"American Indian Mafia": The AIM Legacy Exposed!

Joseph and John Trimbach are the authors of American Indian Mafia, the authoritative history of the American Indian Movement during the violent years of the 1970s. Much of the evidence in the book is based on court testimony and on accounts provided by Native Americans who were victimized by AIM. The forward of the book was written by Richard Two Elk, who tells the tragic story of AIM violence and the 1973 take-over of the village of Wounded Knee in this YouTube video.

Author Joe Trimbach is the former Special Agent in Charge of the Minneapolis FBI. Joe Trimbach and his son John will be presenting a program about the legacy of the violent AIMsters at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland on Wednesday, October 24, 2012, from 7-8 P.M.

The Trimbach's book is available in hard-copy or as an inexpensive, searchable ebook. It is also for sale as an Amazon Kindle book.

The Trimbachs have a website http://americanindianmafia.com/ that explains some of the violent history I expect will be presented on Wednesday. Native View interviews Joe and John Trimbach about their book American Indian Mafia. The Trimbachs are not against the rank-and-file members of the AIM, but they point out that the leadership engaged in violent criminal activities under the guise of Indian civil rights.

Indian Country TV has posted a video of John Trimbach's presentation at the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. John Trimbach explains how people were held hostage, interrogated, terrorized, robbed, raped, and murdered during the "occupation" of Wounded Knee.

According to the former AIMster Richard Two Elk, one man was crucified on Easter Sunday. AIM burned down Indian people's cabins and buildings, leaving the town in ruins. They threw a paralyzed man out of his trailer and took it over for their headquarters. Armed AIMsters commandeered people's telephones and held women, children, and elderly people at gunpoint in the church as hostages.

John Burrows (NYT 9-29-83) observes:

The AIM people destroyed the homes of Indian residents. They stole valuables and burnt furniture. They shot pets, dogs and cats, and smashed children’s tricycles. They defecated and urinated on floors...

About seven people may have been murdered during the AIM take-over of Wounded Knee. Joe Trimbach writes:

A former AIM member informed me that at least one of the old guard is worried. In one of his more lucid moments, AIM's spiritual advisor, Leonard Crow Dog, warned that at least seven spirits haunt the village ruins. He urged a land purchase of the area in order to prevent a gastly discovery. To illustrate, Crow Dog drew lines in the sand and a map while explaining to this Indian, "there's a Mexican, an Italian, a black man, three white women..." [American Indian Mafia, 323-324]

John Trimbach's talk at Augustana College is a bit difficult to hear, but it has been reprinted on Suzanne Dupree's Lookingbackwoman blog (4-30-12) and includes Dupree's allegation that the AIMster Russell Means raped her at her Catholic school in Washington state when she was a 17-year-old girl. See also part 2, part 3, and part 4 of the conference at Augustana College.

It is very difficult to make sure that Indians on remote reservations are protected from criminals. Protecting tribal communities is a little known—but highly important—responsibility of the FBI.