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<font size=3>September 18, 2008 - The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense
Committee (LP DOC) is campaigning to raise awareness and educate the
public about Leonard Peltier for the purpose of mobilizing people to take
actions to set him free. <br><br>
September 12th marked the 64th birthday of Leonard Peltier, an American
Indian male convicted to two life sentences based on fabricated testimony
and circumstantial evidence. Many of us see this as the typical
injustice perpetuated against American Indians in the legal system that
exists through today. Mr. Peltier, a citizen of the Anishinabe and
Lakota Nations, is a father, a grandfather, an artist, a writer, and an
Indigenous rights activist. He has spent more than thirty-three years in
prison for a crime he did not commit. Amnesty International considers him
a "political prisoner" who should be "immediately and
unconditionally released." <br><br>
Leonard Peltier was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He came from a
large family of 13 brothers and sisters. He grew up in poverty, and
survived many traumatic experiences resulting from U.S. government
policies aimed to assimilate Native Peoples. At the age of eight he was
taken from his family and sent to a residential boarding school for
Native people run by the US Government. <br><br>
In the late 1960's and early 1970's Leonard Peltier began traveling to
different Native communities. He spent a lot of time in Washington and
Wisconsin and was working as a welder, carpenter, and community counselor
for Native people. In the course of his work he became involved with the
American Indian Movement (AIM) and eventually joined the Denver Colorado
chapter. In Denver, he worked as a community counselor confronting
unemployment, alcohol problems and poor housing. He became strongly
involved in the spiritual and traditional programs of AIM.<br><br>
Leonard Peltier's participation in the American Indian Movement led to
his involvement in the 1972 Trail of broken Treaties which took him to
Washington D.C., in the occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
building. Eventually his AIM involvement would bring him to assist
the Oglala Lakota People of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South
Dakota in the mid 1970's. On Pine Ridge he participated in the planning
of community activities, religious ceremonies, programs for
self-sufficiency, and improved living conditions. He also helped to
organize security for the traditional people who were being targeted for
violence by the pro-assimilation tribal chairman and his vigilantes. It
was here that the tragic shoot-out of June 26, 1975 occurred, leading to
his wrongful conviction.<br>
The court record in this case clearly shows that government prosecutors
have long held that they do not know who killed Mr. Coler and Mr.
Williams nor what role Leonard Peltier "may have" played in the
tragic shoot-out. Despite many such admissions, Mr. Leonard Peltier
remains imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg,
Pennsylvania. Other persons guilty of worse crimes have been
released time and time again on parole or pardoned, yet Mr. Peltier
remains imprisoned.<br><br>
To the international community, the case of Leonard Peltier is a stain on
America's Human Rights record. Nelson Mandela, Rigoberta Menchu, the U.N.
High Commissioner on Human Rights, the Dalai Lama, the European
Parliament, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, and Rev. Jesse
Jackson are only a few who have called for his freedom. To many
Indigenous Peoples, Leonard Peltier is a symbol of the long history of
abuse and repression they have endured. The National Congress of American
Indians and the Assembly of First Nations, representing the majority of
First Nations in the U.S. and Canada, have repeatedly called for Leonard
Peltier's freedom.<br><br>
Despite the harsh conditions of imprisonment, Leonard Peltier has
continued to lead an active life.<br><br>
From behind bars, he has helped to establish scholarships for Native
students and special programs for Indigenous youth. He has served on the
advisory board of the Rosenberg Fund for Children, and has sponsored
children in Central America. He has donated to battered women's shelters,
organized the annual Christmas drive for the people of Pine Ridge
Reservation, and promoted prisoner art programs.<br><br>
Leonard Peltier is widely recognized for his good deeds and in turn has
won several awards including the North Star Frederick Douglas Award;
Federation of Labour (Ontario, Canada) Humanist of the Year Award; Human
Rights Commission of Spain International Human Rights Prize; and 2004
Silver Arrow Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2004, 2006 and again in
2007, Mr. Peltier also was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five
times. <br><br>
He has also established himself as a talented artist, using oils to paint
portraits of his people, portraying their cultures and histories. He has
written poetry and prose from prison, and completed a moving biography
