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Anna Mae Pictou~Aquash
1945 ~1975
by Sharmagne Leland~St. John

anna mae
who will braid your hair
this ancient ritual
now a task of great despair
by an unquiet grave
for this woman warrior
at wounded knee
we knelt and prayed
for you were once
a part of this creation

anna mae
who will polish your fingernails
the FBI?
you had no right to die
there was no dignity
in the dastardly way
they set your spirit free
how did you come to harm
and who will take
the turquoise bracelet
from your frozen arm

anna mae
you are
water songs unsung
teardrops in the river
a mother
a sister
a daughter
a lovng wife
slaughtered
an activist
a human sacrifice
a slice of Indian life





Anna Mae was killed in mid-December 1975 and her frozen body was found
two months later on Februray 24, 1976 in the northeastern Badlands of the
Pine Ridge reserve. The FBI severed her hands and sent them to Washington,
D.C., for identification.