Free Peltier!

Relatives of imprisoned American Indian Movement (AIM) activist Leonard Peltier have launched a new effort to gain his freedom. Peltier's sister, Betty Ann Peltier-Solano, and niece, Kari Ann Cowan, have revived the Peltier defense group and renamed it the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee, according to a recent Associated Press story.  (The new Peltier Defense website can be found at:www.whoisleonardpeltier.info.)

For the whole year of 2008 the Native American community in Minnesota has been slighted, ignored, and insulted by the events planned in honor of the Sesquitennial. Left out of most events planned by city and state organizations, some members of the Native community have come up with their own response to the "celebration", which will culminate  in a day long series of events on Dec. 5. The Ancient Traders Gallery, the Form+Content Gallery, and the University of Minnesota have collaborated on a program of exhibitions, symposium, an artist panel, and an exhibition that examine notions of statehood, sovereignty, memory and homeland. The coordinated series of events will take place with free shuttle bus service between venues. Events include:

RETHINKING STATEHOOD: Sovereignty, Memory, and Citizenship. A Symposium and Artist Panel will take place at the University of Minnesota. Panelists will discuss the historical, cultural, and political relationships between the American Indian sovereign governments and the United States. Organized by the Department of American Indian Studies, the day includes a line up of speakers:

(This piece was originally written for Chicago-based In These Times magazine (www.inthesetimes.com) Reprinted with permission.)

When it comes to their health, American Indian women face extraordinary barriers – from high disease risks to increased incidents of sexual violence. They now face another obstacle, rooted in the political battleground of abortion.

The Senate’s recent passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act was a breakthrough for advocacy groups that have long pushed for the bill’s provisions – new programs, improved facilities and funding for the Indian Health Services (IHS) system, which serves about 1.9 million people nationwide.

But the victory is dampened by a poison pill provision slipped in by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that explicitly restricts abortions under IHS programs. The amendment was approved along with the bill in February. As In These Times went to press, it was unclear whether the House would vote on companion legislation carrying a similar amendment.