Attend the Oglala Commemoration on June 26

35th Anniversary!
Annual Oglala Commemoration
June 26
Oglala, SD
www.oglalacommemoration.com

June Newsletter

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Available now! The June issue of the LP-DOC electronic newsletter is online here. Read it. Share it.

Special Rapporteur launches Web site

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, has opened his own website aiming at facilitating communication with stakeholders such indigenous peoples organizations, human rights defenders, civil society organizations, etc.

Please find below the link to this important website:

http://unsr.jamesanaya.org

New Facebook Page

Visit with us on your fav social network and share our pages with friends.

Facebook - NEW!!!

MySpace

YouTube

Leonard Peltier Is Innocent

US Social Forum & Leonard Peltier: Update

Workshop: US Political Prisoners: Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the Cuban 5

Presenters:

• Delaney Bruce, Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
• Pam Africa, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition
• Marjorie Cohn, past President of the National Lawyers Guild
• Stan Smith, Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban 5

Detroit, MI: US Social Forum
23 June, 1:00-3:00 p.m. @ Wayne County Community College: Rm. 348. For information, contact Stan Smith at uscubachi@yahoo.com.

As a co-sponsor, the LP-DOC also invites you to participate on 24 June in the People's Movement Assembly on Prison Justice at the US Social Forum, Detroit, MI. The U.S. is a prison empire: racist mass incarceration, political repression, torture and widespread criminalization. The organizations struggling against this state violence have been limited by geographic isolation, generational gaps and the sheer amount of work to be done. Although we face particular challenges by region or circumstance, we share a vision of justice and solidarity against confinement and control. This Assembly will be a vital step in making our work more national in scope and more coordinated in action. Organizations involved in anti-prison and prisoner support work will identify points of unity and plan shared actions. These include greater coordination in regional campaigns around shared issues and a national strategy of action for prison justice groups that unites our diverse campaigns. Largely through small group discussions, this Assembly will serve as the culmination for a number of proposed workshops that address imprisonment and repression. The Assembly will emphasize strategic areas of collaboration and resistance to racist and political repression. It is organized by a network of groups organizing against prisons and the drug war, in support of political prisoners and formerly incarcerated people.

Sponsored/endorsed by (list in formation): California Coalition for Women in Prison, California Prison Moratorium Project, Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition, Freedom Archives, Human Rights Coalition, International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Jericho Amnesty Movement, Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Resistance in Brooklyn, RNC8 Defense Committee, Scott and Carrie Support Committee, The Ordinary People’s Society, War Resisters League.

For more information on the US Social Forum, visit http://www.ussf2010.org.

We'll see you there!
USSF 2010 June 22 - 26, 2010
Detroit, MI

New Paintings by Leonard Peltier

Visit http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/paintings.htm

Art Inquiries: art@whoisleonardpeltier.info

Auction: Oglala Commemoration

URL: http://www.oglalacommemoration.com/auction

Bids for Auction items currently offered will close this coming Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. CST. The proceeds from this auction cover roughly 80% of the funds needed for the annual Oglala Commemoration.

URL: http://www.oglalacommemoration.com/auction

Commemorating Leonard Peltier & the Reign of Terror

Save the Date

Commemorating Leonard Peltier & the Reign of Terror
Fundraiser for Leonard Peltier Defense-Offense Committee (LP-DOC)


Honor Leonard Peltier And those who lost their lives during the Reign of Terror. Help build the movement to bring about Leonard’s release from prison.

Saturday, 26 June 2010
@ San Jose State University Engineering Bldg. Auditorium, Room 189 and the grassy area
3:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Performers TBA
Screening of “Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story”


Bring Leonard Peltier Home Now!
www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

Chief Arvol Looking Horse: To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders

A Great Urgency

To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders

My Relatives,

Time has come to speak to the hearts of our Nations and their Leaders. I ask you this from the bottom of my heart, to come together from the Spirit of your Nations in prayer.

We, from the heart of Turtle Island, have a great message for the World; we are guided to speak from all the White Animals showing their sacred color, which have been signs for us to pray for the sacred life of all things. As I am sending this message to you, many Animal Nations are being threatened, those that swim, those that crawl, those that fly, and the plant Nations, eventually all will be affect from the oil disaster in the Gulf.

