Leonard Peltier Honor Page

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=602674" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=21.25% BGCOLOR="#666666" TEXT="#080000" background="04064643.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="home"><U><B><U>HOME</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id84.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Table of Contents"><U><B><U>TABLE OF CONTENTS</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U><B><U>ABOUT US</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Animal Related Links"><U><B><U>ANIMAL RELATED</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Page of Appreciation"><U><B><U>APPRECIATION PAGE</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Art"><U><B><U>ART</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Awards and Recommendations"><U><B><U>AWARDS</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Comments Page"><U><B><U>COMMENTS</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Crafts"><U><B><U>CRAFTS</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id81.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cultural Links"><U><B><U>CULTURAL</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Educational Links"><U><B><U>EDUCATION</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Food and Drink"><U><B><U>FOOD</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Foundations / Organizations"><U><B><U>FOUNDATIONS</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Genealogy"><U><B><U>GENEALOGY</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id117.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Health Issues"><U><B><U>HEALTH ISSUES</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id86.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Herbal"><U><B><U>HERBAL</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Historical Information Links"><U><B><U>HISTORICAL</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id95.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Leonard Peltier Honor Page"><U><B><U>LEONARD PELTIER</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Music"><U><B><U>MUSIC</U></b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Native American Theme "><U><B><U>N.A. 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BOX 1000</b></div> <div> <B>LEWISBURG, PA 17837</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"Brother, our prayers and hearts are with you." </b><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#9933FF" FACE="Lucida Console" ><B> </b></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#330099" FACE="Lucida Console" ><B>SH</b></FONT></div> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</b></div> <div> <B>Why won't the FBI release Peltier files?</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>September 5,2006</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>("First published in Socialist Worker")</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>By Joe Allen</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    LEONARD PELTIER, one of America's longest serving political prisoners, will </b></div> <div> <B>turn 62 years old September 12. He has spent 30 years of his life behind bars for a crime he didn't commit-in one of the most infamous cases of political persecution in modern U.S. history.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    On September 8, Peltier's lawyer Barry Bachrach will argue in federal court </b></div> <div> <B>for the full release of all files maintained by the FBI's Minneapolis office</b></div> <div> <B>relating to Peltier.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    Peltier was an active member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the </b></div> <div> <B>1970s. He was framed for the murder of two FBI agents on the Lakota Sioux </b></div> <div> <B>Pine Ridge reservation in June 1975.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    AIM was a major focus of the FBI's notorious Counter Intelligence Program </b></div> <div> <B>(COINTELPRO) of the 1960s and '70s, which attempted to "neutralize" the </b></div> <div> <B>leadership of civil rights and revolutionary political organizations.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    Two other AIM members, Bob Robideau and Dino Butler, were also</b></div> <div> <B>indicted with Peltier, but were found not guilty after a federal trial in July 1976. </b></div> <div> <B>Peltier, who had fled to Canada to avoid prosecution, was later extradited </b></div> <div> <B>to the U.S. and stood trial separately-he was found guilty of murder and </b></div> <div> <B>sentenced to life in prison.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    Peltier's extradition from Canada and trial in the U.S. was rife with </b></div> <div> <B>coerced testimony, manufactured evidence and prosecutorial misconduct.</b></div> <div> <B>Lynn Crooks, one of Leonard's prosecutors, admitted in 1985, "We can't</b></div> <div> <B>prove who shot those agents." Yet Peltier remains in prison because of the </b></div> <div> <B>determined-even fanatical-efforts of the FBI.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    So far, the FBI has released, partially or fully, 66,594 out of 77,149</b></div> <div> <B>pages related to Peltier's case. The other 10,555 pages were withheld from </b></div> <div> <B>Peltier's defense team and could potentially provide crucial information in </b></div> <div> <B>the campaign to free him.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    The FBI has refused to release the additional pages on the grounds of </b></div> <div> <B>"national security." Why a 61-year-old grandfather who has been behind</b></div> <div> <B>bars for three decades and is plagued by chronic illness is a threat to</b></div> <div> <B>national security has not been fully explained.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    A look at the Minneapolis FBI's Web site gives an idea of the agency's </b></div> <div> <B>strange view of the world-many times more space is devoted to Peltier and </b></div> <div> <B>AIM than to Osama bin Laden.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    In the waning days of the Clinton administration, when an effort was</b></div> <div> <B>made to secure a presidential pardon for Peltier, hundreds of FBI agents</b></div> <div> <B>responded by picketing the White House. Clinton backed away from a pardon. Since </b></div> <div> <B>September 11, federal prison authorities have refused media access to </b></div> <div> <B>Peltier. He has been unable to give an interview to the media in over five </b></div> <div> <B>years. Only his legal counsel and a small number of supporters and family </b></div> <div> <B>members can meet with him.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>    The FBI's latest actions are symbolic of its 30-year persecution of Peltier </b></div> <div> <B>and his supporters-and are perpetuating a terrible injustice.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Note: Article by Joe Allen and "first published in Socialist Worker"</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.leonardpeltier.net/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.leonardpeltier.net/"><U><B>Leonard Peltier Defense Committee</b></U></A><A HREF="http://www.leonardpeltier.net/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.leonardpeltier.net/"><U> </U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</b></div> <div> <I><B><U>IMPORTANT UPDATE !!!</U></b></I></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.leonardpeltier.net/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.leonardpeltier.net/"><U><U>The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee</U></U></A></div> <div> Tuesday, August 16, 2005</div> <bR> <div> LEONARD HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO USP LEWISBURG </div> <bR> <div> August 15, 2005 </div> <bR> <div> <B>Aho My Relations</b></div> <bR> <div> On August 15, 2005 I was transferred to USP Lewisburg in Pennsylvania. Life has been extra difficult for me since I was transferred from Leavenworth. This system is designed to make one feel very powerless, and what they are doing with me now is definitely aimed to erode my body and spirit even more. My loved ones, and all of you, my friends and allies who continue to support me, keep me sane and hopeful. </div> <bR> <div> They say that it is in times of crisis that one can really see who your real allies are. Those of you who have contacted the Terre Haute Prison and the Bureau of Prisons on my behalf, keep me in your prayers, and are supporting my Defense Committee, have made an enormous difference in my situation. I humbly thank each and every one of you, and firmly believe that your actions most certainly saved my life and prevented me from living in an institution that is well known for its extremely high crime and violence. Also, health problems continue to plague me and the conditions I was subjected to exacerbated them. I know deep within my heart, that if there had not been such an outpouring of support, concern and overall outcry regarding my arbitrary detention, I would have probably stayed in solitary confinement for an indefinite length of time, or worse I would not have survived in the general prisoner population. Although I have been forced to endure many hardships, I will never surrender, even if all that is left of me is my spirit. Your love and support inspire me to overcome everything.</div> <bR> <div> I hope that here at Lewisburg I will be able to resume living in the general population, practicing the traditional ways and continuing with my artwork. My defense team is preparing to go through some major milestones. They need your support more than ever to re-establish our office and prepare for upcoming reviews and legal battles. Since Russ Redner, Paula Ostrovsky, and Toni Zeidan do not want to accept any salaries or remuneration of any kind, all of your donations will go directly to the office transfer and upcoming campaign. </div> <bR> <div> I again want to express my sincere appreciation and tell you once more that without you I am not sure I could have survived this last month. Every day I think about and pray for a time when I will be among you, shoulder to shoulder, fighting for justice for my people and our Mother Earth.</div> <bR> <div> In the Spirit of Crazy Horse</div> <div> Leonard Peltier</div> <bR> <div> <B>NOTE FROM THE LPDC:</b></div> <bR> <div> Please contact USP Lewisburg to make sure Leonard regains all his hard earned prisoner rights, especially his religious rights, visitations, regular phone calls and ability to paint. Be polite and courteous, but let them know that a lot of us all over the world are concerned about Leonard’s wellbeing.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Warden</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>USP LEWISBURG</b></div> <div> <B>U.S. PENITENTIARY</b></div> <div> <B>2400 ROBERT F. MILLER DRIVE</b></div> <div> <B>LEWISBURG, PA 17837</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Phone: 570- 523-1251</b></div> <div> <B>Fax: 570- 522-7745</b></div> <div> <B>E-mail address: </b><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="mailto:LEW/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:LEW/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV"><U><B><U>LEW/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV</U></b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Also please continue writing to Leonard but be mindful of his situation and respectful of his personal affairs.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier # 89637-132</b></div> <div> <B>USP LEWISBURG</b></div> <div> <B>U.S. PENITENTIARY</b></div> <div> <B>P.O. BOX 1000</b></div> <div> <B>LEWISBURG, PA 17837</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Federal Bureau of Prisons</b></div> <div> <B>320 First Street NW</b></div> <div> <B>Washington, DC 20534</b></div> <div> <B>202-307-3198</b></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto: info@bop.gov" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: info@bop.gov"><U><B>info@bop.gov</b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> =+=+=+=+=</div> <div> As of 27 August 2006</div> <div> 11161 days of WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT!</div> <div> =+=+=+=+=+=</div> <bR> <div> ONLINE PETITION FOR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY</div> <div> <A HREF="http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm"><U><U>http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm</U></U></A></div> <bR> <div> ONLINE PETITION FOR PAROLE</div> <div> <A HREF="http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard/signup.php4?campaign=leonard" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard"><U><U>http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard/signup.php4?campaign=leonard</U></U></A></div> <bR> <div> =+=+=+=+=+=</div> <bR> <div>   <script language="JavaScript" src="http://htmlgear.tripod.com/poll/control.poll?u=spiritvisioncrafts&i=1&a=render"> </script> <noscript> <font face='arial' size='1'> take my poll at: <A HREF="http://htmlgear.tripod.com/poll/control.poll?u=spiritvisioncrafts&i=1&a=render">My Peltier Poll:</A> <img src='http://htmlgear.lycos.com/img/log/po_i_getgear.GIF' border='0'><br>htmlGEAR.com</a></font> </noscript>   </div> <bR> <div> =+=+=+=+=+=</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Hi Folks,</div> <bR> <div> Supporters should use this new address for writing to Leonard Peltier.</div> <div> Please send him cards and letters to keep his spirits up !</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier # 89637-132</b></div> <div> <B>USP LEWISBURG</b></div> <div> <B>U.S. PENITENTIARY</b></div> <div> <B>P.O. BOX 1000</b></div> <div> <B>LEWISBURG, PA 17837</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> =+=+= FREE LEONARD PELTIER NOW! =+=+=</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Oglala Links Plus"><U><B>Oglala Links Plus</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</b></div> <bR> <div> <B> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ss.webring.com/navbar?f=j;y=spiritvisioncrafts;u=10118289"> </script><noscript><center> <table bgcolor=gray cellspacing=0 border=2 bordercolor=red><tr> <td><table cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr><td align=center> <font face=arial size=-1>This site is a member of WebRing. <br>To browse visit <a href="http://ss.webring.com/navbar?f=l;y=spiritvisioncrafts;u=10118289"> Here</a>.</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table> </center></noscript>  </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</b></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.aimovement.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.aimovement.org/"><U><B>American Indian Movemen</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.haveyouthought.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.haveyouthought.com/"><U><B> Have You Thought of Leonard Peltier Lately?</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.dickshovel.com/bhpress.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dickshovel.com/bhpress.html"><U><B>The Lakota Oyate speaks regarding Anna Mae and the American Indian Movement </b></U></A><B>  </b><B>(I'm not quite sure what to make of this...I list it here for persons to make their own judgements)</b></div> <div> <B>~Below is an article discussing the sentencing of Arlo Looking Cloud, the man convicted of Anna Mae's death.  Has her killer come to justice, or is this just another situation of "someone has to pay"?) Read Dennis Banks' statement in the article following this one.