What is Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae all about? Everything to know
The upcoming Hulu docuseries, Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae, offers a sneak peek into the tragic death of the First Nations activist, Annie Mae Aquash. The Mi'kmaq tribal member was an active voice in the American Indian Movement (AIM) during the 1970s and advocated for Indigenous rights in North America.
Directed and produced by Yvonne Russo, Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae follows the long-unsolved murder of Annie Mae. The documentary series releases on November 26, 2024, on Hulu.
Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae is about the life of Annie Mae
Annie Mae was born on March 27, 1945, in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Canada, where she grew up in a Mi'kmaq community and faced discrimination firsthand. The systemic oppression fueled the activism within her and paved the way for her passion for social justice.
Annie met people from the Minneapolis-based American Indian Movement (AIM) and resonated with their cause against police brutality. She was involved in the community before she moved to Boston, United States in 1962. Mae was henceforth involved in major AIM events such as the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The occupation of Wounded Knee was a pivotal moment in the history of Native activism as it brought international attention to the treatment meted out by the U.S. government towards Indigenous communities over issues of land rights and preservation of culture.
Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae details the murder case unsolved for 30 years
The involvement Annie Mae, a mother of two, had in the American Indian Movement led to increasing political pressure around her owing to the conflicts inside the organization. Annie Mae Aquash was abducted and thereafter murdered in December 1975. Her body was found alongside State Road 73 in Wanblee on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The medical examiner from the Bureau of Indian Affairs presumed that she had passed away due to a temperature. It was later determined that she had been shot in the head in execution-style. Mae's remains were discovered in February 1976 and they were buried as unidentifiable.
However, it took three decades of investigation to come to the conviction of the two AIM members Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham in March 2003. The third and fourth members, Vine Richard Marshall and Thelma Rios were charged with aiding the murder and being accessories to the kidnapping.
The documentary series combines archival footage with interviews to delve deep into the conspiracy that was believed to have been laid down by the AIM members owing to mistrust within the organization. Mae was believed to be conducting covert FBI operations and was thus executed strategically.
Vow of Silence keeps Annie Mae's story alive and is brought forth by Onyx Collective, Laylow Pictures, and Nine Stories Productions.
The official synopsis of the show reads:
"Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae examines the murder of Annie Mae Aquash – a Mi'kmaq woman from Nova Scotia, Canada, a mother of two daughters, a teacher, and a revolutionary who fought for Indigenous rights in the 1970s whose death went unsolved for almost 30 years."
Catch all the details of Annie Mae's murder as Vow of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae airs on Hulu on November 26, 2024.
