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Authors: Joseph H. Trimbach
and John M. Trimbach
Publishers: Outskirts Press
ISBN: 978-0-9795855-0-0 
Many books, articles,
documentaries, movies etc have been written concerning some of the
events associated with American Indian Movement (AIM), however, with
American Indian Mafia: An FBI Agents True Story About Wounded
Knee, Leonard Peltier, and the American Indian Movement (AIM), John
and Joseph Trimbach may have positioned themselves with contributing
one of the most comprehensive texts pertaining to the controversies
surrounding the topic.
Dennis Banks, Clyde
Bellecourt and others founded the American Indian Movement (AIM) in
1968 as an offshoot of a government funded anti-poverty program in
Minneapolis. Its primary focus was to deal with the sovereignty of
Native American Lands and peoples; preservation of their culture and
traditions; and enforcement of all treaties with the United States.
It is doubtful if anyone at the time of its creation would have
believed that AIM would eventually become involved in law breaking,
murder, vandalism, and murder. Moreover, it is interesting to note
that most of the criminal activities of some members of AIM were excused as
being inextricably linked to the Native American struggle for
survival. Challenging such behavior was not politically correct,
particularly among the media where in most instances reporting was
not exactly balanced and where it was common to fall back on
arguments invoking warrior bravery versus government oppression.
From February 1973 to June
1975, Joseph Trimbach served as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the
three-state area of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. As he
and his son John state in their book, this was Josephs most
emotionally and traumatic draining period of his FBI career.
Joseph had the misfortune of
having his tour of duty coincide with two of the most cataclysmic
events in FBI history. The first was the gunning down of two FBI
Special Agents, Ron Williams and Jack Coler, whom the book is
dedicated to, and the second was the invasion, pillage and occupation
of the Wounded Knee Village where eleven residents were taken
hostage. The occupation lasted seventy-one days and was to become one
of the most controversial incidents in American history.
The American Indian Mafia is
divided into two books comprising fourteen chapters. Basically, its
contents are combative and provocative presenting a unique and
insider perspective pertaining to these historic events. In fact,
each chapter can probably be best described as a stimulating
standalone essay that commences with the murder trial of Arlo Looking
Cloud in 2004 who was found guilty of aiding and abetting in the
first-degree murder of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash in 1975.
What is noteworthy about the
trial and which sets the tone for the rest of the book is that for
the first time in thirty years secrets were revealed that had a
profound effect in understanding what exactly the AIM stood for which
was quite contrary to how the media had made it out to be. As Joseph
states: For many of us in the courtroom, the story of a young
woman murdered in the prime of her life was a chilling reminder that
she was not the only casualty from that period of violence. Indeed,
some of the sworn testimony went far beyond the murder of the
spirited 30-year old Anna Mae.
The second chapter explores
the creation and duties of the FBI as well as setting the record
straight pertaining to some of the misconceptions that were plentiful
at the time of Wounded Knee at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South
Dakota. Joseph argues that if J. Edgar Hoover were alive at the time
of these catastrophic happenings, he would never have permitted his
Agents to become bogged down in what amounted to a paramilitary
operation.
From here readers are taken
to the scene of Wounded Knee with detailed exposition spread over
three chapters where we learn how a group of militant Indians and
members of the American Indian Movement seized this small village.
Hostages were taken, fires were set, homes and businesses were
looted, and shots were fired at responding emergency crews and BIA
policemen. At the end of it all, two occupiers were killed and
two law enforcement officers were seriously injured. Homes, buildings
and most of the village lay in shambles.
The resulting trials and in
particular those of Russell Means and Dennis Banks are subsequently
given considerable ink as the authors persuasively describe just how
the presiding judge, Frederick J. Nicol was incompetent and not quite fair-minded as some individuals would have us believe.
In their summation of the
aftermath the Trimbachs convincingly argue that the AIM confrontation
had become officially sanctioned by virtue of all three branches of
governments failure to hold the leaders responsible wherein the
executive branch believed in appeasement, the Congress fail to deal
with the abhorrent conditions on the reservation and the Judiciarys
misconduct with the behavior of Judge Nicol. The remaining part
of Book One deals with the real heroes.
Book Two begins with a
summary of some of the books that have been written about Wounded
Knee and why they have failed to tell the true story. In addition, the authors take
to task the governments failure to record the events for posterity
and sponsor legitimate study. An entire chapter is then devoted
to Leonard Peltier, who according to the authors has over the years
enjoyed an almost cult-like following from people who should know
better.
The ending of the book
includes a comprehensive Timeline together with an Epilogue and an
Appendix.
One of the shortcomings of
the book is its lack of content editing that would have addressed
some of its unnecessary and long digressions. Nonetheless, I was
still swept along as the authors elaborately touch on many important
issues wherein they effectively capture the mood of the times as well
as some of the misleading stories and distorted facts of the day.
At
heart the book is an extraordinary intense chronological account of
the major happenings that surrounded Wounded Knee where we have true
reportage interwoven with history. By the same token the
authors have taken great pains in trying to educate readers about the
complexity and intricacies of an era in history that seems to have
all been forgotten.
CLICK HERE TO READ NORM'S INTERVIEW WITH JOSEPH AND JOHN TRIMBACH
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