~</b><B>SH</b></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.freepeltier.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.freepeltier.org/"><U><B>Leonard Peltier/ The Case of Leonard Peltier</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.leonardpeltier.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.leonardpeltier.org/"><U><B>Official Website of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Inc.</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.workers.org/ww/1998/woundedknee.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.workers.org/ww/1998/woundedkn"><U><B>Remembering Wounded Knee</b></U></A></div> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>LEONARD PELTIER</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>COINTELPRO, AIM & Peltier</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>FBI Suppression of Indigenous Activists</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>in the 1970s: A Primer</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>What is COINTELPRO?</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Despite its carefully contrived image as the nation's premier crime</b></div> <div> <B>fighting agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has always</b></div> <div> <B>functioned primarily as America's political police. This role includes not</b></div> <div> <B>only the collection of intelligence on the activities of political</b></div> <div> <B>dissidents & groups, but often times counterintelligence operations to</b></div> <div> <B>thwart those activities. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Although covert operations have been employed throughout FBI history,</b></div> <div> <B>the formal COunter INTELligence PROgram, or COINTELPRO, of the period from</b></div> <div> <B>1956 to 1971 was the first to be both broadly targeted & centrally directed.</b></div> <div> <B>The stated goals of COINTELPRO were to expose, disrupt, misdirect,</b></div> <div> <B>discredit, or otherwise neutralize those persons or organizations that the</b></div> <div> <B>FBI decided were enemies of the State.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>COINTELPRO Techniques</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>At its most extreme dimension, political dissidents have been eliminated</b></div> <div> <B>outright or sent to prison for the rest of their lives. Many more, however,</b></div> <div> <B>were neutralized by intimidation, harassment, discrediting, & a whole</b></div> <div> <B>assortment of authoritarian & illegal tactics.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Neutralization, as explained on record by the FBI, didn't necessarily</b></div> <div> <B>pertain to the apprehension of parties in the commission of a crime, the</b></div> <div> <B>preparation of evidence against them, & securing of a judicial conviction.</b></div> <div> <B>Rather, the FBI simply made activists incapable of engaging in political</b></div> <div> <B>activity by whatever means. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>For those not assessed as being in themselves a security risk but engaged</b></div> <div> <B>in what the Bureau viewed to be politically objectionable activity, those</b></div> <div> <B>techniques consisted of disseminating derogatory information to the target's</b></div> <div> <B>family, friends & associates, or visiting &</b></div> <div> <B>questioning them. False information was planted in the press. The</b></div> <div> <B>targets' efforts to speak in public were frustrated, & employers were</b></div> <div> <B>contacted to try to get them fired. Anonymous letters were sent by the FBI</b></div> <div> <B>to targets' spouses, accusing them of infidelity. Other letters contained</b></div> <div> <B>death threats. These strategies are well-documented, for example, in the</b></div> <div> <B>case of Martin Luther King, Jr. Records also show that activists in the</b></div> <div> <B>1960s were repeatedly arrested on any excuse until they could no longer make</b></div> <div> <B>bail. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>In addition, the FBI made use of informants, often quite violent &</b></div> <div> <B>emotionally disturbed individuals, to present false testimony to the courts</b></div> <div> <B>& frame COINTELPRO targets for crimes the FBI knew they did not commit. In</b></div> <div> <B>some cases the charges were quite serious, including murder.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Another option was snitch jacketing where the FBI made the target look</b></div> <div> <B>like a police informant or an agent of the Central Intelligence Agency.</b></div> <div> <B>This served the dual purposes of isolating & alienating important leaders,</b></div> <div> <B>as well as increasing the general level of fear & factionalism in </b></div> <div> <B>the group.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Many counterintelligence techniques involved the use of paid informants.</b></div> <div> <B>Informants became agents provocateurs by raising controversial issues at</b></div> <div> <B>meetings to take advantage of ideological divisions; promoting enmity with</b></div> <div> <B>other groups; or inciting the group to violent acts, even to the point of</b></div> <div> <B>providing them with weapons. Over the years, FBI provocateurs repeatedly</b></div> <div> <B>urged & initiated violent acts, including forceful disruptions of meetings &</b></div> <div> <B>demonstrations, attacks on police, bombings, etc.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The full story of COINTELPRO may never be told. The Bureau's files were</b></div> <div> <B>never seized by Congress or the courts or sent to the National Archives.</b></div> <div> <B>Some were destroyed. In addition, many counter-intelligence operations were</b></div> <div> <B>never committed to writing as such, or involved open investigations making</b></div> <div> <B>ex-operatives legally prohibited from talking about them. Most operations</b></div> <div> <B>remained secret until long after the damage had been done. </b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The FBI has continued to use proven COINTELPRO tactics into the 21st</b></div> <div> <B>century. In fact, many such techniques are now overt, conducted under the</b></div> <div> <B>guise of Homeland Security & even codified in key pieces of legislation such</b></div> <div> <B>as the U.S. Patriot Act, the government's response to the September 11,</b></div> <div> <B>2002, attack on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>What is AIM?</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.aimovement.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.aimovement.org/"><U><B><IMG SRC="3516b4f0.gif" border=0 width="363" height="79" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The American Indian Movement (AIM), an Indigenous rights group committed</b></div> <div> <B>to uniting all Native Peoples in an effort to uplift their communities &</b></div> <div> <B>promote cultural pride & sovereignty, was founded in 1968 in Minneapolis,</b></div> <div> <B>Minnesota.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The FBI used all of the above COINTELPRO tactics against AIM, including</b></div> <div> <B>the wholesale jailing of the Movement's leadership. Virtually every known</b></div> <div> <B>AIM leader in the United States was incarcerated in either state or federal</b></div> <div> <B>prisons since (or even before) the organization's formal emergence in 1968,</b></div> <div> <B>some repeatedly. After the 1973 siege of Wounded Knee, for example, the FBI</b></div> <div> <B>caused 542 separate charges to be filed against those it identified as key</b></div> <div> <B>AIM leaders. This resulted in only 15 convictions, all on such petty or</b></div> <div> <B>contrived offenses as interfering with a federal officer in the performance</b></div> <div> <B>of his duty. Organization members often languished in jail for months as the</b></div> <div> <B>cumulative bail required to free them outstripped resource capabilities of</b></div> <div> <B>AIM & supporting groups.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>In 1975, against the American Indian Movement in Pine Ridge, South</b></div> <div> <B>Dakota, the FBI COINTELPRO conducted a full-fledged counterinsurgency war -</b></div> <div> <B>complete with death squads, disappearances & assassinations - not dissimilar</b></div> <div> <B>to those conducted in third world countries such as El Salvador & </b></div> <div> <B>Guatemala.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Who is Leonard Peltier?</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier is a citizen of the Anishinabe & Dakota/Lakota Nations</b></div> <div> <B>who has been unjustly imprisoned for nearly three decades.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>When the government can select a person for criminal persecution because</b></div> <div> <B>of their political activity, when they can fabricate evidence against that</b></div> <div> <B>person & suppress evidence proving that fabrication, & prosecute a person &</b></div> <div> <B>put them in prison for any amount of time, let alone for life, then you have</b></div> <div> <B>a political prisoner. Accordingly, Amnesty International considers Peltier</b></div> <div> <B>a political prisoner who should be immediately & unconditionally </b></div> <div> <B>released.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>What led to Peltier's conviction?</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>It began in the early 1970s on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (SD),</b></div> <div> <B>when tensions between then tribal chairman Dick Wilson & the traditionalists</b></div> <div> <B>began to escalate. Wilson was pro-assimilation, meaning he believed Native</b></div> <div> <B>Peoples should discard their traditions to join mainstream American society.</b></div> <div> <B>Traditionalists, on the other hand, felt it important to maintain their</b></div> <div> <B>culture & land base. Wilson favored those who were pro-assimilation by</b></div> <div> <B>giving them jobs & other assistance while neglecting the needs of the</b></div> <div> <B>traditionalists who often lived in the worst poverty. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The growing conflict prompted traditionalists to join together with AIM</b></div> <div> <B>to protect their way of life. In response, Wilson joined with the FBI to</b></div> <div> <B>destroy the Movement the agency perceived as a threat to the American way of</b></div> <div> <B>life. The result was disastrous.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>In 1973, local traditionalists & AIM occupied the Pine Ridge hamlet of</b></div> <div> <B>Wounded Knee to protest the many abuses they were suffering. (This was the</b></div> <div> <B>same site where, less than 100 years earlier, the horrific Wounded Knee</b></div> <div> <B>massacre was perpetrated against over 300 Lakotas, mostly women & children.)</b></div> <div> <B>Instead of listening to the Natives' grievances, the government responded</b></div> <div> <B>militarily, firing over 250,000 rounds of ammunition into the area & killing</b></div> <div> <B>two occupants whose deaths were never investigated. The occupation lasted</b></div> <div> <B>71 days & ended only after the government promised investigations into the</b></div> <div> <B>complaints. The investigations never materialized & conditions on the</b></div> <div> <B>reservation worsened. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>After Wounded Knee, Wilson outlawed AIM activities on the reservation.</b></div> <div> <B>Traditionalists were not allowed to meet or attend traditional ceremonies.</b></div> <div> <B>Wilson hired vigilantes who called themselves Guardians of the Oglala Nation</b></div> <div> <B>(GOONs) to enforce his rules.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The three years following Wounded Knee are often referred to as the Pine</b></div> <div> <B>Ridge Reign of Terror because anyone associated with AIM was targeted for</b></div> <div> <B>violence. Their homes were burned & their cars were run off the road. They</b></div> <div> <B>were struck by cars, shot in drive-by shootings, & beaten. Between 1973 &</b></div> <div> <B>1976, over 60 traditionalists were murdered. Pine Ridge had the highest</b></div> <div> <B>murder rate in the United States. Scores of other people were assaulted.</b></div> <div> <B>In almost every case, witness accounts indicated GOON responsibility, but</b></div> <div> <B>nothing was done to stop the violence. On the contrary, the FBI supplied</b></div> <div> <B>the GOONs with weaponry & intelligence on AIM & looked the other way as the</b></div> <div> <B>GOONs committed crimes against members as well as supporters of AIM. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>As the situation worsened, the traditionalists asked AIM to return to the</b></div> <div> <B>reservation to offer protection. Leonard Peltier was among those who</b></div> <div> <B>answered the call. He & a dozen others set up camp on the Jumping Bull</b></div> <div> <B>ranch at Pine Ridge, the home of a number of traditional families.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>On June 26, 1975, two FBI agents in unmarked cars pursued a red pickup</b></div> <div> <B>truck onto the Jumping Bull ranch. They were ostensibly looking for Jimmy</b></div> <div> <B>Eagle, who had gotten into a fistfight & stolen a pair of cowboy boots.</b></div> <div> <B>Gunshots rang out. While mothers fled the area with</b></div> <div> <B>their children, other residents started to return fire. A shootout</b></div> <div> <B>erupted between the FBI agents & the residents.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Law enforcement immediately mobilized. Within a couple hours, over 150</b></div> <div> <B>FBI swat team members, Bureau of Indian Affairs police, & GOONs surrounded</b></div> <div> <B>the ranch.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Peltier helped lead a small group of teenagers out of the area, barely</b></div> <div> <B>escaping through the hail of bullets.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>When the shootout ended, AIM member Joseph Killsright Stuntz (below) lay</b></div> <div> <B>dead, shot in the head by a sniper. His death has never been</b></div> <div> <B>investigated. The two FBI agents also lay dead - wounded in the gun</b></div> <div> <B>battle, then shot at point blank range.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Years later, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, it was</b></div> <div> <B>documented that:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* the FBI had been closely monitoring AIM activities on & off the</b></div> <div> <B>reservation & had even been preparing for paramilitary law enforcement</b></div> <div> <B>operations on Pine Ridge one month before the shootout.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* the two agents had possessed a map that highlighted the Jumping Bull Ranch</b></div> <div> <B>& labeled the family's storage cellars as bunkers.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>According to FBI documents, over 40 Native people participated in the</b></div> <div> <B>shootout, both AIM & non-AIM. Yet only 4 persons were indicted for the</b></div> <div> <B>deaths of the agents: 3 AIM leaders - Dino Butler, Bob Robideau, & Leonard</b></div> <div> <B>Peltier - & Jimmy Eagle. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Butler & Robideau were the first to be arrested & tried. The jury found</b></div> <div> <B>that Butler & Robideau were justified in returning fire given the atmosphere</b></div> <div> <B>of terror that existed on Pine Ridge during that time. Further, they were</b></div> <div> <B>not tied to the point blank shootings. Butler & Robideau were found</b></div> <div> <B>innocent on grounds of self-defense.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The FBI was outraged by the verdict. They dropped charges against Jimmy</b></div> <div> <B>Eagle so that, according to their own memos, . the full prosecutive weight</b></div> <div> <B>of the federal government could be directed against Leonard Peltier.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Peltier, meanwhile, had fled to Canada believing he would never receive a</b></div> <div> <B>fair trial. On February 6, 1976, he was apprehended.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The FBI presented the Canadian court with affidavits from a woman named</b></div> <div> <B>Myrtle Poor Bear who claimed she had been Peltier's girl friend & had</b></div> <div> <B>witnessed him shoot the agents. Peltier was extradited to the U.S.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>However, Poor Bear had never met Peltier, nor had she been present at the</b></div> <div> <B>time of the shooting - a fact later confirmed by the U.S. Prosecutor.</b></div> <div> <B>Despite Poor Bear's subsequent declaration that she had given false</b></div> <div> <B>statements under duress, having been terrorized by FBI agents, Peltier's</b></div> <div> <B>extradition was not reversed.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>How was Peltier's trial unfair?</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier was returned to the U.S. where his case was mysteriously</b></div> <div> <B>transferred from the judge who had presided over the trial of his</b></div> <div> <B>co-defendants to a different judge - one who made rulings that severely</b></div> <div> <B>handicapped the defense. Also, the FBI had carefully analyzed the</b></div> <div> <B>Butler-Robideau case and, this time, they were determined to secure a</b></div> <div> <B>conviction. The cards were stacked against Peltier & a fair trial was out</b></div> <div> <B>of reach.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* Myrtle Poor Bear & other key witnesses were banned from testifying about</b></div> <div> <B>FBI misconduct.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* Testimony about the Pine Ridge Reign of Terror was severely restricted.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* Important evidence, such as conflicting ballistics reports, was ruled</b></div> <div> <B>inadmissible.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* The red pickup truck that had been followed onto the ranch was suddenly</b></div> <div> <B>described as Peltier's red & white van. (Agents who described the vehicle</b></div> <div> <B>as a red pickup truck during the Butler-Robideau trial could no longer</b></div> <div> <B>recollect their previous testimony.)</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* The jury was sequestered & surrounded by U.S. Marshals at all times,</b></div> <div> <B>leading them to believe that AIM was a threat to their safety. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* Three young Native witnesses were forced to falsely testify against</b></div> <div> <B>Peltier after being detained & terrorized by FBI agents. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Still, the U.S. Prosecutor failed to produce a single witness who could</b></div> <div> <B>identify Peltier as the shooter. Instead, the government tied a bullet</b></div> <div> <B>casing found near the bodies to the alleged murder weapon, arguing that this</b></div> <div> <B>gun had been the only one of its kind used during the shootout & that it had</b></div> <div> <B>belonged to Peltier. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The above FOIA suit uncovered FBI documents that showed that:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* more than one weapon of the type attributed to Peltier had been present at</b></div> <div> <B>the scene.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* the FBI had intentionally concealed a ballistics report that showed the</b></div> <div> <B>shell casing could not have come from the alleged murder weapon.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* the agents undoubtedly followed a red pickup truck onto the land, not the</b></div> <div> <B>red & white van driven by Peltier.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* compelling evidence against several other suspects existed & was</b></div> <div> <B>concealed.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Unaware of these facts, the jury convicted Peltier. He was sentenced to</b></div> <div> <B>two consecutive life terms. Peltier is currently imprisoned at the U.S.</b></div> <div> <B>penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>What has happened since the trial?</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>After many of the above abuses surfaced in the 1980s, the Peltier defense</b></div> <div> <B>team demanded a new trial. During subsequent oral arguments, the U.S.</b></div> <div> <B>Prosecutor admitted, ... we can't prove who shot those agents.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The appellate court found that Peltier may have been acquitted had</b></div> <div> <B>evidence not been improperly withheld by the FBI. However, a new trial was</b></div> <div> <B>denied on the grounds of a legal technicality. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>In 1993, Peltier requested Executive Clemency from then President</b></div> <div> <B>Clinton. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>An intensive campaign was launched - supported by Native & human rights</b></div> <div> <B>organizations, members of Congress, community & church groups, labor</b></div> <div> <B>organizations, luminaries, & celebrities. Even Judge Heaney, who authored</b></div> <div> <B>the above court decision, expressed firm support for Peltier's release. The</b></div> <div> <B>Peltier case became a national issue.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>On November 7, 2000, during a live radio interview, Clinton stated that</b></div> <div> <B>he would seriously consider Peltier's request for clemency & make a decision</b></div> <div> <B>before leaving office on January 20, 2001. In response, the FBI launched a</b></div> <div> <B>major disinformation campaign in both the media & among key government</b></div> <div> <B>officials. On December 15, over 500 FBI agents marched in front of the</b></div> <div> <B>White House to oppose clemency. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>On January 20, the list of clemencies granted by Clinton was released to</b></div> <div> <B>the media. Without explanation, Peltier's name had been excluded. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mr. Peltier has served a significantly longer period of time than</b></div> <div> <B>normally would be served before a grant of parole in similar cases. Various</b></div> <div> <B>FBI agents, together with the U.S. Prosecutor, are present at parole</b></div> <div> <B>hearings to personally oppose Mr. Peltier's release. The U.S. Parole</b></div> <div> <B>Commission has made it clear that parole will not even be considered until</b></div> <div> <B>the year 2008 - when Peltier will have served twice the normal time</b></div> <div> <B>according to the Commission's own congressionally mandated</b></div> <div> <B>guidelines. No adequate reason has been given for such arbitrary &</b></div> <div> <B>discriminatory treatment. Instead, the Parole Commission has stated the</b></div> <div> <B>denial of parole is based on Mr. Peltier's participation in the premeditated</b></div> <div> <B>& cold blooded execution or the ambush of the two agents. Yet, there is no</b></div> <div> <B>evidence that Mr. Peltier ever fired the fatal shots. This has been admitted</b></div> <div> <B>to by the government attorneys themselves. At one parole hearing it was</b></div> <div> <B>made clear that Mr. Peltier will not receive parole until he recognizes his</b></div> <div> <B>crime or, in short, confesses to a crime he didn't commit.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier has made remarkable contributions to humanitarian &</b></div> <div> <B>charitable causes during his many years behind bars. He sponsors an annual</b></div> <div> <B>Christmas drive for clothes & toys for the children of Pine Ridge, helps to</b></div> <div> <B>establish Native American Scholarship funds, assists programs for battered</b></div> <div> <B>women & substance abuse recovery, collaborates to improve medical care on</b></div> <div> <B>the reservations, & assists other prisoners in developing prison art</b></div> <div> <B>programs. Peltier also has adopted children in Guatemala & El Salvador. As</b></div> <div> <B>a result, he has received recognition & acclaim from many human rights</b></div> <div> <B>groups, including the Human Rights Commission of Spain & the Ontario</b></div> <div> <B>(Canada) Federation of Labour.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mr. Peltier suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure & a heart</b></div> <div> <B>condition. According to an affiliate of Physicians for Human Rights, he</b></div> <div> <B>risks blindness, kidney failure & stroke in the future, given his inadequate</b></div> <div> <B>diet, living conditions, & health care.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Our concepts of justice & good government require that such tragic errors</b></div> <div> <B>of the past be set right. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>We ask that you act now to secure Mr. Leonard Peltier's freedom.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>LPDC </b></div> <div> <B>2626 N. Mesa # 132</b></div> <div> <B>El Paso, Texas 79902</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Phone - 915-533-6655</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>email: </b><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF="mailto:info@leonardpeltier.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@leonardpeltier.net"><U><B>info@leonardpeltier.net</b></U></A></FONT><A HREF="mailto:info@leonardpeltier.net" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@leonardpeltier.net"><U><B> </b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</b></div> <div> <B>July 2005</b></div> <div> <B>~*~*~Their Myth of Freedom and Justice for All~*~*~</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>As Americans celebrate their myth of freedom and justice for all, Leonard Peltier is moved without warning or notification to Terre Haute, Indiana, USP and is held in solitary confinement at least through the long holiday weekend.</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/hawkman.jpg" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/hawkman.j"><U><B><IMG SRC="33866c20.jpg" border=0 width="358" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/hawkman.jpg" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/hawkman.j"><U><B>hawkman.jpg, image/jpeg, 358x450</b></U></A><A HREF="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/hawkman.jpg" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.indybay.org/uploads/hawkman.j"><U><B> </b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>At a time when this country seeks understanding for its obvious wrongs around the planet and cannot understand why the global village mistrusts it, the U.S. government is mistreating and using extraordinary domestic rendition upon the most beloved contemporary Native American warrior. Leonard Peltier, whom - again in defiance of the global opinion - this country refuses to acknowledge as a political prisoner, today sits in a tiny cell without windows and human contact as the American people prepare to celebrate their myth of justice and freedom for all. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>After twenty nine years in prison for a crime he didn't commit he was moved without rhyme or reason, and without notification to his family and attorney, from Leavenworth USP to Terre Haute Indiana USP. He was immediately placed in solitary confinement, "the hole". Leonard is sixty years old, he suffers from arthritis, bone spurs, all the discomforts associated with diabetes, and recently had a stroke. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Bureau of Prisons may argue that placing a transferred prisoner in solitary confinement is a routine procedure until all the appropriate paperwork is processed, but the timing of this action adds to its cruelty since it was carried out right before the long weekend preceding this 4th of July. In addition, this development comes at a time when Peltier?s legal team is successfully arguing very important motions and the US Courts might be obligated to release him. It is no too far fetched to imagine that to prevent his release, he is subjected to this psychological and physical torture in hope that it will break his body and spirit, and literally kill him. </b></div> <div> <B>As seen in the world stage today, the U.S. concepts of freedom fighters, terrorists, illegal combatants, murders, and battle casualties, are relative at their best, and duplicitous, deceptive, and capricious in their application. The same government that manipulated Canadian sovereignty and false affidavits to obtain the extradition of Leonard Peltier, our freedom fighter, today protects Jose Posada Carriles, a real terrorist, and denies his extradition to Venezuela where he was involved in the bombing of a Cuban airliner resulting in the murder of all its passengers. On the other hand, the ?crime scene? in which they have framed Peltier is a battle in which armed and trained US government combatants, illegally entered non-US territory, and attacked a group of armed civilians defending their land and families, and they, as well as one of those civilians (Joe Stuntz), became casualties of war. Why must then Peltier pay with his life? </b></div> <div> <B>Does the FBI feel any remorse for any of its victims: Joe Stuntz, Buddy Lamont, or Frank Clearwater? How about Pedro Bissonette or the Jimmy Little Incident? Both murdered by US backed forces, using deadly force, and bludgeoning Jimmy Little in front of his family. His son Jimmy, Jr. witnessed this terrible act and when he reached 21 committed suicide--a note revealed that he missed his Dad and saw no reason to live. Jimmy, Jr was an Olympic cross-country talent when he was at Loneman School as a 7th grader. He was the next Billy Mills but the trauma of the US invasion and its violence killed him before he had a chance to mature, he really was dead before he lived. </b></div> <div> <B>Who pays for our dead? Or are our lives still as worthless to the American people as when they would pay money for our skins red with our blood (hence the term redskins so celebrated by this culture). Our wounds are deep, and the torment that created them is unforgettable. We know we cannot go back in time, but what can be done today is to put an end to the assault on indigenous people, that has been taking place without reprieve since the beginning of this country. Enough is enough America! Basta ya! Honor our treaties, stop taking and destroying our land and resources, respect our sovereignty and our culture, rectify the language of your history, and free our warriors! Free Peltier! </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Wanbli Watakpe aka Russ Redner </b></div> <div> <B>Executive Director, LPDC </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Paula Ostrovsky </b></div> <div> <B>Media PR Officer, LPDC </b></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.leonardpeltier.org " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.leonardpeltier.org "><U><B>leonardpeltier.org</b></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF="http://www.leonardpeltier.org " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.leonardpeltier.org "><U><B> </b></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <B>What can you do to help Leonard? </b></div> <div> <B>Send letters to Congress people Senators and politely demand Leonards Freedom. Local media coverage is another way to educate people about this political injustice towards Leonard Peltier contact the LPDC chapters for assistance. </b></div> <div> <B>We are asking anyone and everyone to get on the phones and get out their pens and paper. Let's flood the telephones with calls regarding Leonard! Let's stuff their mailboxes with letters about Leonard! Urge the prison to allow Leonard to contact his family as soon as possible. Ask how he is, ask where to write, ask if he's OK, ask about his health, his privileges (phones, letters, visits, religious </b></div> <div> <B>rights, ability to paint, etc.) inquire as to his safety-anything-just keep calling and let the prison know that the entire world is watching and is concerned about Leonard. </b></div> <div> <B>Please be sure to be courteous and professional, as LPDC does not wish to complicate Leonard's situation. