Harry Hill (activist)

Harry Hill
Born Harry David Hill
1941 (age 74–75)
Nationality American Indian
Ethnicity Choctaw
Occupation Activist, Cop
Years active 1972–present
Organization American Indian Movement
Known for Wounded Knee incident
Spouse(s) Thelma Rios-Conroy (ex-wife)[1]

Harry Hill, also known by the name Mr. X., is a Native American activist. He is perhaps best known for participation in the Wounded Knee incident, for allegedly being the person behind the nebulous pseudonym involved with the murder of AIM activist Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, Mr. X., and for bombing the Mount Rushmore Tourist Center.[1]

Early life

David Harry Hill was born in 1941.

Personal life

Hill lived with one of the female activists, Thelma Rios-Conroy, during his early days with the American Indian Movement during 1974-1975.[2]

Career

Although identified as a cop by ex-wife Thelma Rios-Conroy,[1] the claim (with respect to Hill being an officer of the law) is disputed.[3]

Activism

Hill has worked as an activist for the American Indian Movement since 1973.[4]

Hill was identified by Rios-Conroy as having provoked the Custer Courthouse Incident riot that unfolded in 1973 following a one-day jail sentence of murderer Darld Schmitz, a White Air Force veteran in the murder of Wesley Bad Heart Bull.[5][6] According to Rios-Conroy, "He started it all, Dave. He provoked the riot. He was right there. He told me so, proudly, several times. He instigated that courtroom riot too. I was there. I saw him start it, punching a cop. At the time everybody thought it was great. He was a warrior. He was a hero and everybody trusted him, including me."[1]

Rios-Conroy's account is corroborated by a separate account found in Peter Matthiessen's book, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse.[7]

Hill serves continues to serve as a fierce proponent of Leonard Peltier's innocence, issuing a declaration to the United Nations in 2010 to raise awareness and advocate for the release of the aforementioned individual from prison.[4][8]

Hill was also one of several Native American actors who walked off of the set of the critically panned Adam Sandler movie, The Ridiculous 6. Of the filming conditions, Hill stated that, "They were being disrespectful. They were bringing up those same old arguments that Dan Snyder uses in defending the Redskins. But let me tell you, our dignity is not for sale. It is a real shame because a lot of people probably stay because they need a job.”[9]

Terrorism

Between 1975 October 10 and October 14, Harry David Hill, Annie Mae, Leonard Peltier, Darlene "Ka-Mook" Nichols and Dennis Banks are involved in several bombings in the Pine Ridge area.[10] Hill allegedly harasses Annie Mae about being an informant,[10] and forces her to make bombs so that her fingerprints would be on them,[11] which according to legal theories proposed by AIM attorneys would implicate the government in any criminal planning conspiracy.[12]

Mt. Rushmore

On 27 June 1975, Harry David Hill, along with Anthony "Tony" E. Ament (Thelma Rio's son-in-law), bombed the Mount Rushmore Tourist Center.[13]

On 7 July 1975, a search warrant was served on 1014 Milwaukee Street and several hundred pieces of evidence were seized in conjunction with RESMURS FBI agent shooting case and bombing of Mt. Rushmore. Hill was then charged with possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, unlawful possession of firearms and transportation of firearms.[10]

On 11 July 1975, United States Attorney Michael T. Milligan entered a motion to dismiss charges against Hill for charges filed July 7 on the “grounds and for the reason that the best interest of justice will be served.”[10] Hill was not charged on either the federal and state level, the latter being owed to former South Dakota governor Bill Janklow.[14]

Pine Ridge

Between 1975 October 10 and October 14, Harry David Hill, Annie Mae, Leonard Peltier, Darlene "Ka-Mook" Nichols and Dennis Banks are involved in several bombings in the Pine Ridge area.[10] Hill allegedly harasses Annie Mae about being an informant,[10] and forces her to make bombs so that her fingerprints would be on them,[11] which according to legal theories proposed by AIM attorneys would implicate the government in any criminal planning conspiracy.[12]

Wounded Knee

On 26 June 1975, two FBI agents, Jack Kohler and Robert Williams, traveling in separate and unmarked vehicles, were following up on information that a wanted Oglala,[15] Jimmy Eagle, was believed to have recently been at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Oglala, South Dakota driving a red vehicle.[16] The Agents believed that they had spotted Jimmy Eagle and followed him onto the Jumping Bull property. After agents entered the Jumping Bull compound to serve, on Jimmy Eagle, a warrant for robbery and alleged torture,[15] a fierce shootout ensued with a group of American Indian activists. Several activists fled the scene. Agents Kohler and Williams, as well as Navajo[17] Joe Killsright Stuntz,[18] were killed in the ensuing shootout.[19]

