Peltier: His Life

It is probably safe to say that anyone who does not feel some empathy for the centuries-old plight of the American Indian does not have an open heart. The suffering of these peoples at the hands of the U.S. government from early American history onward remains an emotionally-charged and challenging topic.

What sensitive person, for example, doesn’t pause for moral reflection at the concept of Manifest Destiny? This term, coined by John O’ Sullivan in 1839, describes U. S. territorial expansion—essentially, it is the government sanctioned movement across the U.S. from east to west, and its attendant displacement of indigenous peoples in the name of God and country.

But at what ethical cost did this movement occur, and who paid the heaviest price? During the expansion, the American Indian was maligned, betrayed, and murdered. These proud peoples with rich cultures were eventually sequestered on Reservations.

Listen to the words of Sitting Bull: “When I was a boy, the Sioux owned the world. The sun rose and set on their land; they sent ten thousand men to battle. Where are the warriors today? Who slew them? Where are our lands? Who owns them? What white man can ever say I stole his land… Yet they say I am a thief. Who has ever come to me hungry and left unfed? What law have I broken? Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am Sioux? Because I was born where my father lived? Because I would die for my people and my country?”

A trader once tauntingly asked Crazy Horse, “Where are your lands now?” The Oglala Sioux Chief replied: “My lands are where my dead lie buried.” What he seems to have meant in addition, if I dare exercise poetic license, is “My lands are where my heart lies buried.” And who cannot understand that sentiment?

Buried in the past are many great sins against the American Indian. Who doesn’t know the stories? As one brief example, think of the 1890s massacre of Indians—children, women, and men—at Wounded Knee. Who can hear the details of Wounded Knee without feeling pathos for these indigenous peoples? 

Leonard Peltier is a name familiar to not only North Dakota and South Dakota residents, but to a national audience, and to renowned citizens of the world. Peltier was tried and convicted in Fargo, North Dakota in 1977 in connection with the deaths of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Controversy has clouded the validity of Peltier’s conviction, which had been labeled unfair and unjust by Amnesty International. Agreeing with AI are human rights organizations such as Human Rights Alliance, The Center for Constitutional Rights, and The International Federation of Human Rights, and parliaments all around the world. Yet, Peltier has been in prison for 33 years.

Leonard Peltier’s first full parole hearing was held in 1993 and his release was denied.  Just two weeks ago, on July 28, 2009, Peltier’s second parole hearing took place. A full-throttle international campaign to bring attention to the July 28th hearing included vigils, letter writing, emails to the Obama White House, and wide-spread press coverage.

Included in the international effort are the activities of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee headquartered in Fargo. Coordinating the Committee’s press, volunteer, and fundraising endeavors are Leonard Peltier family members, niece Kari Ann Cowan, Peltier’s sister Betty Ann Peltier-Salono, plus Jeff Armstrong. “We are waiting impatiently for the Parole Board to set him free,” Peltier-Solano said.

Kari Ann Cowan, who has traveled extensively in support of her uncle, including a trip to Paris where Peltier has significant support, is instrumental in keeping Peltier informed of the Committee’s activities on his behalf.

Kari Ann described Peltier’s early prison years: “He was often beaten by prison guards and was in lock-down all of the time.” “During the trial,” she relates, “the jurors were in a bus with covered windows so they couldn’t see the Native American mothers and children—who supported Leonard—walking around the court house. The prosecution didn’t want to humanize Indians, especially Leonard, in the eyes of the jurors.” Keri Ann is praying for her uncle’s release.

Influential political and spiritual leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureates who have signed petitions in support of Peltier’s release are Desmond Tutu, Mikhail Gorbachev, The Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, among many others. Signees also include writers, film actors and directors, and musicians—Oliver Stone, Yoko Ono, Sting, William Styron, Jane Fonda, Val Kilmer, among them.

Robert Redford, who produced the documentary film Incident at Ogalala, an insightful account of the Peltier saga is also a long-time Peltier supporter, as is National Book Award winning author Peter Matthiessen, whose documentary In the Spirit of Crazy Horse is a comprehensive look at the American Indian Movement and the case of Leonard Peltier. Redford’s and Matthiessen’s works are educational tools for anyone interested in learning more about Peltier’s case, as are Leonard Peltier’s own prison writings, collected in Prison Writings: My Life is my Sun Dance. In addition, numerous court documents, interviews, and press reports can be researched online.

As the Parole Commission reviews the case of Leonard Peltier, it is still possible to voice support. Concerned citizens can call the Parole Commission at 301-492-5990 and reference the case of Leonard Peltier, #89637-132.

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