John Graham, a Native man from Canada, is seeking to prevent testimony about what he may have told a Lakota medicine man about the 1975 kidnapping and murder of American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash.

Graham's communications should remain confidential, Donovin Sprague, a Lakota historian, said in court. He said it doesn't matter whether Graham is a member of the same tribe as the late medicine man Al Gates.

Graham is set to go to trial for Aquash's kidnapping and murder on November 29. His co-defendant, Thelma Rios, pleaded guilty on Monday.

Rios and Graham were charged in state court after a case against Graham fell apart in federal court. Graham is not a member of a federally recognized U.S. tribe so he could not be charged under federal laws that require a defendant to be "Indian."

Get the Story:
Medicine man issue debated in John Graham motions hearing (The Rapid City Journal 11/10)
Former suspect testimony at issue in Aquash trial (AP 11/10)

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