Leonard Peltier WTAF?

Bury My Heart with Leonard Peltier
How long will he still be with us? How long will the genocide continue?

Michael Moore
Jan 30

LEONARD PELTIER, Native American hero. An innocent man, he’s spent 44 years as a political prisoner. The prosecutor who put him behind bars now says Peltier is innocent. President Biden, go to Mass today, and then stop this torture.(Sipa/Shutterstock)

American Indian Movement leader, Leonard Peltier, at 77 years of age, came down with Covid-19 this weekend. Upon hearing this, I broke down and cried. An innocent man, locked up behind bars for 44 years, Peltier is now America’s longest-held political prisoner. He suffers in prison tonight even though James Reynolds, one of the key federal prosecutors who sent Peltier off to life in prison in 1977, has written to President Biden and confessed to his role in the lies, deceit, racism and fake evidence that together resulted in locking up our country’s most well-known Native American civil rights leader. Just as South Africa imprisoned for more than 27 years its leading voice for freedom, Nelson Mandela, so too have we done the same to a leading voice and freedom fighter for the indigenous people of America. That’s not just me saying this. That’s Amnesty International saying it. They placed him on their political prisoner list years ago and continue to demand his release.

And it’s not just Amnesty leading the way. It’s the Pope who has demanded Leonard Peltier’s release. It’s the Dalai Lama, Jesse Jackson, and the President Pro-Tempore of the US Senate, Sen. Patrick Leahy. Before their deaths, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa and Bishop Desmond Tutu pleaded with the United States to free Leonard Peltier. A worldwide movement of millions have seen their demands fall on deaf ears.

And now the calls for Peltier to be granted clemency in DC have grown on Capitol Hill. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), the head of the Senate committee who oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, has also demanded Peltier be given his freedom. Numerous House Democrats have also written to Biden.

The time has come for our President to act; the same President who appointed the first-ever Native American cabinet member last year and who halted the building of the Keystone pipeline across Native lands. Surely Mr. Biden is capable of an urgent act of compassion for Leonard Peltier — especially considering that the prosecutor who put him away in 1977 now says Peltier is innocent, and that his US Attorney’s office corrupted the evidence to make sure Peltier didn’t get a fair trial. Why is this victim of our judicial system still in prison? And now he is sick with Covid.

For months Peltier has begged to get a Covid booster shot. Prison officials refused. The fact that he now has COVID-19 is a form of torture. A shame hangs over all of us. Should he now die, are we all not complicit in taking his life?

President Biden, let Leonard Peltier go. This is a gross injustice. You can end it. Reach deep into your Catholic faith, read what the Pope has begged you to do, and then do the right thing.

For those of you reading this, will you join me right now in appealing to President Biden to free Leonard Peltier? His health is in deep decline, he is the voice of his people — a people we owe so much to for massacring and imprisoning them for hundreds of years.

The way we do mass incarceration in the US is abominable. And Leonard Peltier is not the only political prisoner we have locked up. We have millions of Black and brown and poor people tonight in prison or on parole and probation — in large part because they are Black and brown and poor. THAT is a political act on our part. Corporate criminals and Trump run free. The damage they have done to so many Americans and people around the world must be dealt with.

This larger issue is one we MUST take on. For today, please join me in contacting the following to show them how many millions of us demand that Leonard Peltier has suffered enough and should be free

Leonard needs your thoughts and prayers, also a great deal of luck.  SMFH

Sign Petition for Peltier's June 10 Parole Hearing Please

Leonard Peltier’s parole has been denied.

Leonard is the longest-serving political prisoner in U.S. history, serving two life sentences in a maximum-security federal prison for his alleged role in the deaths of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota decades ago.

His co-defendants, the men principally charged with the murders, were found not guilty on grounds of self-defense. The FBI withheld key evidence and coerced people into false confessions about Leonard. Yet, at the age of 79, and 49 years later, Mr. Peltier is still in prison.

Before the hearing on June 10th, we sent more than 30,000 direct messages to the Parole Commission and made hundreds of calls asking for his immediate release. Sadly, the commission did not listen to our voices, and the denial of parole was announced on Tuesday.

