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.)
Peltier, 64, who is serving two consecutive life sentences for the
murder of two FBI agents during a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge
reservation in South Dakota, has been behind bars now for nearly 33
years. He is being held in the federal prison at Lewisburg, Penn. In a
case rife with legal misconduct by the FBI and other law enforcement
and judicial authorities, it is time for Peltier to be released. In a
letter sent to his supporters on Nov. 5, Peltier joined in the hope
that the incoming Obama administration will facilitate progressive
social change in America. He also noted that he is eligible for parole
under the "30-year law" of the parole guidelines that were in effect
when he was imprisoned.
Peltier
had hopes for a commutation of his sentence when Bill Clinton left
office in 2001; however, Clinton bowed to pressure from the FBI and
former South Dakota governor Bill Janklow and took no actionregarding
Peltier.
Regarding
the new defense committee structure, Peltier wrote: "I had to turn to
my sister and niece to help me rebuild my defense committeefrom
scratch. We had no files, records, and merchandise. We have not been
able to make contact with the former coordinator of the LPDC. We are
still hoping to resolve this issue, but until then we needed to keep
moving with the campaign."
On
Nov. 28, several dozen Peltier supporters gathered in front of the
federal courthouse in Fargo, North Dakota, where Peltier was convicted
by a jury 31 years ago. Among those who addressed the crowd was Russell
Means, who said that he spoke with Peltier recently by phone. "You can
tell how lonesome he is. He didn’t want to get off the phone. It teared
me up," Means told those at the demonstration, according to an AP
report.
Peltier
concluded his Nov. 5 letter by expressing the hope that people will
learn about his case and work for his freedom. He wrote: "If there
really is a change in the air, we will need each other to bring about
change in so many other areas. For me it has been about our culture and
right to be who we are, but foremost it has been the children and the
next generation. We were supposed to leave a better world behind for
them and how much have we accomplished? I know that somehow and some
way my sacrifice will not be in vain, and that the years I’ve endured
this pain of loneliness and suffering in confinement will make a better
world for those children and coming generations."
Coushattas and Israel
"Political Matters" motored over to Israel in November (as Jim Northrup
would say). It was incredibly warm and sunny every day in the Jewish
state; and I enjoyed swimming in the sea at Tel Aviv. Israel is a
fast-paced, high-tech society with an advanced security regime; it’s
kind of like stepping into the future. Now and then a camel approaches – if you happen to be near the Old City of Jerusalem – and reminds you that you’re in the Middle East.
I was traveling with a group of Jews from the Minneapolis area,
visiting social uplift projects funded by the Minneapolis Jewish
Federation. We spent several days in Jerusaelm, then went to the most
northern area of Israel – to the town of Kiryat Shemona, in the "finger
of the Galilee," which is a chip shot from Lebanon and across
the valley from Syria. Kiryat Shemona was a virtual ghost town during
the summer of 2006, when Hezbollah guerrillas were firing Katyusha
rockets across the border. During the 34-day war, more than a million
Israelis fled south to escape the rocket fire.
Upon
my return to the States, I learned that the Coushatta Tribe of
Louisiana and the State of Israel signed a friendship proclamation in
early November. The Coushattas, in their first international foray, are
looking for Israel’s help in diversifying their tribal economy beyond the casino business.
AP
reported that the event, "colorfully highlighted by a traditional
‘stomp’ dance, marked the first time a Native American tribe has signed
an ‘affirmation of friendship’ with the State of Israel, said Asher
Yarden, Israel’s consul general based in Houston. Coushatta and Israeli
representatives said they could identify with each other over
their searches for a sovereign identity and homeland."
