Activist Leonard Peltier

Early life

Leonard Peltier was born on September 12, 1944 at the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa near Belcourt, North Dakota, in a family of 13 children.

In 1948, his parents divorced and Leonard and a sister Betty Ann lived with their paternal grandparents at the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.

He attended the Wahpeton Indian School, a boarding school run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, until 1957. English was the only language permitted.

He left school after finishing 9th grade and turned to Turtle Mountain to live with his father.

Activist Leonard Peltier

AIM

In 1965, Peltier moved to Seattle to work. He also became involved in Native American civil rights and in 1972 became a member of the American Indian Movement, an organization founded in Minneapolis, MN July 1968

June 26, 1975: Special Agents Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams, two FBI agents, entered Jumping Bull Ranch where a large number of AIM supporters, invited there for protection by the Jumping Bull elders, camp. A shootout ensued and the two agents were killed.

Activist Leonard Peltier

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota

In 1975, Peltier traveled as a member of AIM to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to help reduce violence among political opponents.

At the time, he was a fugitive, with an arrest warrant having been issued in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for the attempted murder of an off-duty Milwaukee police officer. (He was acquitted of the attempted murder charge in February 1978.)

June 26, 1975, FBI Special Agents Ronald Arthur Williams and Jack Ross Coler entered Pine Ridge to search for a Jimmy Eagle, wanted for questioning in connection with the recent assault of two local ranch hands and theft of a pair of cowboy boots.

Between 11:45 and 11:50, Williams radioed to a local dispatch that he and Coler had come under fire from the vehicle’s occupants and would be killed if reinforcements did not arrive.

He next radioed that they both had been shot.

An Oregon State Trooper stopped the RV. Peltier got out of the RV, fired at the trooper, and fled. Agent Coler’s handgun was found in a bag with Peltier’s fingerprint on it, under the front seat of the RV. Both of the vehicles were loaded with weapons and explosives, like the vehicle that blew up in Kansas. Some of the weapons had obliterated serial numbers.

Peltier then fled to Hinton, Alberta, Canada.

December 22, 1975, Peltier was named to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

On February 6, 1976, Peltier was arrested along with by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Hinton, Alberta, Canada at the Smallboy Camp.

April 18, 1977, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.

Some organizations raised doubts about Peltier’s guilt and the fairness of his trial, based on alleged inconsistencies in the FBI and prosecution’s handling of the case. Two witnesses in the initial trial recanted their statements and stated they were made under duress at the hands of the FBI. At least one witness was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony against Peltier.

The FBI.gov site has a thorough description of the case and the many judgements following Peltier’s guilty verdict.

The FreeLeonardPeltier site also has much information that often contrasts with the FBI site.

What follows is a small selection of other associated events having to do with Peltier.

July 20, 1979, he and two other inmates escaped from Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc. One of the inmates shot and killed outside the prison, another captured about a mile away.

July 27, 1979: police  captured Peltier near Santa Maria, CA.[Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection article] .

June 24, 1987: two Soviet ophthalmologists, Eduard Avetisov and Lev Katselson, examined Leonard Peltier and recommended treatment with drugs they said were available only in their country. Soviet bloc officials regard him as a political prisoner.

August 21, 1987: the State Department said that Leonard Peltier, was a ”convicted criminal” and criticized the Soviet Union for considering his request for political asylum.

Supporters on the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, said his case was a human rights issue. Dacajeweiah, a Peltier supporter, told reporters that the committee had had no indication that the United States would free him to go to the Soviet Union if asylum was granted.

http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/

December, 31, 1991: Federal district judge Paul Benson denied a new trial for Leonard Peltier, Benson, who presided over Peltier’s original trial, accepted Magistrate Karen Klein’s recommendation that no new trial be granted. Peltier’s lawyers argued that the Government changed its case, first saying Mr. Peltier killed the agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, and then later saying it could prove only that he aided and abetted in the shootings. The change in strategy prevented Mr. Peltier from properly defending himself, his lawyers argued.

February 11 – July 15, 1994: AIM leaders undertake a nationwide “Walk for Justice” beginning on Alcatraz Island to bring attention to the continued imprisonment of Leonard Peltier. [LA Times article]

October 8, 2012: Leonard Peltier released a 2012 Indigenous Day Statement which began,

Greetings my relatives and friends, supporters!

                I know I say this same line all the time but in reality, you all are my relatives and I appreciate you. I cannot say that enough. Some of our people, as well as ourselves have decided to call today Indigenous Day instead of Columbus Day and it makes me really think about how many People who still celebrate Columbus, a cruel, mass murderer who on his last trip to the Americas, as I have read, was arrested by his own people for being too cruel. When you consider those kinds of cruelty against our People and his status, it makes you wonder to what level he had taken his cruelty. In all of this historical knowledge that is available people still want to celebrate and hold in high esteem this murderer.

