It has been 49 years since the murder of Annie Mae Pictou Aquash.
Now, a new documentary takes a look at the life and death of the Mi’kmaq activist from Nova Scotia who moved to Boston in 1962 and was killed in 1975.
“Vow of Silence: The assassination of Annie Mae” debuted on the American streaming service Hulu on Dec. 1. The “true crime” docuseries looks at the violent death of Aquash that went unsolved for 30 years.
Two people were convicted of her kidnap and murder in 2004 and 2010.
“It was shocking to hear how many people knew about what happened to my mom, how long they held their silence,” says Aquash’s daughter, Denise Pictou Maloney.
“And I would say that, in reflection, it’s not very uncommon or unfamiliar to some of the things that we deal with today with missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.”
Denise Pictou Maloney testified about the death of her mother during the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Photo: APTN file
Aquash was also a teacher, mother of two, and member of the Sipeknekatik First Nation. She was 30 when she was killed execution-style on the Pine Ridge Reservation in North Dakota after she joined the American Indian Movement (AIM), a grassroots organization founded in 1968 to protect Native American rights in the United States.
Maloney says her mother was an inspiration.
“I just think of how raggedy ass she was,” Maloney tells APTN News. “That’s literally the only way I can describe it; I don’t see anything that would think any kind of regret. I loved her here and never did it matter because to us she was always our mother.”
Maloney fought for more than 30 years to get justice for her mother.
She testified at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and continues to advocate for Canada to implement the inquiry’s 231 calls to justice.
She agreed to participate in the four-part series.
“There’s no confusion anymore,” she says. “People who have been able to witness the documentary in the States are not confused about what happened to my mom.
“As a matter of fact, I see groups of women rising up and agreeing and saying, ‘You know, this needs to stop’.”
Maloney hopes the series helps other MMIWG families and survivors.
“I want to say this to my family members and sisters, other impacted survivors: This was never, ever about just Annie Mae; this was always about the next seven generations.”
After decades of advocacy, Maloney says she is now at peace.
“To me, this year feels different because I feel like I have a place to put that, I don’t have to carry that anymore.”
The series is set to stream live in Canada beginning Jan. 1, 2025, on Disney+.