titled Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance (St. Martin's Press, NY,
1999).<br><br>
Leonard Peltier credits his ability to endure his circumstances to his
spiritual practices and the love and support from his family and
supporters.<br><br>
Leonard Peltier is America's unfinished business and a symbol of the
injustice perpetrated against all American Indians. It is time to
stop the 34 years of injustice and is 34 years too long to have
imprisoned an innocent man. Freedom for Leonard Peltier is way
overdue! <br><br>
Leonard Peltier's first full parole hearing was held in 1993, at which
time his case was continued for a 15-year reconsideration. He'll be
eligible for another full parole hearing in December 2008. An application
for parole will be filed at Mr. Peltier's discretion. The earliest that
hearing is likely to occur is in January 2009 (according to the Parole
Commission's schedule for in-person parole reviews to be held at
USP-Lewisburg, where Peltier is currently imprisoned). <br><br>
Anyone and everyone can help Leonard Peltier get justice and
freedom. <br><br>
First sign the online petition that can be found at
<a href="http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/parole2008/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/parole2008/</a>, they can also
download sample letters of support from
<a href="http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/parole.htm.%A0" eudora="autourl">
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/parole.htm. </a> Each tribal member
can urge their Tribal Nation to pass a formal Resolution also found at
<a href="http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info</a> for submission to the US Parole
Board.<br><br>
To support Mr. Peltier by contributing directly to his commissary
account, can send funds through the mail to the following address:
Federal Bureau of Prisons<br>
Leonard Peltier #89637-132, Post Office Box 474701, Des Moines, Iowa
50947-0001.<br><br>
The deposit must be in the form of a money order made out to:
Leonard Peltier 89637-132. The Bureau of Prisons will return funds that
do not have valid inmate information to the sender provided the envelope
has an adequate return address. Personal checks and cash can not be
accepted for deposit. The sender's name and return address must
appear on the upper left hand corner of the envelope to ensure that the
funds can be returned to the sender in the event that they can not be
posted to the inmate's account. The deposit envelope must not contain any
items intended for delivery to the inmate. The Bureau of Prisons shall
dispose of all items included with the funds.<br>
In the event funds have been mailed but have not been received in the
inmate's account and adequate time has passed for mail service to Des
Moines, Iowa, the sender must initiate a tracer with the entity who sold
them the money order to resolve any issues.<br>
Western Union Quick Collect Program<br><br>
People can also send funds to Leonard through Western Union's Quick
Collect Program. All funds sent via Western Union's Quick Collect will be
posted to Leonard's account within two to four hours, when those funds
are sent between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST (seven days per week,
including holidays). Funds received after 9:00 pm EST will be posted by
7:00 am EST the following morning. Funds sent through the Quick Collect
Program may be sent via one of the following ways:<br><br>
1)<x-tab> </x-tab>At an agent location
with cash: You must complete a Quick Collect Form. To find the
nearest agent, they may call 1-800-325-6000 or go to
<a href="http://www.westernunion.com/" eudora="autourl">
www.westernunion.com</a>.<br>
2)<x-tab> </x-tab>By phone using a
credit/debit card: Simply call 1-800-634-3422 and press option 2.<br>
3)<x-tab> </x-tab>Via the Internet
using a credit/debit card: Go to
<a href="http://www.westernunion.com/" eudora="autourl">
www.westernunion.com</a> and select "Quick Collect".<br><br>
For each Western Union Quick Collect transaction, the following
information must be provided:<br>
Valid Inmate Eight Digit Register Number (89637-132)<br>
Committed Inmate Name (Leonard Peltier)<br>
Code City: FBOP<br>
State code: DC<br><br>
It is very uplifting to Mr. Peltier to receive letters and cards.
Write to him at:<br>
Leonard Peltier - # 89637-132, USP Lewisburg, US Penitentiary, P.O. Box
1000<br>
Lewisburg, PA 17837-1000.<br><br>
At the very least if everyone that reads this would write the US Parole
Board at United States Parole Commission, 5550 Friendship Boulevard,
Suite 420, Chevy Chase, MD 20815-7286 to offer your whole hearted
support for the release of Leonard Peltier. And please write,
write, write, to Congressmen, the President, Human Rights Organizations,
and Tribal Leaders in support of freedom for Leonard Peltier
now!<br><br>
The Leonard Peltier Offense Defense Committee can be found on the web
at:
<a href="http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/" eudora="autourl">
www.whoisleonardpeltier.info</a>. Contact person for the LP DOC is Betty
Ann Peltier-Solano at (701) 235-2206. <br><br>
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