Oneida Vice-Chairman Greg Matson: International Peoples Tribunal on Leonard Peltier

Leonard Peltier with grand-daughter of Dorothy Ninham (Wind Chases the Sun, Inc.)

I wanted to touch briefly on an event that recently occurred on our reservation. It was the International Peoples Tribunal on Leonard Peltier October 2-4 2013.  The whole event happened at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center and was attended by people from all over the world. It was a unique event of history of the United States that an international tribunal was held on American soil. The goal of the process was to bring an understanding to the world public about the injustices that indigenous peoples have faced throughout the country in regards to unfair treatment and the neglect of human rights for Native Americans. The Leonard Peltier case was referred to many times as a model case of failed policies and inconsistencies of process in dealing with Native American jurisdiction and rights as citizens. There was a panel of well-respected judges put in place to hear the testimonies given by victims and eyewitnesses which will be brought before the World Court in one of the non-partisan countries eligible and it will then be determined at an international level whether or not human rights have been violated. I was able to attend for a few hours throughout the event and it was very disturbing to hear some of the unethical treatment that some of our relatives from other Indian Nations had to endure when the American Indian Movement was trying to stop the criminal activity of sworn officials. The three day event was recorded by national and international reporters and will be assembled into a documentary in the future. I will attempt to keep updates on the progress of the findings in the future. The listed items are only several of a long list of activities that affect our peoples and communities every day in many ways. I would hope that your understanding of these subjects will increase and that your involvement in our community work will increase the quality of life of our membership and provide a better future for all.

Respectfully,

 

Greg Matson
Vice Chairman
Oneida Nation

From Vice-Chairman's Corner at https://oneida-nsn.gov/MembersOnly.aspx