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"No human being should ever have to fear for his own life because
of<br>
political or religious beliefs. We are all in this together, my friends,
the<br>
rich, the poor, the red, white, black, brown and yellow. We share<br>
responsibility for Mother Earth and those who live and breathe upon
her<br>
..never forget that."<br>
Leonard Peltier<br><br>
Please click here to join our Freedom of Religion for Native
American<br>
Inmates Petition:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/inipi/petition.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/inipi/petition.html<br><br>
</a>Religious freedom is a fundamental right of all, including American
Indians<br>
yet the struggle to preserve and protect our religion has always been
a<br>
difficult one. More so when incarcerated Native Americans are concerned
who<br>
tend to be given second rate acknowledgement by prison officials and<br>
mainstream faiths. In 1984 Robert Wilson, (Standing Deer) Albert Garza
and I<br>
fasted for 42 days to draw worldwide attention to the deplorable
conditions<br>
at the USP Marion and to no longer allow the United States to
continue<br>
denying Native American brothers and sisters the right to practice
our<br>
religion. For over 500 years our religion has been trampled on and<br>
disrespected by those who invaded our lands, and who have tried to
take<br>
away our culture, our traditions, our language, our history, and our<br>
religion. When we fasted for 42 days we did not fast out of depression
or<br>
despair, but with a joyful commitment of total love and dedication to
our<br>
people. We were willing to fast until we were granted our
constitutional<br>
right to practice our religion or until we returned to our Creator.
In<br>
retaliation for our 42 day fast we were held in solitary isolation for
15<br>
months with nothing in our "cages" (cell) except for a steel
bunk and<br>
toilet. The door to the "cage" (cell) was never opened unless
we were<br>
handcuffed behind our backs, and four guards with clubs were present
to<br>
supervise our every move. After a year of confinement attorney Margaret
Gold<br>
filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons that secured in
having<br>
each one of us transferred to a separate maximum security prison where
we<br>
were allowed to practice our religion.<br><br>
In 1985 I was transferred to USP Leavenworth; Alfred went to USP
Lewisburg<br>
and Standing Deer to USP Lompoc.<br><br>
As of August 15, 2005 I have been at USP Lewisburg and since November
2006 I<br>
have not attended an inipi ceremony (sweat lodge). When I say I have
not<br>
attended an inipi ceremony, I must add I have refused to attend an
inipi<br>
ceremony, as my way of refusing to participate in the ongoing disrespect
for<br>
our religion and sacred ceremonies by the USP prison system. I can not
allow<br>
the United States to continue denying Native American brothers and
sisters<br>
the right to practice our religion. The trend within the past several
years<br>
throughout the United States prison system has been to restrict the<br>
traditional spiritual practices of Native Americans. Nationwide the
current<br>
trend of prison officials is to limit the amount of time Indian
prisoners<br>
can participate in inipi ceremonies, talking circles and spiritual<br>
gatherings. The new restrictions in U.S. prisons are racist and
undermine<br>
the sacredness of our traditional ceremonies. Those restrictions
include<br>
time limits and the rationing of firewood for the inipi and an
English-only<br>
mandate. Mandating the English-only requirement for the ceremony is<br>
discrimination and racist, because the Native language is used and
needed<br>
for the songs and prayers to be blessed by the Creator. The new
restrictions<br>
include a four-hour time limit on the Sweat lodge ceremony, which is<br>
unrealistic since the inipi includes the heating of the stones, which
takes<br>
two hours, and two hours for the actual ceremony. The stones need to
be<br>
heated for at least two hours, otherwise they are cold and the ceremony
is<br>
neither complete nor beneficial to the healing and prayers. The
rationing<br>
of firewood in U.S. prisons has deliberately undermined the heating of
the<br>
stones for ceremony. Rushing through an ancient ceremony is not proper,
it<br>
is very sacred. The deliberate attempt to shorten the hours and
circumvent<br>
the ceremony is sacrilegious and undermining the seriousness and
sacredness<br>
of the spiritual healing and blessings. Traditional ceremonies are to
be<br>
held in the ancient and sacred way and manner. Prison chaplains continue
to<br>
oversee American Indian ceremonies. The supervision of our inipi by
the<br>
chaplain is not necessary, because it takes time away from other
spiritual<br>
and cultural activities. These include talking circles, drumming
sessions<br>
and Pipe ceremonies that also mandate the presence of the chaplain.
During<br>
the inipi Ceremony, tobacco, or kinnikinnick (a mixture of sage, cedar
and<br>
sweet grass) is used for our sacred pipe or Canupa. Very limited amounts
of<br>
tobacco are allowed for our sacred pipe ceremony. I am a pipe carrier and
am<br>
not allowed to smoke my pipe with tobacco, kinnikinnick is also not<br>
available. I have asked to smoke my pipe in the sacred lodge area and
have<br>
been told that while the present Chaplain is working for the USP
Lewisburg,<br>
I will not have access to my pipe.<br><br>
A part of the ceremony is having a meal after the ceremony has been<br>
completed. The USP prison system is denying us the right, to eat this
meal<br>
after our ceremony. The Native American brothers, are the only group
that<br>
receives only two meals on the day we have our ceremony. This also
changes<br>
the way our inipi ceremony has been taught to us by our
ancestors.<br><br>
I ask that those of you who can practice your religion freely do so and
keep<br>
those of us who continue to fight for our religious freedom, preservation
of<br>
our Culture, traditions, language, history and dignity in your thoughts
and<br>
prayers.<br><br>
Yours in the struggle,<br><br>
Until freedom is won,<br>
Leonard Peltier<br><br>
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee<br><br>
Website:
<a href="http://www.leonardpeltier.net/" eudora="autourl">
www.leonardpeltier.net</a>
<<a href="http://www.leonardpeltier.net/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.leonardpeltier.net/</a>><br><br>
Email: info@leonardpeltier.net<br><br>
Address: LPDC, 3800 N. Mesa #A2, El Paso, Texas 79902<br><br>
Action Alert: The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee kindly requests that
you<br>
take a few minutes to read the information on the following petition
that<br>
the LPDC will be sending to the Human Rights Council of the United
Nations<br>
and to the Special Rapporteur on Religion of the United Nations Council
on<br>
Human Rights. This will recognize the urgent need for international<br>
oversight and further investigation of the serious ongoing human
rights<br>
violations, in order to insure that the freedom of religion for
Native<br>
Prisoners is protected.<br><br>
Our goal is to submit the petition by September 12, 2007. We kindly ask
that<br>
you help support this petition by sending it to your lists. Please
forward<br>
this email in its entirety, do not modify, edit, remove or add to
this<br>
petition.<br><br>
Together with your support and help, we can help to make a difference
for<br>
Leonard Peltier and all of our brothers and sisters.<br><br>
Respectfully,<br><br>
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee<br><br>
Please click here to join our Freedom of Religion for Native
American<br>
Inmates Petition:<br><br>
<a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/inipi/petition.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/inipi/petition.html<br><br>
<br>
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