The dangers we are faced with at this time are not of spirit. The catastrophe that has happened with the oil spill which looks like the bleeding of Grandmother Earth, is made by human mistakes, mistakes that we cannot afford to continue to make.

I asked, as Spiritual Leaders, that we join together, united in prayer with the whole of our Global Communities. My concern is these serious issues will continue to worsen, as a domino effect that our Ancestors have warned us of in their Prophecies.

I know in my heart there are millions of people that feel our united prayers for the sake of our Grandmother Earth are long overdue. I believe we as Spiritual people must gather ourselves and focus our thoughts and prayers to allow the healing of the many wounds that have been inflicted on the Earth. As we honor the Cycle of Life, let us call for Prayer circles globally to assist in healing Grandmother Earth (our Unc¹I Maka).

We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony, as we make the choice to change the destructive path we are on.

As we pray, we will fully understand that we are all connected. And that what we create can have lasting effects on all life.

So let us unite spiritually, All Nations, All Faiths, One Prayer. Along with this immediate effort, I also ask to please remember June 21st, World Peace and Prayer Day/Honoring Sacred Sites day. Whether it is a natural site, a temple, a church, a synagogue or just your own sacred space, let us make a prayer for all life, for good decision making by our Nations, for our children¹s future and well-being, and the generations to come.

Onipikte (that we shall live),


Chief Arvol Looking Horse
19th generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe
(Wolakota.org)

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TCM: Incident at Oglala

"Incident at Oglala" will be broadcast on the Turner Classic Movies channel at 11 p.m. on May 27, 2010. This is part of TCM’s month-long series, RACE & HOLLYWOOD: NATIVE AMERICAN IMAGES ON FILM. Visit www.tcm.com for more information.

15-16 May: Leonard Peltier's Art at the Jim Thorpe Birthday Celebration

Join LeonardPeltierArt.com at the Jim Thorpe Birthday Celebration sponsored by the Jim Thorpe Area Council of the Carbon County Chamber of Commerce. 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Historic District of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. The festival includes activities and entertainment for folks of all ages. A variety of musical entertainment is offered including Native American Performances, arrival of the Steam Engine from Tunkhannock, PA., local attractions and more. Admission is free to the public. See http://www.jimthorpe.org/festivals/jtbirthday.htm.

Leonard Peltier: "Crazy Life"

The Voice of Leonard Peltier

Re the Anniversary of Kent State:

"Four dead in O-Hi-O... 40 years. All the same struggle. I remember... The country was so shocked. Young, white, middle class... There wasn't the same outcry when Indians were killed. The government turned on its own... their own kids. That said it all."

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Kent State Shootings. On May 4th, 1970, National Guardsmen opened fire on hundreds of unarmed students at an antiwar rally at Kent State University in Ohio. The guardsmen fired off at least 67 shots in roughly 13 seconds. Four students were killed and nine others wounded.


Re the 1 May attempt to land Blackhawk helicopters at Wounded Knee:

"Right on! Thank you! Thank you to all of you who stood in their way and defended the ancesters! Stay strong!"

For information, see Military Helicopters at Wounded Knee? Traditional Lakota Elders Say 'NO WAY!'.

Military Helicopters at Wounded Knee? Traditional Lakota Elders Say 'NO WAY!'

Monday, May 3, 2010
Debra White Plume: Military Helicopters at Wounded Knee? Traditional Lakota Elders Say 'NO WAY!'
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com


Wounded Knee, SD (01 May 2010)--Military helicopters approaching from the North could be seen by a crowd of 60 or so Lakota people, gathered at the base of the hill where victims of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre lay buried in a mass grave. As the three black helicopters passed overhead and started to turn around, “Block the helicopters!” could be heard faintly, drowned out by the sound of thumping chopper blades and the harsh wind, words shouted by a grandmother. The people began to run toward the helicopters, which were nearing the mass grave.

Young men reached the hilltop first, carrying staffs adorned with eagle feathers and colored ribbon. Dozens of young children ran in groups up the hill, holding hands, some were carrying sage. The elders brought up the rear, escorted by several young men. The first helicopter landed a few feet from the mass grave. The Lakota men ran up to it, holding their staffs, yelling at the military to leave Wounded Knee, the elders did not want them there. As the other two helicopters began to descend, four women ran to get under the choppers, waving red banners and a United Nations flag. The helicopters came lower, the women did not budge. They yelled at the soldiers hanging out of the helicopters, “Leave, you are not wanted at Wounded Knee.” The three black helicopters flew away.