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Peltier Legal Team and Leonard's </b></div> <div> <B>family are working hard to ensure Leonard's safety and they will keep you informed as </b></div> <div> <B>things develop. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mitakuye Oyasin. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>LPDC, Inc </b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Warden</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>USP LEWISBURG</b></div> <div> <B>U.S. PENITENTIARY</b></div> <div> <B>2400 ROBERT F. MILLER DRIVE</b></div> <div> <B>LEWISBURG, PA 17837</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Phone: 570- 523-1251</b></div> <div> <B>Fax: 570- 522-7745</b></div> <div> <B>E-mail address: </b><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="mailto:LEW/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:LEW/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV"><U><B><U>LEW/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV</U></b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Also please continue writing to Leonard but be mindful of his situation and respectful of his personal affairs.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier # 89637-132</b></div> <div> <B>USP LEWISBURG</b></div> <div> <B>U.S. PENITENTIARY</b></div> <div> <B>P.O. BOX 1000</b></div> <div> <B>LEWISBURG, PA 17837</b><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF="mailto: THP/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV " TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: THP/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV "><U><B> </b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Federal Bureau of Prisons </b></div> <div> <B>320 First Street NW </b></div> <div> <B>Washington, DC 20534 </b></div> <div> <B>202-307-3198 </b></div> <div> <A HREF="mailto: info@bop.gov " TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: info@bop.gov "><U><B>info@bop.gov</b></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF="mailto: info@bop.gov " TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: info@bop.gov "><U><B> </b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>House Of Represenatives </b></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.sht"><U><B>http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml</b></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF="http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.sht"><U><B> </b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Senators </b></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_in"><U><B>http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm</b></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF="http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_in"><U><B> </b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF=" http://www.freepeltier.org/ " TARGET="_top" TITLE=" http://www.freepeltier.org/ "><U><B>http://www.freepeltier.org/</b></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF=" http://www.freepeltier.org/ " TARGET="_top" TITLE=" http://www.freepeltier.org/ "><U><B> </b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</b></div> <div> <B>From:</b><A HREF="mailto: info@leonardpeltier.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: info@leonardpeltier.org"><U><B> info@leonardpeltier.org</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Answer to Ed Wood of No Parole for Peltier Association </b></div> <div> <B>concerning Leonard's Peace Prize Nominations</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>KNOW YOUR ENEMY</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Once again, the P.R. machine that is Ed Woods and his FBI agent</b></div> <div> <B>brotherhood, under the guise of the "No Parole Peltier Association"</b></div> <div> <B>have shifted their propaganda steamroller into high gear. Its hard to</b></div> <div> <B>fault them, though, for seizing on an opportune moment. At a time when</b></div> <div> <B>the so-called Patriot Act , a twin brother to the Bureau's beloved and</b></div> <div> <B>illegal COINTELPRO activities, actively quashes dissent in this </b></div> <div> <B>country:</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>At a time when the American Indian Movement and apparently all American</b></div> <div> <B>Indians with political sensitivities are going on trial for alleged</b></div> <div> <B>offenses, some occurring a generation or more ago: At a time when</b></div> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier is once again registering on the radar screens of human</b></div> <div> <B>rights organizations around the world: You know its time for the highest</b></div> <div> <B>law enforcement agency in the land to rev up their engines and burn</b></div> <div> <B>rubber. It is their legacy after all, and old habits are hard to </b></div> <div> <B>break.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Apparently, the latest round of double-speak has been issued in response</b></div> <div> <B>to Mr. Peltier's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. This has</b></div> <div> <B>illicited a Pavlov's dog response, that in this writer's mind, appears</b></div> <div> <B>slightly rabid in nature. The nonsensical diatribe asks:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"one question remains, was Peltier ever actually "nominated" for the NPP</b></div> <div> <B>previously, and if he was, does it really matter?"</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Aside from Mr. Agent Woods seemingly carrying on a conversation with</b></div> <div> <B>himself, one has to wonder why he would do so with such mundane subject</b></div> <div> <B>matter. Later, after forcing the mildly interested reader to slog</b></div> <div> <B>through another one thousand, three hundred, and eleven words </b></div> <div> <B>(1,311), he finally admits:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"But then, does it really matter?" The answer is no.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>So, I'm a little confused here, I just wasted a good five minutes of my</b></div> <div> <B>time to see you answer your own irrelevant question. What gives? I mean,</b></div> <div> <B>its obvious this is yet another anti-Peltier rant, but did you really</b></div> <div> <B>need to go into such convoluted circular prose to do it? Could there be</b></div> <div> <B>another purpose aside from your usual Peltier venom spewing? Then I went</b></div> <div> <B>back and read more carefully. Yes & yes I think I've found it. Smearing</b></div> <div> <B>Peltier isn't enough. I mean, God forbid he might actually be in the</b></div> <div> <B>running to win the most prestigious and famous peace award the world has</b></div> <div> <B>ever known. If that is so, what you seem compelled to do, in fact what</b></div> <div> <B>you MUST do to successfully nurse your smut campaign, is engage in a</b></div> <div> <B>little pre-emptive spin control. Or is it damage control? I guess there</b></div> <div> <B>are those, who if you convince them that the Nobel Prizes nomination</b></div> <div> <B>process really is a fundamentally illegitimate endeavor, then you can</b></div> <div> <B>cast doubt on the awards significance, and therefore all associated</b></div> <div> <B>with it. Is this what you intend to do?</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"but the nominating process is embarrassingly flawed. As it turns out,</b></div> <div> <B>just about anyone can nominate just about anyone."</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>This almost made me cough up my Ovaltine. What would you prefer, a</b></div> <div> <B>process you or your F.B.I. buddies can control? Would you extend your</b></div> <div> <B>long arm into this arena as well? Are state controlled peace awards</b></div> <div> <B>preferable to an open and free nomination process? Are you seriously</b></div> <div> <B>suggesting the prize has no credibility? Would you impugn the world wide</b></div> <div> <B>peaceful impact of such Nobel laureates as Jimmy Carter, Nelson Mandela,</b></div> <div> <B>Dr. Martin Luther King, jr., and (the woman whos name you misspelled)</b></div> <div> <B>Rigoberta Menchu Tum?</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>But attack-dog Wood doesn't stop there. Apparently, former United States</b></div> <div> <B>Attorney General Ramsey Clark is on the hit list as well:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"the notoriously infamous Ramsey Clark"</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Notoriously infamous? Such drivel is usually reserved for</b></div> <div> <B>mass-murderers, child molesters, or multiple rapists. But Ramsey Clark?</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Me thinks thou dost protest too much.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>And the hit parade continues.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"the No Parole Peltier Association wrote a number of letters to likely</b></div> <div> <B>individuals who would have been in a position to nominate Peltier."</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"No one replied."</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Despite the fact that he later identifies the nominators, the</b></div> <div> <B>implication here appears to be that Peltier was not, in fact nominated.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Umm, Agent Woods, I've got a news flash for you: If you had written me,</b></div> <div> <B>I likely wouldn't have responded either. I don't respond well to</b></div> <div> <B>witch-hunts. Nor for that matter, suppression of my God-given right to</b></div> <div> <B>nominate who I choose, for what I choose, anonymously-if I choose. </b></div> <div> <B>Nor do I surrender my right to read what I want, to think what I want, or to</b></div> <div> <B>say what I want. Write me an inquiring letter about all of those and you</b></div> <div> <B>can interpret my non-response as you choose, but don't kid yourself-I</b></div> <div> <B>might also choose not to make myself a target of state sponsored</b></div> <div> <B>terrorism.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Even the Belgium IPF is not immune:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"their motives are twisted; not to remind everyone of an important</b></div> <div> <B>issue, but to embarrass; not to educate, but humiliate; not to inform,</b></div> <div> <B>but politicize; in a word, to propagandize. Their effort then takes on a</b></div> <div> <B>clearer purpose, a translucent agenda to further attack the U.S. from</b></div> <div> <B>abroad. The IPF's efforts further the en vogue attitude of</b></div> <div> <B>America-bashing by utilizing Peltier."</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>So, to highlight Peltiers continued incarceration as a political</b></div> <div> <B>prisoner, and to draw a correlation to all issues Indian in nature is</b></div> <div> <B>America-bashing ? Are you that incapable of hearing the truth about</b></div> <div> <B>Indian people, and Indian issues?</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>And I love this:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"If these people are so interested in American history then we should</b></div> <div> <B>tritely remind them of the obvious the thousands of American</b></div> <div> <B>servicemen who died to liberate Europe which now avails them of the</b></div> <div> <B>freedoms they so easily and ungratefully abuse."</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I thought the theory that America had invented freedom was long ago</b></div> <div> <B>debunked. Ditto that the world is beholden to America, to the point of</b></div> <div> <B>turning a blind eye to injustice. The arrogance needed to put forth such</b></div> <div> <B>hubris is stunning.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>But, at least there is some truth to Agent Wood's latest soap box </b></div> <div> <B>derby:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"This discussion of Peltier and the Nobel prize may appear mean-</b></div> <div> <B>spirited."</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Can you say, understatement? I thought you could.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The fact that his (Wood's) great-grandfather was a full-blood only adds</b></div> <div> <B>to the concerns for those innocents who suffered, and continue to suffer</b></div> <div> <B>on substandard reservations.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Oh Lord, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this one. But your</b></div> <div> <B>overwhelming concern for Indians is duly noted. I guess that's why we've</b></div> <div> <B>heard your voice so loud and clear on the disproportionately high</b></div> <div> <B>incarceration rate of Indians, the ongoing Indian health care crisis,</b></div> <div> <B>the Cobell lawsuit regarding 15 billion dollars of stolen Indian trust</b></div> <div> <B>fund monies, United States interference in Indian governance, violated</b></div> <div> <B>treaties, land disputes, ongoing forced removals, housing shortages, and</b></div> <div> <B>sub-standard education on reservations, so on and so forth, ad</b></div> <div> <B>infinitum? I've never seen the F.B.I. picket the capitol in support of</b></div> <div> <B>any Indian causes. But I did, however see you and your buddies in the</b></div> <div> <B>rain trying to intimidate the Executive branch into letting Peltier rot</b></div> <div> <B>in prison. Where were you during the cascade of events that led to</b></div> <div> <B>Peltier's incarceration in the first place? Where was or is your concern</b></div> <div> <B>when Indians were or are starving, poisoned, removed, murdered, and</b></div> <div> <B>terrorized? Excuse me if I'm not overly moved by your love of Indian</b></div> <div> <B>people.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Peltier is not the right symbol to either seek long-term reconciliation</b></div> <div> <B>and healing, or true reparations."</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I would think that we Indians would have at least some say in what is</b></div> <div> <B>and is not needed for reconciliation and healing. That is, after all,</b></div> <div> <B>the true spirit of reconciliation isn't it-both parties being heard?