Documentary examines the life and murder of Mi'kmaw activist

Yvonne Russo says she had to see the world through the eyes of Annie Mae Pictou Aquash when directing and producing a new four-part documentary, Vow of Silence: the Assassination of Annie Mae.

"There was so much to know, to really learn about Annie Mae. We knew she grew up in Nova Scotia. She's Mi'kmaw from Nova Scotia. She was one with the land," said Russo, an award-winning director and producer and member of the Sicangu Lakota Tribal Nation in South Dakota.

Aquash was a mother of two from Sipekne'katik First Nation and became a notable member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) that called for the civil rights of Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States.

She participated in the 71-day armed standoff at Wounded Knee on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation in 1973, one of the protests that helped the movement rise in prominence.

The FBI tried to dismantle the movement through counterintelligence operations, like planting spies in AIM's upper ranks. Internal suspicions within AIM because of FBI infiltration reached a critical point when Aquash was executed by gunshot to the head in 1975.

AIM members, Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham, were charged and convicted of her murder in 2004 and 2010, respectively. Prosecutors of the trials theorized the murder was prompted when high-ranking AIM members suspected Aquash of being an FBI informant.

Russo said growing up, the murder of 30-year-old Aquash was well known to her.

"There were whispers about it because the [American Indian] Movement was so prominent within our communities at the time. It was a movement that everybody was extremely proud of. And then there was a moment when things became very silent," she said.

Russo said she took into account the complexities and enormity of the story when the opportunity to make it into a documentary was presented to her in 2018.

"I knew that this was a story that needed to be a larger series in order to serve a form of justice for Annie Mae and for the family as well, " said Russo. "It's just an important story for our community."

Russo said her team retrieved hundreds of hours of archival footage, including rare footage of Aquash. They also conducted interviews with living AIM members, friends and family members, including Aquash's daughter, Denise Pictou Maloney.

Russo said it was also important for her to go to Nova Scotia, speak with her family, view Aquash's burial site and immerse herself in her world.

'It's capturing the essence of Annie Mae'

"I flew to Nova Scotia, met with Denise, spent days with her and her family," said Russo. "I asked to see where she grew up in the land and really just spent time absorbing her world and life."

It was around the site of Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Residential School where one memorable moment of filming happened. Russo encountered a woman who Aquash used to care for in Boston. The woman retrieved an item she told Russo belonged to Aquash's daughter.

"She comes out and she presents a headband, a beaded headband that says Mi'kmaw on it. And she comes and she gives this to Denise and she says, 'Your mother made this for me,' And she put it on Denise's head … Denise was in tears," Russo said.

Russo said it's moments like those that are particularly important to her as director.

"It's capturing the essence of Annie Mae and understanding the feelings around her and just being in that moment and stepping there and absorbing Shubenacadie and the land and what took place there," said Russo.

The four episodes of Vow of Silence premiered on Hulu in the U.S. last week and will stream on Disney+ in Canada on Dec. 11. Russo hopes Aquash's spirit and resilience will resonate with viewers and inspire them to preserve her memory by calling out ongoing injustices in Indigenous communities.

"I want them to understand that Annie Mae was a warrior woman. She was a woman who fought for self-determination, for Indigenous rights. She was strong willed. She was powerful. She had a voice. She wouldn't take no for an answer," Russo said.

"There are a number of injustices that still remain and still are constantly happening on the reservations. It's important for all of us to unite and stand strong and also to honour Annie Mae's legacy."

Support is available for anyone affected by the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Immediate emotional assistance and crisis support are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a national hotline at 1-844-413-6649.

You can also access, through the government of Canada, health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.