“Military transport coming to Wounded Knee? Why, to intimidate us? I came here to talk about my family, but now I am thinking, I am 80 years old, I pray every day. The Chairlady said to come here and talk about our families, but for people to make money off of this place, they shouldn’t do that. This is a place to pray, the military have no place here” said Stanley Looking Elk, an elder and former Tribal President.

Marie Not Help Him loudly questioned the people present, “Why are you doing this? I invited them here! My great grandfather Dewey Beard survived this. I wanted to tell our story,” saying she belongs to the Wounded Knee Survivor’s Association. She asked the Tribal Police on site to arrest the people. The Tribal Police declined to make arrests, but did step in when Not Help Him ran up to elder Wilma Thin Elk, shoving her finger into Mrs. Thin Elk’s face, yelling. A young woman jumped in front of elder Thin Elk, and told Not Help Him to stop. Tribal Police intervened, escorting Not Help Him away from elder Thin Elk.

As the four carloads of Tribal Police attempted crowd control, yelling at people to disperse, Vic Camp stepped in front of the elders and women the police were trying to push back. “We are not here to argue against our own people, we are here to defend this killing ground from the military coming here. They don’t belong on this land. They were already here. Our ancestors are lying in the ground over there because the US military was already here. Our people have a right to be here,” Camp did not back away.

Olowan Martinez said, “The Tribe did not even tell us they were doing this, we found out last night, me and my children live right down the hill. The US military can go elsewhere to hear the story. Our ancestors at Wounded Knee were killed by the US military and my father, a Veteran of Wounded Knee 1973, lies buried there, they have no respect to come back to where they put the blood of our relatives on the ground.”

“This is sacred ground, not a tourist attraction, they flew in and out like tourists. They already know what happened here, there was no good communication about this,” said Alex White Plume, also an elder and former Tribal President, saying he supports the younger generation.

When the elders began speaking, several people asked Not Help Him to stay and listen, and to tell the people the story of her Grandfather, but she and her family got in their vehicles and left.

“Those choppers and the ones who planned this are disrespectful to our loved ones. Didn’t the few people who planned this know that this whole thing is so insensitive and wrong that the Lakota’s would come out to defend this ground? We want our children to grow up respectful. We have to teach them,” said Autumn Conroy Two Bulls, founder of Helping Every Lakota Person.

Wilma Thin Elk said, “When I was a little girl my Grandma, who was a survivor, used to bring us here and tell what happened. Those helicopters could have shot us, we stand here with no way to defend ourselves, I’m a descendant of Wounded Knee, too. Is that how our ancestors felt? When they saw the military with their guns, and they had no guns? Now they are all lying over there in that grave.”

Garfield Little Dog, Council Representative from Wounded Knee District said, “Several elders and survivors of the Wounded Knee Massacre expressed their dislike for the military to come here. It made them feel bad, some are facing serious illness and couldn’t be here. I have to stand up for the people in my district when they ask for my help.” Little Dog was the only official from the Oglala Sioux Tribe on hand. It was not possible to reach President Theresa Two Bulls as of this writing. The Tribal Security Guards said she went to a pow-wow (social event) in Nebraska. A few people present said they heard President Two Bulls on KILI Radio the previous day, asking people to go to Wounded Knee to hear the presentation, but not much information was provided other than that there would be members of the 7th Calvary and National Guardsmen arriving in military air transport. “It is the 7th Calvary that killed our unarmed relatives, why do they need to hear the story? They enacted the story!” said an unidentified elder to the crowd. “Because, Leksi, (Uncle), these people who did this are all CIA, Colonized Indian A****, they are not Lakota!” responded a young mother, carrying her baby on her hip and holding a little girl by the hand. There was a lot of laughter at that point.

Gerald One Feather, an elder and former Tribal President, offered a prayer, and thanked the people for honoring him by asking him to pray. Folks present talked about the need to enforce respect for ancestors buried in the Mass Grave of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre.