Man is arrested in 1975 Aquash death
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - An arrest was made March 28 in connection with the 1975 death of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash. The American Indian Movement activist's frozen body was found on the Pine Ridge reservation after she disappeared from the Denver home of Troy Lynn Yellow Wood where she had been staying.
Arlo Looking Cloud, 49, was arrested March 28 in Denver, authorities said. He pleaded innocent to a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Aquash, according to U.S. Attorney James McMahon in Sioux Falls.
McMahon said April 2 he could not comment on the case, including on questions of why charges weren't filed sooner or whether more arrests are possible.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Looking Cloud worked as a security guard for AIM, checking people at the gates of events and patrolling the grounds. AIM was beset by internal disputes at the time.
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Aquash, a member of Canada's Mi'kmaq Tribe, was among the Indian militants who occupied the village of Wounded Knee in a 71-day standoff with federal authorities in 1973. Her body, with a gunshot wound to the head, was found in February 1976 on the reservation.
There was some speculation linking her death to AIM members because she knew some of them were government spies. Others believe Aquash was killed because she herself was an informant. Federal authorities have repeatedly denied any involvement.
"She had been brought to my house as a place of refuge," Yellow Wood said in January in an interview with the Associated Press. "To hide, basically. That's about all I can say."
Many American Indians have said that federal investigators and prosecutors knew who kidnapped and killed Aquash for years with several grand juries investigating the case over the years.
A hearing was scheduled to determine whether Looking Cloud should be brought to South Dakota to face charges. If convicted, he would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
