Leonard Peltier 2008 Oglala Commemoration Statement
The following statement from Leonard Peltier was read
at the Oglala Commemoration. June 26, 2008
Greetings my relatives,
I say relatives because you are all my family. I am honored, greatly honored today that
you would listen to my words and come together in this way so that our future generations'
will not forget what happened here in this land.
You can't imagine how much I miss walking on the bare earth. Or brushing against a tree
branch or hearing birds in the morning or seeing an antelope or deer cross my path. I have
been here in federal prison for 32 years; if you could imagine being in your own home
stuck in one room for one year without leaving it, multiply that by 32 and you might have
some idea of how imprisonment plays on your feelings. I really get tired sometimes living
here in this cell, this prison. Yet at times I feel really good because for some reason I
know that there are those out there who have prayed for me in some way. And it helps me
because there are moments when a peaceful feeling will wash over me in my solitude.
I try to keep up with world events like the war in Iraq, where those people are going
through the same thing our Indian people went through and over the same things. The US
wants their resources and they have divided those people against each other. Those
children over there and families for generations will still feel the effects of that
onslaught of destruction.
When I look at our own people's situation I see a people who have not recovered from the
destruction put upon them in the past. Today, the greater society of America doesn't want
to accept us for who we are because we will always stand as a reminder of the immoral
wrongs that they do and have done all over the world, all in the name of technology and
progress. Our people have told them from the very beginning about the consequences of
mistreatment of individuals and mistreatment of Mother Earth. There are history books that
quote our chief headmen and medicine people cautioning them about there destruction of the
earth and nature.
We know the first concentration camps America ever had held Indian prisoners. The first
biological warfare was used on our people with poisonous blankets. The first atomic bomb
dropped was dropped on Indian land in Nevada. Today there are abandoned uranium quarries
in Navajo country that cause genetic defects on a lot of their people. When you look into
the past, America has used us Indians as their social experiment. They tried to destroy us
with boarding schools, relocation, and even the first slavery practice was with American
people. However Indian people would fight or commit suicide than to become slaves, and so
they imported Africans.
Forgive me if I am repeating things you already know, but I just wanted to bring these
things up because these are the reasons behind the Wounded Knee takeover in 73 happened
and the shootout at Oglala happened. Our people were not just taking a stand against this
government for themselves; they in essence represented Indian people all across the
Americas. Our resistance wasn't to kill anyone; our resistance was to remain alive while
we let the world know what had been and what was being done to us, the Indigenous people.
I know for a fact from communication all around the world, that we Indian people inspired
many other indigenous people to stand up and defend themselves because of our actions. I
have gotten letters from all over the world where people said "if the native
Americans can stand up to people like that being in the belly of the beast, surely we can
do likewise in some way."
I recognize that my being here isn't all about me; my continued imprisonment in essence
serves as a warning to others willing to stand up for their people.
The US has violated their own constitution they violated the treaties we had with them,
they violated all kinds of moralities to bring about my conviction. The average non Indian
American either doesn't know or couldn't care less. As long as they can keep their high
standard of living our struggles mean nothing to them. Most recently other nations have
raised the issues of America's mistreatment of the people in the concentration camp in
Guantanamo; issues of lack of a fair trial, issues of physical, mental abuse and of
sanctioned torture of prisoners. I want to also mention that our people were the first to
be tortured by this government and we were the first to be victims of scalping by the
Europeans. The colonizers were paying for our men, woman and children's scalps.
I may sound angry in what I am saying, but all this goes back to why we are here today. We
must not forget what has happened in the past but we must also find a way to heal from
those things that have happened and be stronger in the future. We need to heal our
families; we need to heal our family's structures so that what happened to our people in
the past can't happen to us again. For several generations our children were shipped off
to boarding schools which destroyed their understanding of family and family
responsibilities, and you think of the statistics today facing this, they don't have to
kill us anymore with guns, our children and adults both are killing themselves.
Again, like I said before we have not healed from the destruction that was put upon us, I
know each one of us can be better than what we are, it takes effort, it takes getting back
to our ceremonies, it takes getting back to our respect for one another, the earth, the
Creator and our respect for our brothers' and sisters' vision. It takes men being men and
being strong fathers and uncles and grandfathers and brothers, not just as a matter of
birth but as a matter of responsible behavior. It also takes our women to stand as the
strong mothers they were meant to be and the sisters, grandmothers and aunties.
We need to repair ourselves and not wait for some grant from the government to tell us or
guide us in our recovery. We need to take that responsibility ourselves and mend the
sacred hoop.
Again I want to say as I have said many times in the past, though my body is locked into
this cell, my heart and soul is with you today. In closing I would like to acknowledge the
great loss of my brother Floyd Westerman, a tireless advocate for Indigenous rights. I'm
sure that he as well as many others, who like him devoted their time and energies to
better the conditions our people face, are here with us today in spirit. We have no
guarantees of the time of our own passing but until that time or my time I will miss them
greatly as I miss you my family. Be kind to one another, and remember my words; for I have
spoken to you from my heart of hearts. And you will always be in my prayers.
In the spirit of Crazy Horse and every Indian man or person that stood for their people,
Doksha
Leonard Peltier
# 89637-132
USP Lewisburg
US Penitentiary
P.O. Box 1000
Lewisburg, PA 17837-1000
Free Leonard Peltier -- "Amnesty International considers Leonard Peltier to be
a political prisoner whose avenues of redress have long been exhausted....Amnesty
International recognizes that a retrial is no longer a feasible option and believes that
Leonard Peltier should be immediately and unconditionally released." Documents show
that although the prosecution and government pointed the finger at Peltier for shooting
FBI agents at close range during the trial in 1976, for three years the prosecution
withheld critical ballistic test results proving that the fatal bullets could not have
come from the gun tied to Leonard Peltier. This trial also denied evidence of self
defense. The U.S. Prosecutor, during subsequent oral arguments, stated: "we can't
prove who shot those agents". The Eighth Circuit found that "There is a
possibility that the jury would have acquitted Leonard Peltier had the records and data
improperly withheld from the defense been available to him in order to better exploit and
reinforce the inconsistencies casting strong doubts upon the government's case." Yet,
a new trial was denied. Judge Heaney, who authored the denial now supports Mr. Peltier's
release, stating that the FBI used improper tactics to gain Mr. Peltier's conviction. A
good way to learn about Leonard Peltier is to read his book: Prison Writings: My Life Is
My Sun Dance. For excerpts, see the following link, under article by Louise Erdich: Time for Human Rights on Native Ground. For more
resources: Free Leonard Peltier!
Online Petition for
Executive Clemency