</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Your and yours continue to talk, but not to hear. We in turn have heard</b></div> <div> <B>so much, and have seen so very little.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>In fact, there is not a more clearly defined symbol of Indian oppression</b></div> <div> <B>than Leonard Peltier. As such, there would be no better catalyst for</b></div> <div> <B>better relations between our nations than to see him freed. In fact,</b></div> <div> <B>this writer would suggest that there can be no such dialogue about</b></div> <div> <B>better relations until Mr. Peltier finally breathes the sweet oxygen of</b></div> <div> <B>freedom. Maybe winning the Nobel Peace Prize will be the necessary first</b></div> <div> <B>step towards making this happen. In any event, your insecurity is</b></div> <div> <B>showing. You cannot put chains around an idea, a dream, or a cause. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Nor can you chain Leonard's spirit. He will be free.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lawrence Sampson</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Delaware/Eastern Band Cherokee</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Spokesperson for Leonard Peltier</b></div> <bR> <div> <B> </b></div> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Many of the entries below came from the 'Leonard Peltier Forum'.</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF=" http://users.skynet.be/kola/forumwhy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" http://users.skynet.be/kola/forumwhy.h"><U><B>Leonard Peltier International Forum</b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Subject:</b><B> </b><B>[nwpeltiersupport]</b></div> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier Speaks on the Occasion of the 30th Anniversary of</b></div> <div> <B>the Jumping Bull Shootout</b></div> <div> <B>Date: 6/28/2005</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Hau Kola,</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I know this is a dictated speech that is going to be read to you,</b></div> <div> <B>however, I want to speak to you as if I were there, or should I say.here</b></div> <div> <B>with you. Every year someone or some people at Oglala remember the</b></div> <div> <B>sacrifices of the people who were there trying to make a difference for</b></div> <div> <B>our people. And every year I remember the ones who aren't with us, the</b></div> <div> <B>ones who can no longer be with us, and the sacrifices that they made.</b></div> <div> <B>Sometimes I'm at a loss for words for the heartfelt appreciation I have</b></div> <div> <B>- that you would remember all of those that gave their lives - as Joe</b></div> <div> <B>Stuntz did; and, all of those who continue to strive in so many</b></div> <div> <B>different ways to serve the people.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I deeply regret that I can't be there with you. But yet in a way, I</b></div> <div> <B>have to count my blessings. I have lived to see changes take place for</b></div> <div> <B>our people. Though they are not as good as I would wish, there have</b></div> <div> <B>been changes brought about by Joe Stuntz and others who have sacrificed</b></div> <div> <B>in some way for our people. As I said, I have to be grateful because,</b></div> <div> <B>although in a limited way, I have had the chance to get to know my</b></div> <div> <B>children, some of my grandchildren, and they in turn have gotten to know</b></div> <div> <B>me; something that my brother Joe and so many others who lost their</b></div> <div> <B>lives fighting for the people, did not have an opportunity to do.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>When I first came here, I was considered a young warrior and now within</b></div> <div> <B>my circle, I am looked upon as an Elder- Something that hopefully all of</b></div> <div> <B>you will come to be a part of in your lifetime. I had a friend once, an</b></div> <div> <B>Elder who has since gone on, who once said to me that every person that</b></div> <div> <B>he had consulted with on their death bed had spoken of the Creator and</b></div> <div> <B>their family. That became the highest priority in their life and what</b></div> <div> <B>was left of it. And he spoke to me of many because he had been an</b></div> <div> <B>emergency room technician at one time. In thinking and remembering</b></div> <div> <B>this, it always reminds me of the Sundance and the Sweat lodge and how</b></div> <div> <B>the extremes of pain and sacrifice always seem to bring those same</b></div> <div> <B>concerns to mind. Each of us - from the day we are born, to the time</b></div> <div> <B>that we pass on, should remember to talk to the Creator and pray for our</b></div> <div> <B>relatives.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Forgive me if I sound a little sentimental or dramatic, but I've</b></div> <div> <B>experienced thirty years of dying, thirty years of hearing that some of</b></div> <div> <B>my relatives have gone on, thirty years of praying for our people, and I</b></div> <div> <B>am so grateful that the Creator has allowed me to talk to you in some</b></div> <div> <B>way and let you know that you are my family. You are my relatives. You</b></div> <div> <B>are my young warriors and my Elders. And, if I am remembered for</b></div> <div> <B>anything at all, I want it to be that I never gave up - for you. I want</b></div> <div> <B>you to know that I have faith in you, that one day your efforts will</b></div> <div> <B>bring about a stronger nation; a nation where alcoholism, diabetes,</b></div> <div> <B>suicide, and poverty do not control the lives of our people.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I know lately there has been a lot of concern and rumors about various</b></div> <div> <B>individuals who have collaborated in some way with the government</b></div> <div> <B>against their own people, people who are giving away some of our</b></div> <div> <B>sovereignty; giving away our right to determine our own destiny and to</b></div> <div> <B>handle our own affairs. With this in mind, I want to encourage you to</b></div> <div> <B>remember always who we are and I want to ask you to remind yourselves</b></div> <div> <B>that this is our land, given to us by the Creator, and our freedom was</b></div> <div> <B>given to us by the Creator. The forest, the trees, the animals, the</b></div> <div> <B>prairie - were all given to us by the Creator. No man of any nation or</b></div> <div> <B>color or origin has the right to take that away. We have the right,</b></div> <div> <B>given to us by the Creator, to resist; to protect our own; to stand firm</b></div> <div> <B>on the principles and the teachings the Creator has given our people for</b></div> <div> <B>thousands of years.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>We are a beautiful people; we have a beautiful culture, and we should</b></div> <div> <B>seek to join with all our brothers and sisters and relatives of other</b></div> <div> <B>Indigenous nations who are faced with the same dangers of loss. There</b></div> <div> <B>is an old Cheyenne saying I once heard that a Nation is never defeated</b></div> <div> <B>until the hearts of it's women are on the ground. The hearts of our</b></div> <div> <B>women may be low, but they are not on the ground and I damn sure ain't</b></div> <div> <B>gonna let it happen on my shift. I love you to the nth degree. I</b></div> <div> <B>always will. You will always be in my prayers. Do what you can, where</b></div> <div> <B>you can, from where you stand and - to quote Sitting Bull - let's see</b></div> <div> <B>what kind of nation we can make for our children. I don't say I love</b></div> <div> <B>you easily but I want you to know that I love you - my heart is with you</b></div> <div> <B>and never, never, never .give up !</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Before I finish, I want to say thank you, though I was told by an Elder</b></div> <div> <B>that it was better to show your thanks with your deeds and your gifts,</b></div> <div> <B>rather than just speaking it with your mouth. I apologize that I have</b></div> <div> <B>nothing to give but I want you to know that you have my prayers, my</b></div> <div> <B>thoughts, and what is left of my life. I will always be with you.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Your relative!</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,</b></div> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> =+=+=+=+=+=</div> <div> As of 27 August 2006:</div> <div> 11161 days of WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT!</div> <div> =+=+=+=+=+=</div> <bR> <div> ONLINE PETITION FOR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY</div> <div> <A HREF="http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm"><U>http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm</U></A></div> <bR> <div> ONLINE PETITION FOR PAROLE</div> <div> <A HREF="http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard/signup.php4?campaign=leonard" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard"><U>http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard/signup.php4?campaign=leonard</U></A></div> <bR> <div> =+=+=+=+=+=</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/11905741.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks"><U>http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/11905741.htm</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Grand Forks Herald</div> <div> Posted on Thu, Jun. 16, 2005</div> <bR> <div> Peltier lawyers seek release</div> <bR> <div> By Dave Kolpack</div> <div> Associated Press</div> <bR> <bR> <div> FARGO, N.D. - A lawyer for imprisoned American Indian activist Leonard</div> <div> Peltier argued Wednesday for his release, saying the federal</div> <div> government did not have the right to try him for crimes that occurred</div> <div> on a South Dakota reservation.</div> <bR> <div> Peltier, 60, is serving life in prison for the killing of two FBI</div> <div> agents during a 1975 standoff on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He</div> <div> was convicted in Fargo in 1977 and has filed numerous appeals.</div> <bR> <div> "He's amazing at holding out hope," defense attorney Barry Bachrach said.</div> <bR> <div> Peltier's lawyer claims his sentence is illegal because the federal</div> <div> court had no jurisdiction on the reservation.</div> <bR> <div> "The court had no federal offense before it and it had no federal</div> <div> jurisdiction," Bachrach told U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson.</div> <bR> <div> Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Schneider said the claim is frivolous.</div> <bR> <div> "The law applies everywhere to everyone, regardless of the site,"</div> <div> Schneider said.</div> <bR> <div> A ruling is expected within two months, Bachrach said.</div> <bR> <div> Peltier was convicted of killing Ronald Williams and Jack Coler during</div> <div> a standoff on the reservation and received two consecutive life</div> <div> sentences. The agents were shot in the head at close range and their</div> <div> bodies were left on a dirt road.</div> <bR> <div> Supporters have said Peltier was treated unfairly because of his</div> <div> political activism.</div> <bR> <div> Peltier, who has a history of diabetes and recently suffered a stroke,</div> <div> listened by speakerphone from federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan. He</div> <div> talked briefly after lawyers had finished, complaining that the</div> <div> government continues to change its story about his role in the killings.</div> <bR> <div> Bachrach also told the judge that a recent court ruling on sentencing</div> <div> guidelines shows the court exceeded its authority in handing down two</div> <div> consecutive life terms.</div> <bR> <div> About 30 people attended a protest rally outside the courthouse before</div> <div> the hearing. Paul Schultz, a tribal elder from the White Earth</div> <div> Reservation in Minnesota, told the crowd that Peltier should have gone</div> <div> to tribal court, "if he needed to go to court at all."</div> <bR> <div> "Today we stand here in solidarity," Schultz said. "One of our</div> <div> brothers is still in the iron house."</div> <bR> <div> --</div> <div> © 2005 Grand Forks Herald and wire service sources.</div> <bR> <div> +=+=+=+</div> <div> [In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is</div> <div> distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a</div> <div> prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research</div> <div> and educational purposes only.]</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> =+=+= FREE LEONARD PELTIER NOW! =+=+=</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>[nwpeltiersupport] </b></div> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier Defense Committee: Leonard's defense team returned in</b></div> <div> <B>person to Fargo this week (June 15, 2005).</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Peltier Defense Committee </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Breaking News and info directly from the Offices of the Leonard</b></div> <div> <B>Peltier Defense </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>CommitteeThis blog maintained by and property of The Leonard Peltier</b></div> <div> <B>Defense Committee</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Wednesday, June 22, 2005</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard's defense team returned in person to Fargo this week (June 15,</b></div> <div> <B>2005). </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>It has been nearly 30 years since Leonard was a captive in Fargo.</b></div> <div> <B>Years later after the trial, Amnesty International declared that Mr. Peltier is a</b></div> <div> <B>political prisoner.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>About three weeks ago, Mr. Barry Bachrach, Leonard's counsel,</b></div> <div> <B>contacted me stating that Leonard had given my name to him. Mr. Bachrach said he</b></div> <div> <B>was not getting cooperation from the federal court in securing a certified</b></div> <div> <B>copy of the jury decision in the case of North Dakota C77-3003. It turned out to be </b></div> <div> <B>relatively straightforward for me to get the copy. Because the case is</b></div> <div> <B>nearly 30 years old, I expected that it would take a fair amount of time to find it.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>At the clerk's office , I stated that I was looking for a copy of a jury </b></div> <div> <B>decision from 30 years ago and was told that it would be housed in the</b></div> <div> <B>Denver archives. I mentioned that it was the Leonard Peltier case and the</b></div> <div> <B>clerk said, "Oh, we have that here. Have a chair and I will get it and make a copy</b></div> <div> <B>for you." </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I found it interesting that the case of Leonard Peltier would be easily </b></div> <div> <B>recognizable by someone, who may only have been born about 1977 or</b></div> <div> <B>perhaps 10 years prior. It took about 10 minutes. She apologized when she came</b></div> <div> <B>back and said she had to wait because a judge was using the library.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I went to the hearing this week. We listened to the federal prosecutor</b></div> <div> <B>explain how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. At the end of the</b></div> <div> <B>hearing, Leonard, who had been listening by phone, asked if he could speak. I</b></div> <div> <B>watched the body language of the judge. He seemed surprised. He hesitated for a</b></div> <div> <B>fairly long time; for what reason, only he really knows. Leonard reminded the</b></div> <div> <B>judge that Mr. Crooks, who was present at this hearing, had admitted (at a previous</b></div> <div> <B>hearing or challenge to the conviction) that the government convicted on the</b></div> <div> <B>basis of aiding and abetting.