In Halifax, Denise Pictou Maloney says the trauma and grief from the 1975 murder of her mother, Indigenous activist Anna Mae Aqaush, has never dimmed. Pictou Maloney was nine when she last saw her.

In Vancouver, Naneek Graham vividly remembers American FBI agents visiting her family鈥檚 home in Yukon in the 1980s to threaten her father, John Graham, with prosecution if he didn鈥檛 co-operate with the murder investigation.

Thirty-five years after the killing, Graham, a member of the American Indian Movement, was convicted of murdering Aquash by shooting her in the back of the head in South Dakota.

For decades, the two families on opposite sides of Canada have been unwillingly bound by the legacy of the murder that rocked the Indigenous movement 49 years ago, sparking years of legal wrangling and publicity about who ordered the hit, who carried it out, and why.

Now, Graham, 68, is trying to return to Canada to serve out the remainder of his life sentence. He is seeking what鈥檚 known as a treaty transfer from South Dakota and last month applied to the Federal Court of Canada to try to move the process along.

Graham鈥檚 daughter said the case has been a defining thread throughout her life, a 鈥渉orrible nightmare鈥� since her father鈥檚 incarceration.

鈥淢y dad鈥檚 been in jail for quite some time now and he鈥檚 ready to come home,鈥� Naneek Graham said.

鈥淗e鈥檚 always maintained his innocence right from Day 1,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e really just wants to come home.鈥�

But Pictou Maloney said Graham鈥檚 bid to return is 鈥渉ighly offensive.鈥�

She said she still gets goosebumps thinking about the last time she saw her mother.

鈥淪he got down on her knees and looked me straight in the eye and said, 鈥業 want you to please look after your sister,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淭he second thing she said was, 鈥榓lways speak the truth.鈥欌��

Pictou Maloney said the Nova Scotia-born Aquash returned to the U.S. against the wishes of her family, who wanted her to stay in Canada to avoid both U.S. law enforcement and the American Indian Movement, which had suspected Aquash of being an informant.

鈥淭hat was her goodbye because I think she knew that things were going to go terribly wrong for her,鈥� Pictou Maloney said. 鈥淪he had to go back to prove that she wasn鈥檛 the person they were accusing her of.鈥�

Instead of clearing her name, Aquash鈥檚 body was discovered on South Dakota鈥檚 Pine Ridge Reservation in early 1976.

It would take decades before two members of the American Indian Movement, Graham and Arlo Looking Cloud, were tried and convicted of the murder. But Pictou Maloney said those who ordered the hit were never brought to justice.

Graham鈥檚 case became a cause c茅l猫bre, with his proposed extradition opposed by some Canadian politicians, unions and First Nations representatives. Some supporters believed he was innocent and unfairly targeted by American law enforcement.

But he was sent to the United States in 2007 and was convicted in late 2010, resulting in a life sentence in prison in South Dakota where he remains.

鈥極UR CLIENT DESERVES BETTER鈥�

Controversy over Graham鈥檚 extradition has continued.

The B.C. Court of Appeal in 2022 found his Charter rights were breached, because, while Graham was extradited to face a federal charge of first-degree murder, he was instead convicted on state charges, and a waiver allowing the switch was improperly granted by Canada鈥檚 justice minister.

Graham now wants to return to Canada, a bid that has been held up for years. His lawyers say in an application submitted to the Federal Court of Canada last month that the transfer has hit a snag because South Dakota officials 鈥渇ailed to comply鈥� with requests for the paperwork needed to process it.

The court application seeks to compel Canada鈥檚 public safety minister to request the paperwork.

鈥淭he minister has unreasonably delayed in deciding on whether to make a direct request to the State of South Dakota for the required documentation. The minister undoubtedly has the power to make such a direct request of the State of South Dakota,鈥� says Graham鈥檚 Federal Court application.

The delay, Graham claims, has 鈥渦ndermined鈥� his right to request a transfer under the International Transfer of Offenders Act.

South Dakota Assistant Attorney General Paul Swedlund said in an email that the allegations made to the Federal Court 鈥渁re not accurate,鈥� and the state opposes Graham鈥檚 return to Canada.

鈥淭hese crimes were committed in the State of South Dakota and, therefore, it is in the State of South Dakota where Graham must serve his sentence,鈥� Swedlund said.

Graham鈥檚 lawyer Marilyn Sandford said in an interview that the waiver issue remains outstanding and is separate from his treaty transfer application.

She said repeated attempts to communicate with U.S. government and prison officials haven鈥檛 produced results.

鈥淚n the meantime, we have a client in the background who is languishing and who is in custody in a foreign country far from his family,鈥� Sandford said. 鈥淲e write and we write and we write and we seem to get nowhere and never get an answer, and I think our client deserves better than that.鈥�

Sandford said Graham has been stuck in a 鈥渢errible situation鈥� as he awaits word on his transfer bid.

鈥淚鈥檝e been down to see him and it鈥檚 not a pleasant thing to see a Canadian stranded in custody so far from home,鈥� she said.

The Ministry of Public Safety deferred comment on Graham鈥檚 case to the Correctional Service of Canada, which said in an emailed statement that it 鈥渋s aware of John Graham鈥檚 application to the Federal Court of Canada.鈥�

The statement said, 鈥渇or privacy reasons, we cannot comment on specific cases.鈥�

Naneek Graham said her father 鈥渉as a right to his side of his story and his truth, but he鈥檚 never been able to share that, and he wants to share it.鈥�

鈥淗e wants people to know what happened in all these lies, and he鈥檚 never been able to speak for himself, ever,鈥� she said.

鈥淗e鈥檚 been sitting in jail for over 16 years now for something that he didn鈥檛 do, and not being able to tell his truth is really heartbreaking, it鈥檚 sad.鈥�

But for Pictou Maloney, John Graham鈥檚 bid to get back to Canada represents another thorn of intergenerational trauma 50 years after her mother鈥檚 murder.

She said the killing was emblematic of the perils faced by Indigenous women from within and without, when they raise their voices in opposition to oppression.

鈥淭here are a lot of people out there that would like to see me silenced, and I would say that just from knowing my risk as an Indigenous woman out here speaking the truth with what happened to my mother,鈥� she said.

鈥淗e鈥檚 able to appeal as much as he can,鈥� said Pictou Maloney of Graham. 鈥淵ou know, my only wish is that my mother got to come home too.鈥�

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press