The FBI compiled a list of suspects who the Bureau believed was responsible for the deaths of the Agents. Harry David (Mr. X) Hill was on the original list of subjects, but was later dropped from its lists.[12]

One source also identified Hill as the shooter of African-American activist Ray Robinson.[12]

Mr. X

Mr. X is a pseudonym referring to the purported "true" murderer or murders of activist Anna Mae Aquash and two FBI agents. Mr. X is said to have been one of the triggermen who shot Annie Mae in the back of the head.[20] Rios-Conroy definitively claims that Hill was Anna Mae's murderer.[1] This name was first invoked by the defense of Leonard Peltier during his trial in 1977,[21] where the defense alluded the murderer(s), Mr. X, escaped from the murder scene in a mysterious red pick-up truck, or been the name of a Native American killed earlier that day, Joseph Stuntz.[22]

AIM members Dino Butler, John Trudell and Vernon Bellecourt claim that Hill was the Mr. X behind the mask, saying he was responsible for shooting the agents (although this account is highly contested by other AIM members).[12]

However, according to American Indian Movement, "Mr. X" was a hoax. Along with Bob Robideaux, and Ward Churchill, Hill was also implicated in the creation of this alias.[23] According to another AIM activist, Darelle "Dino" Butler, "There is no Mr. X. There was no white man coming to our camp that day bringing dynamite. Those are all lies created to keep Leonard in jail longer."[24]

On 12 June 2000, in an interview conducted from Leavenworth Prison, Peltier was asked about the nature of the true identity of Mr. X, Peltier replied, "Mr. X is, could be anybody. I mean there's no doubt that somebody killed these agents, but we don't know who he is."[25]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Seals, David (10 January 2004). "Interviews with Thelma Rio". Graham Defenses. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  2. ↑ "Madonna Gilbert Thunder Hawk". Oneida Eye. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Thelma Said He was a Cop". Rezinate. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 Hills, David (16 March 2010). "David Hill: Statement to UN on Leonard Peltier". Censored News. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Devine, Terry (12 February 1972). "Death of Bad Heart Bull Sets Off Riot". The Observer-Reporter. p. A12. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Like a Hurricane The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee ©". Dick Shovel. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  7. ↑ Matthiessen, Peter (1 March 1992). In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. London, United Kingdom: Penguin Books. p. 62. ISBN 978-0140144567. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Russell Means and David Hill Blast U.S. State and Justice Departments". American Indian Movement of Colorado. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Schilling, Vincent (23 April 2015). "Native Actors Walk off Set of Adam Sandler Movie After Insults to Women, Elders". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Annie Mae Pictou Aquash Time Line". Dick Shovel. January 1997. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  11. 1 2 "The Four-Day Trial of Arlo Looking Cloud". John Graham Defense Committee. January 1997. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Annie Mae Timeline II - Jumping Bull". ICTMN. 6 April 2007. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  13. ↑ DeMain, Paul (28 March 2005). "Aquash Murder Case Timeline". JFAMR. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "A Pot of Gold?". Rezinate. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  15. 1 2 "12 Myths verses facts of AIM.". Looking Back Woman. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "No Parole Peltier Association". No Parole Peltier Association. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  17. ↑ "Joe Killsright Stuntz – "Today You Can Be Warriors"". RoundTree. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  18. ↑ Stearn, Kenneth S. (15 April 2002). Loud Hawk: The United States Versus the American Indian Movement. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-0806134390. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  19. ↑ Hinson, Hal (22 May 1992). "Incident at Oglala". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  20. ↑ "Annie Mae, Ray, And The Ongoing Lies Of AIM-". Before It's News. 21 July 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Leonard Peltier Case". Free Leonard. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Linder, Douglas O. (2006). "Famous Trials - The Trial of Leonard Peltier". University of Missouri-Kansas City. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  23. ↑ "AIM Council on Security and Intelligence". United States Government War - Against the American Indian Movement. 3 November 1999. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  24. ↑ "Ward the imposter and Contra Supporter expased by AIM! He is a COP. Dark lies Wa". United States Government War - Against the American Indian Movement. 17 November 2000. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "Mr. X The Lie". No Parole Peltier Association. Retrieved 3 January 2016.

External links

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