The Skyhorse-Mohawk Case Revisited, FBI COINTELPRO, and the Legacy of Injustice

American Indian Airwaves

During the Red Power Movement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as part of its COINTELPRO (counterintelligence program), actively surveilled, infiltrated, and attempted to neutralize Native American activists and the American Indian Movement (AIM). With the establishment of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Indian Movement in Box Canyon, Ventura County, CA back in mid-1970s, the FBI infiltrated the Los Angeles chapter of AIM with agent provocateurs and wrongfully framed mid-level AIM activist Paul Durant Skyhorse (Anishinaabe Nation) and Richard Billings Mohawk (Tuscarora-Mohawk Nations) for the October 10th, 1974, murder of cab-driver George Aird. Paul Skyhorse and Richard Mohawk were arrested and what became known as the Skyhorse-Mohawk trial lasted 3½ years, cost California taxpayers $1.25 million, and both Native American peoples were incarcerated the entire time before their acquittal by a California jury on May 24th, 1978. Our guest for today is a long-time activist who was pivotal, instrumental, and critical in defending against various forms of injustice, including his participation in the Skyhorse Mohawk trial. As old state “agents” are starting to publically speak and publish stories about what allegedly happened, today’s guest shares with listeners his lived experiences and participation in the Skyhorse-Mohawk trial and tell us what actually happened during the turbulent times of the state violence in silencing dissent, plus more. • Guest: o Moses Mora, long-time activist, organizer, and for past 50 years he has been part of the various grassroots movements including the American Indian Movement, environmental movement, Chicano movement. In addition, Mora was a first-hand participant in the Skyhorse-Mohawk trial. Archived programs can be heard on Soundcloud at: https://soundcloud.com/burntswamp American Indian Airwaves streams on over ten podcasting platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Audible, Backtracks.fm, Gaana, Google Podcast, Fyyd, iHeart Media, Player.fm, Podbay.fm, Podcast Republic, SoundCloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Tunein, YouTube, and more. American Indian Airwaves is an all-volunteer collective and Native American public affairs program that broadcast weekly on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles, CA, Thursdays, from 7:00pm to 8:00pm.