was in federal custody. Then they found Anna Mae’s body on Pine Ridge and said she died of exposure.
When Anna Mae’s family demanded a new autopsy, they found out she had been shot at extremely close range with a .32 caliber pistol. She had been executed gangland style. We know that the FBI did it. Agent Price had made good on his promise.
Why do you feel that the FBI has singled out AIM for such attacks?
Because we are fighting to control our land, its natural resources and our destiny. We have to understand that the FBI is acting as a conduit for the LEAA (Law Enforcement Assistance Administration) which is trying to nationalize the police forces in this country. Wherever you find LEAA money, you find the FBI controlling where the funds go.
The FBI is the running point for this country’s police structure and has attacked AIM with submachine guns, helicopters, tanks and armored personnel carriers. On the Pine Ridge Reservation, the FBI literally runs the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
What has happened to Leonard Peltier in his attempt to gain political asylum in Canada?
Leonard Peltier lost his extradition case in Canada because that country has a large Indian population (like the U.S.) and does not want to create a haven for militant Indians.
What are your feelings about today’s (July 4th Coalition’s) rally?
I hope that those in attendance will continue to struggle past July 4. Now is a crucial time to wage an intense struggle against the FBI. It is actually possible that the FBI could be brought down. ~
SOURCE: The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service. Vol XV, No. 14.