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I saw the certified copy of the jury decision with my own eyes and it</b></div> <div> <B>definitely reads first degree murder on two counts. There is nothing about aiding</b></div> <div> <B>and abetting. You have to dance angels on the head of a pin to draw that</b></div> <div> <B>conclusion.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>To convict, someone has had to manufacture evidence, which the Peltier</b></div> <div> <B>defense team has shown to be the case through the Freedom of Information Act</b></div> <div> <B>over these many, too long years for Leonard. To keep Leonard in prison, those</b></div> <div> <B>agents of our government keep jigging and rigging the dancing angels.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I remain convinced the trial was rigged. I wrote the following piece</b></div> <div> <B>in 1977. It was intentionally written with very stark contrasting words of contextual </b></div> <div> <B>meaning. In 2005, someone may be offended by them. You also must</b></div> <div> <B>remember that when this was written, none of the Freedom Of Information Act files</b></div> <div> <B>had been released. The description of the vehicle that I wrote about in 1977 is</b></div> <div> <B>what was placed into my mind by the prosecution and into the minds of the</b></div> <div> <B>jurors. That description was wrong because the prosecution and Judge Benson made</b></div> <div> <B>sure that no one that day understood what kind of vehicle Leonard drove.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>These words are offered with the request that you will work hard for</b></div> <div> <B>the release from prison of the One Who Stood Alone.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>He Stood Alone</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Two duly-sworn law enforcers, who were white, are now dead. Led by an</b></div> <div> <B>all white prosecution team, one red man now stands convicted by an all white</b></div> <div> <B>jury. The cause is racism. The issue remains the treaty obligations signed by</b></div> <div> <B>the U.S. Congress and the Headmen of the Oglala Nation of 1868.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>A racist remark in a bar. The theft of a white man's cowboy boots. The</b></div> <div> <B>warrant for the arrest of a 15 year old reservation male. Violence on the</b></div> <div> <B>reservation repeated--this time one red and two white die.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Who owns the water? Who owns the precious ores-the coal and uranium?</b></div> <div> <B>Liberal or conservative bears no relationship to who controls the land.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The red-skinned people came to Fargo to support a brother in his</b></div> <div> <B>trials. They pray for him. The white press, in a photo caption, labels the prayer</b></div> <div> <B>ceremony a prayer demonstration. Here again, a failure to understand cultural</b></div> <div> <B>differences fosters the cause of racism.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The issue remains the treaty obligations. The courts from time to time</b></div> <div> <B>have spoken. Over the years, case by case, native peoples have retained</b></div> <div> <B>their rights before the law as obligated by the U.S. Congress.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Testimony and then the counter testimony--the adversary system in action.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Your Honor, the agent's own radio transcription, as monitored by</b></div> <div> <B>another law officer, states that there was a red pickup truck present at the start</b></div> <div> <B>of the shooting.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>OBJECTION, your Honor.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Counsels will approach the bench. Bailiff, dismiss the jury. Objection</b></div> <div> <B>over ruled. Counsel for the defense will refer only to a red vehicle. Bring</b></div> <div> <B>in the jury Bailiff.Leonard Peltier drove a red AND WHITE VAN.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Your Honor, the agent who was under fire radioed a message, which was</b></div> <div> <B>monitored by another law officer, stating that he would be killed if fellow</b></div> <div> <B>officers did not direct protective gunfire onto the top of the hill.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>OBJECTION, your Honor.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Counsels will approach the bench. The jury is dismissed. Objection</b></div> <div> <B>sustained. Bailiff, bring in the jury.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier, according to the government theory, raced ahead of agent </b></div> <div> <B>Williams in his red vehicle (red and white van) stopped the vehicle</b></div> <div> <B>(van) on the road ahead of the agent's vehicle (car) and got out firing. He did not</b></div> <div> <B>fire from the top of the hill according to the government's own theory.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Was it racism that caused these deaths. Was it racism that caused this </b></div> <div> <B>conviction. The issue remains the treaty obligations.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Who owns the land, who owns the grazing rights on that land, who</b></div> <div> <B>profits from ranching, who controls the precious resources?</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>In an all white court room--judge, jury, prosecution, defense and</b></div> <div> <B>media--on advice from the U.S. Marshal, the judge bars Leonard Peltier's wife and </b></div> <div> <B>children, mother and father, sisters and brothers from hearing the</b></div> <div> <B>verdict read. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Guilty in the first degree. Pre meditated with malice and forethought,</b></div> <div> <B>and there was no living blood relation to turn to and share that moment. He</b></div> <div> <B>stood alone. </b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+= INTERNATIONAL FORUM of VIPs for PELTIER =+=+=</b></div> <div> <B>27 August 2006 :</b></div> <div> <B>11161 days of WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT!</b></div> <div> <B>=+=+=+=+=+=</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>ONLINE PETITION FOR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY</b></div> <div> <A HREF="http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm"><U><B>http://users.skynet.be/kola/lppet.htm</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>ONLINE PETITION FOR PAROLE</b></div> <div> <A HREF="http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard/signup.php4?campaign=leonard" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard"><U><B>http://campaign-pyramid.com/kola/leonard/signup.php4?campaign=leonard</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+=+=+=+=</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Subject: Leonard Peltier statement on the passing of Dave Chief</b></div> <div> <B>Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 17:27:23 -0400</b></div> <div> <B>From:</b><A HREF="mailto: info@leonardpeltier.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: info@leonardpeltier.org"><U><B> info@leonardpeltier.org</b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Dear Brothers, Sisters, Friends, Supporters, and All Peoples,</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Today we mourn the loss of David Chief, a long time spiritual </b></div> <div> <B>advisor and spiritual force for the Lakota nation. He was a man </b></div> <div> <B>committed to his culture. He was a man of utmost respect. He has left a </b></div> <div> <B>legacy that we all should follow. My condolences go out to the family </b></div> <div> <B>and all of our people. I pray that we unite to continue on the path he </b></div> <div> <B>followed.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>In The Spirit,</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+=+=+=+=</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Subject: Dave Chief - Obituary by his family</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dave Yakima Chief</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dave Yakima Chief (Wakinyan), age 74, journeyed to the spirit world on </b></div> <div> <B>Friday evening, June 10, in Medford, Oregon surrounded by family. A </b></div> <div> <B>respected Lakota elder, warrior, spiritual advisor, and member of the </b></div> <div> <B>Oglala Sioux Tribe, Dave was born on June 25, 1930 at Rapid Creek, </b></div> <div> <B>South Dakota. He grew up at Red Shirt Table on the Pine Ridge </b></div> <div> <B>Reservation. His parents were Albert Chief and Hattie Fills the Pipe </b></div> <div> <B>Chief. Dave worked for the people and for treaty rights for decades, </b></div> <div> <B>traveling to the United Nations, the White House, the U.S. Congress, </b></div> <div> <B>and other continents. In 1972 Dave participated in the Trail of Broken </b></div> <div> <B>Treaties, which culminated in the takeover of the BIA in Washington, </b></div> <div> <B>D.C. In 1978 he was in the Longest Walk from Alcatraz Island to </b></div> <div> <B>Washington, D.C. that brought about the Freedom of Religion Act (P.L. </b></div> <div> <B>95-341), allowing Native people the legal right to practice traditional </b></div> <div> <B>spirituality. In 1984, he ran in the Jim Thorpe 54-day run from the </b></div> <div> <B>Onondaga Nation in New York to Los Angeles, after which Jim Thorpe's </b></div> <div> <B>nine gold Olympic medals were returned to his family.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Dave served for many years as the spiritual advisor to Leonard Peltier, </b></div> <div> <B>political prisoner, traveling around the country in this capacity. For </b></div> <div> <B>over twenty years, Dave worked with Arvol Looking Horse, the 19th </b></div> <div> <B>generation keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, and served as </b></div> <div> <B>his spiritual advisor since the death of Arvol's father, Stanley </b></div> <div> <B>Looking Horse. Dave supported Arvol in his work for world peace and </b></div> <div> <B>protection of sacred sites. Dave said that his job was "to pray for the </b></div> <div> <B>people." Dave stressed the importance of daily prayer, respect, </b></div> <div> <B>service, and honoring the seventh generation.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Gratefully sharing his life were his wife Mary Jane of Ashland Oregon, </b></div> <div> <B>sons Waverly of Rapid City, Burton of Porcupine, Martin (and Irene) </b></div> <div> <B>Lechuga of Eagle Butte, and Wakinyan of Chico, CA., one daughter, Wase </b></div> <div> <B>of Chico, stepchildren Sarah Cedar Face (Reuben Elias) and Jessica </b></div> <div> <B>Cedar Face (Benjamin John) and countless grandchildren and relatives </b></div> <div> <B>that loved him. He was proceeded in death by daughters Doris Chief and </b></div> <div> <B>Arlene Chief and an infant son.</b></div> <div> <B>Wake is scheduled for Thursday and Friday, June 16 and 17, at the Red </b></div> <div> <B>Shirt Table Gymnasium. Traditional services are planned for Saturday, </b></div> <div> <B>June 18 with burial at St. Bernard Catholic Cemetery at Red Shirt Table.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+= FREE LEONARD PELTIER NOW! =+=+=</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Subject: [nwpeltiersupport] Leonard Peltier - Statement to Supporters</b></div> <div> <B>June 10,2005 </b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Dear Brothers, Sisters, Friends, Supporters, and All People, </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I want to thank you all for your continuing support. These are</b></div> <div> <B>important times for us all. Now is the time for unification. Only</b></div> <div> <B>through unity can we overcome.I ask all of us, my brother and sisters,</b></div> <div> <B>all people, please come together as one and work together hard for the</b></div> <div> <B>rights of all. On this Wednesday, one of the most important hearings in</b></div> <div> <B>my case will be presented in Fargo, North Dakota.It challenges the</b></div> <div> <B>court's jurisdiction to have illegally sentenced me. I was never charged</b></div> <div> <B>with a crime over which the United States had jurisdiction.The charges</b></div> <div> <B>and conviction violate our sovereignty.This hearing can lead to my</b></div> <div> <B>freedom. But, I will leave it to my lawyers to present these issues to</b></div> <div> <B>the court and any of you who have questions may of course call upon</b></div> <div> <B>them. Barry Bachrach and Michael Kuzma have worked hard for my freedom,</b></div> <div> <B>as have so many of you, too many to list.I remember you all and hope to</b></div> <div> <B>join you soon. I especially want to thank Michael Kuzma for his hard</b></div> <div> <B>work in relentlessly pursuing the government to produce to us the over</b></div> <div> <B>140,000 documents which have yet to be produced, after nearly 30 years</b></div> <div> <B>of obfuscation. I hope you will all support this hearing and the cause.</b></div> <div> <B>I hope to be free so I can even more effectively assist and give back to</b></div> <div> <B>all of my people for the outpouring of support that you have given me</b></div> <div> <B>through these so many years.Let's pray that this time I am given the</b></div> <div> <B>justice due our people.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I also want to acknowledge another significant event which will</b></div> <div> <B>occur on June 26,2005, the 30th anniversary of the firefight on the</b></div> <div> <B>jumping bull property. We did not start that war. We stood as brave</b></div> <div> <B>warriors simply trying to protect the elders and the traditionals who</b></div> <div> <B>did not wish to lose their identity to the forces conducting a war upon</b></div> <div> <B>them. All of those who participated that day were warriors. I, along</b></div> <div> <B>with all of you, mourn the death of Joe Stuntz who valiantly sought to</b></div> <div> <B>protect our people. We mourn the many people who died during the Reign</b></div> <div> <B>of Terror. We mourn that the fight continues. The forces attacking us</b></div> <div> <B>have not stopped.However, this anniversary should not only be a day only</b></div> <div> <B>of mourning, but a day to reinvigorate our people's efforts to achieve</b></div> <div> <B>the rights and justice to which we are all due. Today, many of our</b></div> <div> <B>people are being unjustly placed in prison. The government has turned</b></div> <div> <B>the prisons into one of the largest reservations in this Country.Our</b></div> <div> <B>people are not treated with the respect we are due. These injustices</b></div> <div> <B>must stop. We must unite and speak as one to stop the injustices facing</b></div> <div> <B>our people. Remember, unity. Unity conquers all. My prayers are with you</b></div> <div> <B>all on these important days. I pray to be with you soon to help.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>In the Spirit, </b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>[message forwarded by Harvey Arden. Thanks!]