The Book the American Indian Movement Leadership Does Not Want You to ReadIn this provocative narrative, a former FBI Agent chronicles the true legacy of the American Indian Movement (AIM), a small group of radicals who tore a path of destruction through the Pine Ridge Reservation on their way to personal gain, fame, and fortune. Part personal odyssey, part history, American Indian Mafia tells the real story of AIM's armed assault on Wounded Knee village in 1973, where FBI Agents, BIA Agents, and U.S. Marshals demonstrated perpetual patience and restraint in the face of nightly gun attacks. Mafia explains how never-ending negotiations led to the village's complete destruction, and how secret murders behind the barriers and the failure to hold the AIM leadership accountable led to a reign of terror on the reservation. Mafia assigns much of the blame to federal judges who advanced a political agenda at the expense of true justice. AIM instigators, such as Russell Means, were thus handed carte blanche to terrorize Pine Ridge Indians for years to come.
AIM violence on the reservation culminated in the 1975 cold-blooded murder of Special Agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams, the only FBI Agents ever to have been executed in the line of duty. Mafia exposes AIM member and convicted killer Leonard Peltier as the clear perpetrator and as a false hero who has fooled millions into believing in his innocence. Authors, actors, politicians, world leaders, investigative journalists, members of the clergy, and several professors of Indian Studies have all bought in to the Peltier ruse. Citing numerous examples of doctored history, Mafia fingers disgraced Professor Ward Churchill as being particularly guilty of creating and promoting falsified accounts of Pine Ridge, AIM, and the FBI.Comment: I take no position on the Leonard Peltier case except I'm not sure he got a fair trial.
Writerfella here --
ReplyDeleteYes, writerfella agrees that Leonard Peltier never got a fair 'trail' and also that he never got a fair 'trial,' either. By the way, Rob, just what was Peltier's 'trail' anyway? Was it 'the Bunny Trail?'
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
I've read the book and can tell you that Peltier recieved more than a fair trial. Normally, a federal criminal defendant is entitled to a single court-appointed lawyer chosen by rotation. Peltier was allowed to have 5 lawyers, all chosen by him and all at government expense. After his conviction, he was allowed to dismiss 4 of them and hire new ones for his (unending) appeals. Peltier was convicted of aiding and abetting in the murders, a crime which carries the same penalty as if he were the triggerman. Last go around, his parole board concluded he was the triggerman! If you read their statement, you'll see what really raised their hackles is that Peltier remains utterly unrepentant. He still prefers the role of an "aggrieved Aboriginal activist," which by the way, is an affront to every genuine Indian rights activist.
ReplyDeletePardon my typo, Russ. As usual, you concentrate on the trivial at the expense of the significant. Your focus on spelling mistakes, which usually means your mistakes, is a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteWriterfella here --
ReplyDeleteAnd perhaps your trying to learn to spell better or even to use the dictionary would be a waste of your time, as well, Rob. It reveals quite broadly that you cannot concentrate, period.
As for the James Simon post, his reading of a single book and totally agreeing with it reveals quite broadly that he much is given to predisposition and prejudice, likely being able to finish that former FBI agent's sentences and paragraphs without even having to turn the pages. Let's hope for our own sakes that he never reads Erik von Daniken...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Luckily, I don't make nearly as many mistakes as you do, Russ. And I correct my mistakes, unlike you.
ReplyDeleteBut...using the dictionary proves I can't concentrate? Stupid.
Aren't you the same person who criticizes me for my long, well-sourced comments? But you think I can't concentrate? Doubly, hilariously stupid.
The reality is that you can't concentrate enough to use the dictionary or Strunk & White or Google to justify your fanciful opinions. So you continue to post unsubstantiated nonsense and I continue to ridicule it. You've told readers your fictional beliefs about the Maya and "Anasazi," for instance, and I've told them the facts.
P.S. It's Erich Van Daniken, not "Erik." Oops.
Writerfella here --
ReplyDeleteCheck the von Daniken website! Oops!
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Check it yourself, Russ:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.daniken.com/
"Welcome to the World of Mysteries
of Erich von Däniken"
Oooops. You made another mistake and I had to point it out to you. Better luck next time, loser.