All is not lost for Leonard. There are other ways Mr. Peltier can be freed.

President Biden can pardon Leonard Peltier and free him. We have already begun organizing that campaign with allies and will be able to give all of us the ability to take action and continue to push for Mr. Peltier’s release, likely as soon as next week.

But today, we can do something almost as important. We can tell Leonard not to give up. We can tell him that WE will not give up. Today -- when a majority celebrates the ideals of freedom and democracy -- we can use this day to tell Leonard that we will not stop fighting for a multi-racial democracy where his freedom is achieved.

Tell Leonard Peltier that we stand with him. We can bring him some comfort and support in this time of need. Please sign on to our short letter of support -- and add your own message if you wish -- by clicking here now.

Leonard Peltier June 26th Statement 2024 ©
Greetings my Friends, Family, Loved Ones, and
Supporters,

Hope is a hard thing here. But I always hold hope in
you, My People. Pay attention. The parole decision on
July 11th may show you what justice truly means to
this nation and to whom it is meant for.

Living in lockdown, time has twisted into something
that has nothing to do with minutes, hours, or years.
They have taken what little freedom I have outside this
box. Art – gone. Ceremony – gone.

Yet they will never take the Spirit of a Sundancer.I have
never given them my integrity. I remain undestroyed.

I will not pretend my body is sound. The lockdowns
have been tough on all of us, in ways I cannot begin to
explain and those on the outside cannot begin to
imagine.

I am counting on you if this decision does not go my
way. I always need your prayers. I need you to demand
that this country finally commit one act of Justice.
My attorney assures me the battle is not over until it is
over—she will not back down. I am counting on you
not to back down. My time is running out here, with no
medical care. I do not fear death, returning to Mother
Earth’s womb, but I do not want to die in lockdown.

In my solitude, my mind often returns to Raymond
Yellow Thunder. The profound tragedy of Raymond’s
murder sparked change in our people and showed
them who the American Indian Movement is.

Raymond was a hard-working man. When he came
into town to give money to his sisters, it was not
enough for the Raye brothers to humiliate Raymond,
strip him, and parade him around an American Legion
Dance.

Raymond was shoved into the trunk of a car and died
the next day. The Raye brothers were charged with 2nddegree manslaughter and released with no bail.
Raymond’s sisters were distraught that even that
small charge may not stick. The authorities would not
release the autopsy report. They would not allow
Raymand’s sisters to see his body. The sisters sought
help from the BIA, the Tribal government, and private
attorneys. In desperation, they turned to the American
Indian Movement.

AIM members are Spirit Warriors, not merciless
savages. We organized 200 carloads of people and
demanded justice.

With dignity, we demanded justice.

Sheriff’s deputies, state troopers, and FBI agents
agreed that serious charges should be filed against
the Hares and that the local police chief should be
dismissed.

Indigenous people started holding their heads up after
that victory. They started speaking out against abuses
by the BIA and Tribal government, and white ranchers
profiting off their land.

We must not allow Raymond’s fate to befall others. My
mother used to ask with dismay, “Why is it so bad to
be Indian?” I find myself wondering why they hate us
so.

We will triumph over the misguided hate of others.
Never, ever, forget who you are. We are the First
People. Mother Earth herself fires the blood that runs
through our veins.

Protect each other, protect Mother Earth for future
generations, and stand with oppressed peoples
everywhere.

Remember that true strength does not reside in
holding power over others. Strength comes from living
out of a place of humility and integrity, inspiring others
to find their unique strengths.

Oppression is rising, running like black mold through
every facet of society. We must stand together and let
society know that Indigenous lives are not cheap. The
lives of our oppressed brothers and sisters are not
cheap. All people are worthy of basic human dignity.
Colonialism has all but destroyed us. We must do
nothing less than transform society into a place where
human beings are not disposable.

Do not weep if I am not granted parole. Cry freedom.
Coalesce yourselves, galvanize your relationships,
establish alliances. In the power of our people we find
strength. Hold your head up high. It is not over, until it
is over.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse.

Doksha, Leonard Peltier