</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>From: Matthew Walton </b></div> <div> <B> Tuesday, June 07, 2005 6:12 PM</b></div> <div> <B>Subject: ~New Opera, Sundance, based on trial and incarceration of</b></div> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier.</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.xmievents.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.xmievents.com"><U><B>xmi events.com</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>Welcome!</b></div> <div> <B>We are proud to bring you Matthew J. Walton's new opera, Sundance,</b></div> <div> <B>based on the trial and incarceration of Leonard Peltier. For more</b></div> <div> <B>information about the opera please contact matthewjwalton@yahoo.com</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Webcast Info </b></div> <div> <B>Advance payments are accepted. If you pay and login before July 8, a</b></div> <div> <B>test video will launch. If you're unable to view the test video, click</b></div> <div> <B>the Help link on the right.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The webcast will be available for live viewing. Archives will be</b></div> <div> <B>available for one week after the event. Webcast payments grant access</b></div> <div> <B>to both the live event, and the archive.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Pay-per-view</b></div> <div> <B>The live opera webcast will cost $5.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>How to pay </b></div> <div> <B>Click the appropriate link, and create a username and password in the</b></div> <div> <B>New User Signup. When you hit "Signup", you'll be prompted for</b></div> <div> <B>payment. Payments from PayPal accounts take 3-4 days to authenticate,</b></div> <div> <B>so we recommend using credit cards.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>How to view</b></div> <div> <B>You must have a Windows Media Player, which is available for free</b></div> <div> <B>download here:</b></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/default.aspx" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows"><U><B>http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/default.aspx</b></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><B> .</b></FONT></div> <div> <B>We recommend WMP 10, the newest player, but if you have WMP 9 don't</b></div> <div> <B>the newest player. WMP 9 works as well. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>To access the webcast, click the appropriate link on the right. If you</b></div> <div> <B>have already paid, enter your username and password, and the media</b></div> <div> <B>player will launch. If you haven't paid, you'll be prompted for payment.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Enjoy the show.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>--</b></div> <div> <B>Cazenovia Theatre</b></div> <div> <B>Cazenovia, NY</b></div> <div> <B>July 8, 8:00 PM EST </b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.xmievents.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.xmievents.com"><U><B>xmievents.com</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>* * *</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Premiere of Opera on Leonard Peltier</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>From: "Matthew Walton" </b></div> <div> <B>Date: Tue, June 7, 2005 3:17 pm</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Please forward far and wide. Even if you're not in the upstate NY</b></div> <div> <B>area, you can still check out the webcast!</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>SUNDANCE</b></div> <div> <B>World Premiere of an Original Opera</b></div> <div> <B>Based on the events leading up to the trial and incarceration of</b></div> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>July 7th and 8th, 2005 8pm </b></div> <div> <B>Cazenovia College Theatre</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Music by Matthew J. Walton</b></div> <div> <B>Libretto by Leonard Walton</b></div> <div> <B>Directed by Victoria Harder King!</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Tickets $15 Students/Seniors $12 18 & under Free</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Presented by the Syracuse Society for New Music</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>For Reservations call 315-655-STAR</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Any other questions, please email </b><A HREF="mailto: matthewjwalton@yahoo.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: matthewjwalton@yahoo.com"><U><B>matthewjwalton@yahoo.com</b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Even if you can't come to see the performance, you can still be a part</b></div> <div> <B>of the world premiere of Sundance because the July 8 performance will</b></div> <div> <B>be broadcast live on the web!</b></div> <div> <B>Please visit www.xmievents.com to learn more about how you can</b></div> <div> <B>subscribe to this broadcast. </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>~Please distribute widely. With YOUR help we CAN reach the whole world!~ </b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+= FREE LEONARD PELTIER NOW! =+=+=</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>PLEASE FORWARD THIS FAR AND WIDE- COME TO FARGO, ND TO SHOW YOUR</b></div> <div> <B>SUPPORT - </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>June 5, 2005</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier Defense Committee</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>PELTIER HEARING TO ADRESS LAKOTA NATION SOVEREIGNTY</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>As Mark Felt, one of the main responsible FBI officers overseeing</b></div> <div> <B>illegal counterintelligence programs targeting the American Indian</b></div> <div> <B>Movement and other groups in the 60s and 70's, is hailed as a hero for</b></div> <div> <B>catalyzing the toppling of the Nixon administration, Leonard Peltier</b></div> <div> <B>approaches his fourth decade of unjust imprisonment. </b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Today, from the perspective of the U.S. government, everything is</b></div> <div> <B>excusable in the war theatre, even as the world questions U.S.</b></div> <div> <B>policies and actions that point unequivocally to human rights abuses.</b></div> <div> <B>A puppet government, people murdered and terrorized, that was the</b></div> <div> <B>climate in the Pine Ridge reservation in 1975 when two FBI agents were</b></div> <div> <B>killed in a shootout. Leonard Peltier and fellow warriors responded to</b></div> <div> <B>the call for protection from the Oglala Lakota people, but he was</b></div> <div> <B>blamed for the deaths of the agents and is serving two consecutive</b></div> <div> <B>life terms for that. </b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>However, his defense team has been granted a hearing to correct his</b></div> <div> <B>illegal sentencing. The basis for this motion is that the United</b></div> <div> <B>States District Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the</b></div> <div> <B>statutes upon which Mr. Peltier was convicted and sentenced. The</b></div> <div> <B>statutes in question require that the crime take place "within the</b></div> <div> <B>special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States". </b></div> <div> <B>Since the deaths of the agents occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian</b></div> <div> <B>Reservation which is neither "within the special maritime [or]</b></div> <div> <B>territorial jurisdiction of the United States", the Peltier defense</b></div> <div> <B>team is asking the Court to grant Mr. Peltier's motion and vacate the</b></div> <div> <B>illegal sentences imposed upon him. If the Court does not recognize</b></div> <div> <B>the Pine Ridge Reservation as sovereign "then one must wonder, what</b></div> <div> <B>does sovereignty mean?" stated Barry Bachrach, attorney for Leonard</b></div> <div> <B>Peltier. "Sovereignty seems to be a concept that is given merely lip</b></div> <div> <B>service. It is raised when the government does not want to get</b></div> <div> <B>involved, and infringed when the government wants to take action." As</b></div> <div> <B>Bachrach further stated, "This hearing is important because Mr.</b></div> <div> <B>Peltier was never charged with crimes over which the United States had</b></div> <div> <B>jurisdiction. The history of the constitution, and the statutes</b></div> <div> <B>implicated, unequivocally establish that Mr. Peltier was not convicted</b></div> <div> <B>under the Indian Crimes Act, which is the only possible authority</b></div> <div> <B>under which the government could have tried and convicted Mr. Peltier.</b></div> <div> <B>Whereas here, the court had no jurisdiction to convict Mr. Peltier</b></div> <div> <B>under the crimes for which he was convicted, those convictions must be</b></div> <div> <B>set aside as a matter of law."</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The hearing will take place on Wednesday June 15th, 2005 at 2:00 PM at</b></div> <div> <B>the Quentin N. Burdick U.S. Courthouse in Fargo, North Dakota (655 1st</b></div> <div> <B>Ave. North - 4th Floor, Courtroom 1).</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>RUSS REDNER, LPDC DIRECTOR, 915-533-6655 or TOLL FREE 866-534-6151</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>BARRY BACHRACH, LPDC ATTORNEY, 508-926-3403</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Subject: an LP original up for auction - to Suuport the 2005 June 26</b></div> <div> <B>Oglala Commemoration </b></div> <div> <B>Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 17:22:46 -0400 </b></div> <div> <B>From:</b><A HREF="mailto: info@leonardpeltier.org " TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: info@leonardpeltier.org "><U><B> info@leonardpeltier.org </b></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Leonard Peltier Supporters - Your Attention Please!</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>June 26, 2005 is the 30 year anniversary of the "Incident at Oglala"</b></div> <div> <B>and will be commemorated at Pine Ridge. The Oglala Commemoration</b></div> <div> <B>Committee is auctioning off a Peltier Original titled, "Warrior</b></div> <div> <B>Story", donated by the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee. This</b></div> <div> <B>painting was recently on the auction but had a non-payment, so its up</b></div> <div> <B>once again. The proceeds go to toward the cost of the Oglala</b></div> <div> <B>Commemoration Event. The new Peltier Honorary Scholarship is to be</b></div> <div> <B>awarded to a GED student of the Oglala Lakota College on the Pine</b></div> <div> <B>Ridge Reservation. Please help in sponsoring this event to Honor our</b></div> <div> <B>Warriors. This is a free event to all, June 26th, Oglala, South</b></div> <div> <B>Dakota. Please take a look at the website for more auction items:</b></div> <div> <B>www.oglalacommemoration.com </b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+= FREE LEONARD PELTIER NOW! =+=+=</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Subject: [LP Forum News] Religious rights of prisoners upheld by</b></div> <div> <B>Supreme Court </b></div> <div> <B>Date: 6/1/2005 </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+= </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>INTERNATIONAL FORUM of VIPs for PELTIER</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+=+=+=+=</b></div> <div> <B>27 August 2006 : </b></div> <div> <B>11161 days of WRONGFUL</b></div> <div> <B>IMPRISONMENT!</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+=+=+=+=</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>1. Prisoners' Religious Rights Law Upheld (The Washington</b></div> <div> <B>Post)</b></div> <div> <B>2. Supreme Court Rules in Ohio Prison Case (The New York</b></div> <div> <B>Times)</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* * *</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.washingtonpost.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.washingtonpost.com/"><U><B>http://www.washingtonpost.com/</b></U></A></div> <div> <B>Prisoners' Religious Rights Law Upheld</b></div> <div> <B>Statute Bars Burdens on Observances</b></div> <div> <B>By Charles Lane</b></div> <div> <B>Washington Post Staff Writer</b></div> <div> <B>Wednesday, June 1, 2005; Page A12 </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Supreme Court upheld a federal religious freedom law for prisoners</b></div> <div> <B>and mental patients yesterday, ruling that Congress has the power to</b></div> <div> <B>require that state institutions accommodate the reasonable religious</b></div> <div> <B>needs of those under their control.</b></div> <div> <B>In a unanimous ruling, the court rejected Ohio's constitutional challenge</b></div> <div> <B>to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA),</b></div> <div> <B>enacted by Congress in 2000. RLUIPA says that "no government shall</b></div> <div> <B>impose a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person</b></div> <div> <B>residing in or confined to an institution" that receives federal</b></div> <div> <B>funds, unless the burden is absolutely necessary to meet a</b></div> <div> <B>"compelling" government purpose.</b></div> <div> <B>Ohio argued that this amounts to unconstitutional official favoritism for</b></div> <div> <B>religion, because it creates incentives for inmates in its prisons to</b></div> <div> <B>profess a religious belief so that they may receive special food or other</b></div> <div> <B>privileges unavailable to other inmates.</b></div> <div> <B>But Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the court, said that Ohio's</b></div> <div> <B>interpretation would sweep too broadly, prohibiting even such</b></div> <div> <B>congressionally mandated religious accommodations as a law that permits</b></div> <div> <B>Jewish members of the military to wear yarmulkes while on duty.</b></div> <div> <B>"We find RLUIPA's institutionalized-persons provision compatible</b></div> <div> <B>with the Constitution because it alleviates exceptional</b></div> <div> <B>government-created burdens on private religious exercise," Ginsburg</b></div> <div> <B>wrote.</b></div> <div> <B>But Ginsburg added that the states could challenge the law on a</b></div> <div> <B>case-by-case basis. She used terms that suggested the court would be</b></div> <div> <B>receptive to a fairly broad range of such challenges when prisons invoke</b></div> <div> <B>safety and security concerns to deny religious accommodations.</b></div> <div> <B>"We do not read RLUIPA to elevate accommodation of religious</b></div> <div> <B>observances over an institution's need to maintain order and</b></div> <div> <B>safety," she noted.</b></div> <div> <B>Yesterday's opinion marks a truce of sorts in a battle between Congress</b></div> <div> <B>and the court that has been going on since 1990. In that year, the court</b></div> <div> <B>ruled that Oregon could punish Native Americans for smoking peyote, even</b></div> <div> <B>though they said it was part of a religious ritual. Religious observance</b></div> <div> <B>is no exception to laws that apply generally, Justice Antonin Scalia</b></div> <div> <B>wrote for the court.</b></div> <div> <B>To undo that decision, Congress enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration</b></div> <div> <B>Act in 1993, saying that the states must prove they had no other option</b></div> <div> <B>before imposing any "substantial burden" on religious practice.</b></div> <div> <B>The court struck that law down in 1997, saying that it exceeded</b></div> <div> <B>Congress's power to combat state discrimination.