A former Yukoner accused of killing a first nations activist in the 1970s will be extradited to the U.S. to face first-degree murder charges, as ruled by the Supreme Court of Canada.

The nation's top court dismissed John Graham's appeal of a B.C. extradition decision earlier today.

The killing of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash of Nova Scotia has gone unsolved for more than 30 years, though one man was jailed as an accessory to her South Dakota murder

in 2004.

Graham was raised in the Yukon, living in Haines Junction and Whitehorse, before travelling down south, where he and Aquash became involved in the American Indian Move-

ment (AIM).

The group took control of the village of Wounded Knee in 1973, and two years later, ensuing violence between the activists and the FBI resulted in the deaths of two agents.

On Feb. 24, 1976, Aquash's body was found in the snow, with a bullet in her skull that pathologists later determined was shot execution-style.

Court documents show rumours were circulating before her death that Aquash was an FBI informant.

One of Aquash's two daughters, Denise Maloney, told the Star her mother's murder has been a dragged-out saga of pain.

'This has been an open wound for our family for 30 years,' said Maloney, 43. 'To have a mother ripped away from you in such a way ... and there's never been any closure.'

Graham was arrested in December 2003 in Vancouver, to be extradited to the U.S. to face murder charges. He and his legal team have since been filing appeals, until their efforts were halted by this morning's court ruling.

Maloney said she would be glad for Graham to be brought to trial.

'If it was an accident, and it happened, you can deal with it, but

it's murder.

'Certainly we want to hear his side of the story, get clarification hopefully, and closure in all of this.'

Graham has maintained his

innocence.

Greg Delbigio, one of Graham's Vancouver-based lawyers, told the Star before the Supreme Court ruling that in an extradition hearing, a judge must only decide two things:

that the person in the court in indeed the person sought; and

that the evidence supporting the extradition could reasonably be believed to result in a conviction.

Delbigio said Canadian courts have to trust that information from the American FBI is complete and accurate, although the lower court judges in this case noted there were 'discrepancies' in the evidence presented.

As is customary in leave-to-appeal hearings, the Supreme Court did not release its reasons for the decision.

Robert Perry, supervisor with the South Dakota branch of the FBI, explained what will happen to Graham.

'He will be turned over to a U.S. Marshall at the border, and sent here to be arraigned on first-degree murder charges,' he said.

The judge will decide at his bond hearing whether Graham will remain in custody while awaiting trial, unless he waives this right, said Perry.

Once he is involved in the American justice system, he will have to find American lawyers, said Delbigio.

Bob Mandon, a lawyer with the U.S. District Attorney's office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said he will be prosecuting the case under federal law, not state, because the crime occurred on a native reservation, which is governed federally.

Because the murder occurred in 1976, U.S. law states Graham will be tried under the legislation of the time, which works in his favour.

'We still had parole eligibility in the federal system, which is not the case anymore,' he said.

A first-degree murder conviction carries with it a mandatory life sentence. In Canada, that means 25 years, but in the United States, that can mean until he dies.

Under the 1976 law, Graham would have a parole hearing after serving 10 years, but the chances of being released then are slim.

'Its unlikely, but legally possible,' Mandon said.