Leonard Peltier Freedom Campaign

by Jennifer Harbury

Global Exchange newsletter , Fall 1999

This fall Global Exchange will be participating in a broad based campaign insisting on freedom for Leonard Peltier, a Native American leader unjustly accused of murdering two FBI agents in 1976. Declared a political prisoner by Amnesty International in April, 1999, Peltier has now been imprisoned for more than 23 years, and his health is beginning to deteriorate. Despite the mountain of evidence that the FBI coerced witnesses to give false testimony and concealed key evidence of his innocence at the original trial, Peltier has been denied parole and even badly needed medical care. The time for us to act is now if Peltier is to be given presidential clemency or parole.

We will work closely with a network of Native American tribes and human rights organizations to plan for a month-long vigil in Washington, D.C. this November. We will demand Peltier's release and, at the same time, insist on justice for all Native Americans. There will be daily traditional prayer ceremonies, cultural and musical events, fasting, a commemoration for the massacre at Wounded Knee, ceremonial vigils for all the Indigenous peoples killed since the arrival of Columbus, and numerous Native American and civil rights speakers. Native Americans, spiritual leaders, human rights activists, and concerned citizens will travel to Washington to work for the entire month in a multi-racial humanitarian effort. Our goal is to educate the public as well as our national leaders about the continuing injustices against Mr. Peltier as well as all other Native Americans here in the United States.

The hidden truth about the Leonard Peltier case is tragic. He was a rising young leader of the American Indian Movement (AlM) during the early 1970s, when AIM members occupied Wounded Knee to protest injustice against their tribes. The action drew massive FBI surveillance, harassment and abuse to the Pine Ridge Reservation. At least 64 AIM members and supporters were murdered within a two-year period, and many more were beaten and terrorized. Most of these crimes were never properly investigated, and they remain "unsolved." Meanwhile, hundreds of frivolous charges were brought against AIM leaders. Though most were dismissed by the courts, the financial and psychological toll was heavy. In several more serious cases, the FBI was found to have directly tampered with witnesses and evidence. As stated by one Judge, "The waters of justice have been polluted."

It was in this atmosphere of terror that a shoot-out occurred at the Jumping Bull Ranch, where a number of AIM members had been staying. On June 25,1976, two FBI agents chased a small red pick up truck onto the ranch, and gunfire quickly broke out. A house full of children was caught in the crossfire, and the AIM members, believing they were under a serious assault, returned fire. The agents were wounded, then killed by a still unidentified assailant. As SWAT units, FBI cars and vigilantes surrounded the ranch, the small AIM group realized they were in grave danger, and fled through a hail of bullets into the open countryside. An adolescent named Joe Stuntz was shot through the head. Only three in the group of AIM members were over the age of eighteen.

Murder charges were brought against Leonard as well as his friends Dino Butler and Rob Robideau. Both Butler and Robideau were acquitted, the jury finding no evidence that either man had fired the fatal shots; the jury also ruled that the act of returning fire was a matter of self defense. Peltier was convinced that he would not receive a fair trial and fled to Canada. He was extradited on the basis of an affidavit signed by Myrtle Poor Bear, who claimed to have been Peltier's girlfriend at the time and to have witnessed the murder. She later came forward and admitted she had never even met Peltier and had not been present, but had been terrorized into signing the affidavit by FBI agents. She was not allowed to testify at Peltier's trial.

The FBI ballistic expert withheld critical evidence showing that the bullets could not have come from the gun claimed to be Peltier's. When this record was obtained years later through the Freedom of Information Act, Peltier's lawyers sought a new trial. This was denied. The US. Prosecutor admitted that the government in fact had no idea who had fired the fatal shots, urging instead that Peltier remain in prison for aiding and abetting. Self defense was not considered. Despite all this, at a later parole hearing, US officials insisted that Peltier not be released because he was a cold-blooded killer.

And so Leonard Peltier, long overdue for parole, remains in Leavenworth Prison. He is 55 years of age, and has lost most of the vision in one eye due to poor medical care. His also suffers from a severe jaw condition that leaves him unable to move his jaw properly and causes constant pain. Offers of assistance from a Mayo Clinic specialist have been turned down by prison officials. Peltier's medical records show that his health is deteriorating. Amnesty International, the National Council of the Churches of Christ, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, Jesse Jackson, and the Dalai Lama have all called for Peltier's release.

Our work in this campaign reflects GX's philosophy that all human rights work must begin at home, and that our role should be activist in nature. Justice for Leonard Peltier will have far reaching effect, on respect for the rights of all Native Americans, as well as recognition and reform of an ugly chapter of the FBI COINTELPRO history. If you can help with telephone banks, letters, or direct participation, or in any other way, please call. We need you!

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