</b></div> <div> <B>RLUIPA, a more narrow statute that applied only to land-use rules and</b></div> <div> <B>institutionalized people, was adopted in 2000.</b></div> <div> <B>Yesterday's case, Cutter v. Wilkinson , No. 03-9877, began with a</b></div> <div> <B>complaint by inmates that the state was impeding their observance of</b></div> <div> <B>rituals associated with Wicca, Satanism, Asatru and the Church of Jesus</b></div> <div> <B>Christ Christian.</b></div> <div> <B>--</b></div> <div> <B>© 2005 The Washington Post Company</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* * *</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nytimes.com/"><U><B>http://www.nytimes.com/</b></U></A></div> <div> <B>Supreme Court Rules in Ohio Prison Case</b></div> <div> <B>By LINDA GREENHOUSE </b></div> <div> <B>Published: June 1, 2005</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>WASHINGTON, May 31 - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Tuesday that</b></div> <div> <B>a new federal law requiring prison officials to meet inmates' religious</b></div> <div> <B>needs is a permissible accommodation of religion that does not violate</b></div> <div> <B>the separation of church and state.</b></div> <div> <B>The court rejected arguments by Ohio officials that the law, the</b></div> <div> <B>Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, violated the</b></div> <div> <B>Constitution by elevating religion above all other reasons a prisoner</b></div> <div> <B>might seek special privileges. </b></div> <div> <B>The state had said that by requiring prison officials to cater to the</b></div> <div> <B>demands of adherents of Satanist or white-supremacist religions, the law</b></div> <div> <B>would result in attracting new followers to these sects, to the detriment</b></div> <div> <B>of prison security. </b></div> <div> <B>The five Ohio inmates who brought the case belong to nonmainstream</b></div> <div> <B>religions, including one, Asatru, that preaches that the white race needs</b></div> <div> <B>to use violence and terrorism to prevail over the "mud</b></div> <div> <B>races."</b></div> <div> <B>In her opinion for the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the</b></div> <div> <B>state's fears were unfounded. The Congressional sponsors "were</b></div> <div> <B>mindful of the urgency of discipline, order, safety, and security in</b></div> <div> <B>penal institutions," she said, and "we do not read" the</b></div> <div> <B>law to "elevate accommodation of religious observances over an</b></div> <div> <B>institution's need to maintain order and safety."</b></div> <div> <B>Justice Ginsburg said that under Ohio's constitutional argument, which</b></div> <div> <B>the federal appeals court in Cincinnati accepted last year in</b></div> <div> <B>invalidating the statute, "all manner of religious accommodations</b></div> <div> <B>would fall." She noted that many accommodations have been widely</b></div> <div> <B>accepted: Ohio itself provides prison chaplains for "traditionally</b></div> <div> <B>recognized" religions, and Congress has authorized military</b></div> <div> <B>personnel to wear yarmulkes and other religious apparel while in uniform</b></div> <div> <B>despite a Supreme Court ruling that such an accommodation was not</b></div> <div> <B>constitutionally required.</b></div> <div> <B>The Supreme Court has had a sometimes troubled history of defining where</b></div> <div> <B>the two religion clauses of the First Amendment overlap: the Free</b></div> <div> <B>Exercise Clause, which protects religious practice from government</b></div> <div> <B>interference, and the Establishment Clause, which in Justice Ginsburg's</b></div> <div> <B>words "commands a separation of church and state." </b></div> <div> <B>From the tone of this latest decision, Cutter v. Wilkinson, No. 03-9877,</b></div> <div> <B>it appeared that the court was seeking to defuse the tension inherent in</b></div> <div> <B>the two clauses. "Our decisions recognize that there is room for</b></div> <div> <B>play in the joints between the clauses, some space for legislative action</b></div> <div> <B>neither compelled by the Free Exercise Clause nor prohibited by the</b></div> <div> <B>Establishment Clause," Justice Ginsburg said.</b></div> <div> <B>The ruling marked the latest chapter in a 15-year dialogue among the</b></div> <div> <B>court, Congress and the states over the degree to which the government</b></div> <div> <B>may take religious interests into account in law or official policy. The</b></div> <div> <B>statute in question, passed in 2000, is a direct outgrowth of that</b></div> <div> <B>dialogue, which began with a 1990 Supreme Court case from Oregon,</b></div> <div> <B>Employment Division v. Smith.</b></div> <div> <B>The court ruled in that case, about American Indians' religious use of an</b></div> <div> <B>illegal substance, peyote, that the government's refusal to grant</b></div> <div> <B>religion-based exemptions to the general application of its laws did not</b></div> <div> <B>violate the Free Exercise Clause. </b></div> <div> <B>Congress reacted swiftly and, by large margins in both houses, passed the</b></div> <div> <B>Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which required the government to</b></div> <div> <B>accommodate religious practices unless it had a "compelling"</b></div> <div> <B>reason not to do so.</b></div> <div> <B>In 1997, the Supreme Court, taking the Religious Freedom Restoration Act</b></div> <div> <B>to be an assault on its institutional prerogatives, declared it</b></div> <div> <B>unconstitutional on the ground that Congress lacked authority, at least</b></div> <div> <B>in the circumstances of that case, to define the meaning of a</b></div> <div> <B>constitutional provision and to impose that meaning on the states. The</b></div> <div> <B>full impact of that decision, City of Boerne v. Flores, continues to play</b></div> <div> <B>out across the court's federalism docket.</b></div> <div> <B>The law's supporters regrouped and arrived at a different approach. The</b></div> <div> <B>Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act addressed only two</b></div> <div> <B>types of government action: zoning and the rights of inmates of prisons,</b></div> <div> <B>government-run mental hospitals and other public institutions. </b></div> <div> <B>Unlike the original statute, Congress passed the new law under its power</b></div> <div> <B>to control spending and to attach strings to the receipt of federal</b></div> <div> <B>funds; any state or local government that accepted federal dollars for</b></div> <div> <B>land development or prisons had to agree to apply the "compelling</b></div> <div> <B>interest" standard for any policy that interfered with religious</b></div> <div> <B>practice.</b></div> <div> <B>Whether this was an appropriate use of the Congressional spending power</b></div> <div> <B>remains unresolved. Neither the lower court nor Justice Ginsburg</b></div> <div> <B>addressed that question, but Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurring</b></div> <div> <B>opinion, suggested that a state that accepted the federal money might</b></div> <div> <B>have waived its objection. "The states' voluntary acceptance of</b></div> <div> <B>Congress' condition undercuts Ohio's argument that Congress is</b></div> <div> <B>encroaching on its turf," he said.</b></div> <div> <B>It remains open to Ohio to return to the lower courts and argue that the</b></div> <div> <B>law violates either Congress's spending authority or its power to</b></div> <div> <B>regulate interstate commerce. The section of the law dealing with land</b></div> <div> <B>use was not before the Supreme Court in this case. Cases challenging that</b></div> <div> <B>section, which usually arise when a church seeks an exception from zoning</b></div> <div> <B>laws, are making their way through the lower courts.</b></div> <div> <B>The case the court decided Tuesday began before passage of the new law.</b></div> <div> <B>The Ohio inmates complained that officials were withholding religious</b></div> <div> <B>publications and items, denying them access to religious services, and</b></div> <div> <B>generally discriminating against them as compared with prisoners who</b></div> <div> <B>belonged to mainstream religions. </b></div> <div> <B>When the new law took effect, the inmates, represented by a clinical</b></div> <div> <B>legal program at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, invoked</b></div> <div> <B>it in amended complaints. Ohio argued that the law was unconstitutional,</b></div> <div> <B>and the federal government intervened to defend it. The case never went</b></div> <div> <B>to trial. The federal district court refused to dismiss the lawsuit, but</b></div> <div> <B>the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the</b></div> <div> <B>law violated the Establishment Clause "by giving greater protection</b></div> <div> <B>to religious rights than to other constitutionally protected</b></div> <div> <B>rights."</b></div> <div> <B>In her opinion, Justice Ginsburg emphasized that the court was only</b></div> <div> <B>evaluating the law "on its face." Particular arguments,</b></div> <div> <B>including the state's assertion that the law would foment gang activity,</b></div> <div> <B>are to be evaluated as cases arise, she said. She added: "It bears</b></div> <div> <B>repetition, however, that prison security is a compelling state interest,</b></div> <div> <B>and that deference is due to institutional officials' expertise in this</b></div> <div> <B>area."</b></div> <div> <B>For purposes of this preliminary ruling, she said, the law "fits</b></div> <div> <B>within the corridor between the Religion Clauses: on its face, the act</b></div> <div> <B>qualifies as a permissible legislative accommodation of religion that is</b></div> <div> <B>not barred by the Establishment Clause." </b></div> <div> <B>In another action on Tuesday, the court agreed to review the</b></div> <div> <B>constitutionality of the Kansas death penalty law. </b></div> <div> <B>The Kansas Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional in a 4-to-3</b></div> <div> <B>decision six months ago, on the ground that it impermissibly made a death</b></div> <div> <B>sentence automatic unless the sentencing jury found mitigating</b></div> <div> <B>circumstances to outweigh any aggravating circumstances. Under what was</b></div> <div> <B>known as an "equipoise provision," if the two categories were</b></div> <div> <B>equal in the jury's mind, the law provided that "the defendant shall</b></div> <div> <B>be sentenced to death."</b></div> <div> <B>The state court's ruling caused an uproar in Kansas and led the state</b></div> <div> <B>Senate to pass a resolution asking the United States Supreme Court to</b></div> <div> <B>overturn the decision. The state's appeal, Kansas v. Marsh, No. 04-1170,</b></div> <div> <B>said that death penalty laws in Arizona and Idaho were also at stake.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>--</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>* * * </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Decision in Cutter v. Ohio: </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Syllabus :</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-9877.ZS.html " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/"><U><B>http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-9877.ZS.html</b></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-9877.ZS.html " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/"><U><B> </b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Opinion [Ginsburg] :</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-9877.ZS.html " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/"><U><B>http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-9877.ZS.html</b></U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Tahoma" ><A HREF="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-9877.ZS.html " TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/"><U><B> </b></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Concurrence [Thomas] :</b></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-9877.ZC.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/"><U><B>http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-9877.ZC.html</b></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>+=+=+=+</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section</b></div> <div> <B>107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who</b></div> <div> <B>have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for</b></div> <div> <B>non-profit research and educational purposes only.]</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+= </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>FREE LEONARD PELTIER NOW! </b></div> <bR> <div> <B>=+=+=</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>______________________________________________________________</b></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>[LP Forum News] Some Dare Call It Treason-Wake Up America! </b></div> <div> <B>14 April 2004</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"I can understand how the FBI hallows its own. To them, Coler and </b></div> <div> <B>Willams are fallen comrades, heroes, tragic victims, martyrs. Yes, that </b></div> <div> <B>I also understand. But we, too, hallow our own. We, too, have our fallen </b></div> <div> <B>comrades, our heroes, our tragic victims, our martyrs... and we have </b></div> <div> <B>them in countless numbers. I live with the wail of their voices in my </b></div> <div> <B>inner ear. I hear them always. I can't forget them. I refuse to forget them.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>They are victims of the energy wars, as were agents Coler and Williams, </b></div> <div> <B>as am I. And so are you, my friend, and your children and your </b></div> <div> <B>children's children. The FBI itself is a victim of the energy wars, </b></div> <div> <B>having strayed far beyonds the bounds of legality and human decency in </b></div> <div> <B>its misguided eagerness to serve the interests of the multinational </b></div> <div> <B>invaders in their continuing assault upon the Mother Earth. All these </b></div> <div> <B>things are acts of war against the Lakota people, against all Indian </b></div> <div> <B>people, against all indigenous people everywhere, against all humanity. </b></div> <div> <B>We must continue to oppose these forces of destruction with every fiber </b></div> <div> <B>of our being, with every breath we take."</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>--Leonard Peltier, from PRISON WRITINGS: MY LIFE IS MY SUN DANCE</b></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>*********************************************************************</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>And PLEASE pre-order TODAY your copy of the soon-to-be-published</b></div> <div> <B>~HAVE YOU THOUGHT of LEONARD PELTIER LATELY?~</b></div> <div> <B>Order at WWW.HAVEYOUTHOUGHT.COM</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>*********************************************************************</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Some Dare Call It Treason-Wake Up America!</b></div> <div> <B>Sun Apr 11, 2004 16:38</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>Some Dare Call It Treason-Wake Up America!</b></div> <div> <B>By Dr. Robert Bowman, USAF Ret.</b></div> <bR> <div> <B>I am a member of Veterans For Peace, an organization of thousands of </b></div> <div> <B>combat veterans. All of us have put our life on the line for this </b></div> <div> <B>country. Most of us opposed the recent invasion of Iraq. We also