                If we were to celebrate Hitler Day, or Mussolini Day, or some other murderer and initiator of violence and genocide, there would be widespread condemnation. It would be like celebrating Bush Day in Iraq. It’s kind of sad to say that even mentioning Columbus in my comments gives him more recognition that he should have. So I agree wholeheartedly with all of you out there that have chosen to call this Indigenous Day. If I weren’t Native American or as some of have come to say – Indigenous, I would still love our ways and cling to our ways and cherish our ways. I see our ways as the way to the future, for the world. Whereas I, and others, have said over and over, and our People before us: This earth is our Mother. This earth is life. And anything you take from the earth creates a debt that is to be paid back at some time in the future by someone.

Text of entire statement

February 1, 2017: Native News Online reported that American University in Washington, DC, had removed a statue of Native American activist Leonard Peltier–– incarcerated for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents––after the work prompted backlash from an organization representing federal officers as well as anonymous threats of violence.

June 26, 2024: Leonard Peltier made the following statement:

Greetings my Friends, Family, Loved Ones, and
Supporters,

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

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

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

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

I am counting on you if this decision does not go my
way. I always need your prayers. I need you to demand
that this country finally commit one act of Justice.

My attorney assures me the battle is not over until it is
over—she will not back down. I am counting on you
not to back down. My time is running out here, with no
medical care. I do not fear death, returning to Mother
Earth’s womb, but I do not want to die in lockdown.

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

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

Raymond was shoved into the trunk of a car and died
the next day. The Raye brothers were charged with 2nd-
degree manslaughter and released with no bail.

Raymond’s sisters were distraught that even that
small charge may not stick. The authorities would not
release the autopsy report. They would not allow
Raymand’s sisters to see his body. The sisters sought
help from the BIA, the Tribal government, and private
attorneys. In desperation, they turned to the American
Indian Movement.

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

With dignity, we demanded justice.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oppression is rising, running like black mold through
every facet of society. We must stand together and let
society know that Indigenous lives are not cheap. The
lives of our oppressed brothers and sisters are not
cheap. All people are worthy of basic human dignity.

Colonialism has all but destroyed us. We must do
nothing less than transform society into a place where
human beings are not disposable.

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

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse.

Doksha,

Leonard Peltier

September 13, 2024: the Democracy Now! site published an article and video on Peltier the headline of which was:

Imprisoned for 50 Years: Amnesty Calls for Leonard Peltier’s Freedom as He Turns 80 Behind Bars

The article began:

Supporters of Leonard Peltier are calling on President Biden to grant clemency to the Indigenous leader and activist, who marked his 80th birthday behind bars on Thursday after nearly a half-century in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. The ailing Peltier, who uses a walker and has serious health conditions, including diabetes, has always maintained his innocence over the 1975 killing of two FBI agents in a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation. His conviction was riddled with irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct, and he is considered to be the longest-serving political prisoner in the United States. For much of the last four years, Peltier has been held under near-total lockdown.

January 17, 2025: Democracy Now published a second article/video on Peltier the headline of which was:

Will Biden Grant Leonard Peltier Clemency? Indigenous Leaders Plead, “Don’t Let Him Die in Prison”

The article began:

After commuting the sentences of over 2,500 people imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses, Joe Biden has set a record for most pardons and commutations by a U.S. president. But Indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier remains behind bars. Over 120 tribal leaders are calling on Biden to grant clemency to Peltier as one of his final acts in office, warning this may be the last opportunity Peltier has for freedom. Peltier is 80 years old and has spent the majority of his life — nearly half a century — in prison despite a conviction riddled with irregularities and prosecutorial misconduct. In December, tribal leaders, including the NDN Collective’s Nick Tilsen, met with a pardon attorney at the Department of Justice to prepare a recommendation on Peltier’s case for Biden. With only a few days left in Biden’s term, Native Americans are eagerly anticipating his decision. “All of us see a little bit of ourselves in Leonard Peltier, and that’s why we fight so hard for him,” says Tilsen. “This is about paving a path forward that gives us the opportunity to have justice and begin to heal the relationship between the United States government and Indian people. And so, this decision is massive.”

January 20, 2025:  President Joe Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, in an extraordinary use of the powers of the presidency in his final hours to guard against potential “revenge” by the incoming Trump administration.

Biden also commuted the sentence of native-American activist Leonard Peltier following decades of community-led advocacy calling his imprisonment an example of the U.S. government’s mistreatment of Native Americans. [AP article]

Life after Imprisonment

In June 2025, Allison Herrera of MPRnews interviewed Peltier.  She wrote, “It’s…the first time since Jimmy Carter was president that Peltier lived outside of a prison cell. He said the transition to a comfortable new home in Belcourt, N.D., is “awesome.” 

“Coming from that cell to this is like, I guess what heaven must feel like, the Great Spirit, the happy hunting ground must feel like,” Peltier said with a soft smile.

Among his many observations, he pointed out: ““Goddamn right I’m bitter. Otherwise, I would have been guilty. Only the guilty would not be bitter.”  

Here is the link to the full Minnesota Public Radio interview.

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