On the Passing of Carter Camp a great Warrior and Brother.

Statement from Leonard Peltier on the passing of Carter Camp.
USP Coleman Prison December 31, 2013

Greetings my Relatives, friends and supporters,

This is an open letter to Carter Camp’s family and loved ones.
I have just heard the news of my brother's passing. I want to send a condolence message. I want to begin with how sad this is for me to hear that another one of our elder warriors has passed on. I want people to know that I considered Carter to be one of our GREAT warriors; a man who when called upon would travel great distances to give assistance to native people who needed help.

Carter was known among us as someone who would stand up for what he believed in and put his life on the line if need be. He was an eloquent speaker and political strategist and also known for being quite blunt at times, which is refreshing considering today’s world of where people say one thing and do another. Carter lived his beliefs and honored his family. Carter was a leader, a spokesperson, a teacher, and an inspiration to others, especially when it came to taking a stand for what was right.

NOT once had I ever heard that Carter had RUN FROM A FIGHT.

He will never be forgotten as we will always remember him in our songs and when we sit around our fires while the rocks are heating for our inipi ceremonies.
We will always speak good things about him.

We will miss you Carter, but some of us will see you soon, so be waiting for us.

In the spirit of Crazy Horse
Leonard Peltier
Mitakuye Oyasin

29 December 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre

 

On December 29, the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers under Big Foot, a Lakota Sioux chief, near Wounded Knee Creek and demanded they surrender their weapons. As that was happening, a fight broke out between an Indian and a U.S. soldier and a shot was fired, although it's unclear from which side. A brutal massacre followed, in which it's estimated 150 Indians were killed (some historians put this number at twice as high), nearly half of them women and children. The cavalry lost 25 men.

The conflict at Wounded Knee was originally referred to as a battle, but in reality it was a tragic and avoidable massacre. Surrounded by heavily armed troops, it's unlikely that Big Foot's band would have intentionally started a fight. Some historians speculate that the soldiers of the 7th Cavalry were deliberately taking revenge for the regiment's defeat at Little Bighorn in 1876. Whatever the motives, the massacre ended the Ghost Dance movement and was the last major confrontation in America's deadly war against the Plains Indians.

Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded to many of the cavalrymen who fought at Wounded Knee. Despite the current view that the battle was a massacre of innocents, the Medals still stand. Some native American and other groups and individuals continue to lobby Congress to rescind these "Medals of dis-Honor."

26 December 1862: Largest mass execution in American history

In peace and friendship the Dakota ceded 21 million acres, over half the territory of Minnesota, many waters in Dakota language; in the 1851 Traverse des Sioux Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Despite federal promises of protection and assistance, at the Minnesota River reservations, the Dakota Santee were badly mistreated by corrupt federal Indian agents and contractors. This non-fulfillment of treaty promises issue resulted in the Dakota Santee Sioux being found guilty by military court of joining in the so-called "Minnesota Uprising." This avoidable tragedy was actually part of the wider Indian conflicts that plagued the West during the second half of the nineteenth century. For nearly half a century, the US govt. had been selling land in the west to pay for past and current wars domestic and abroad. Anglo and German settlers invaded the Dakota Santee Sioux territory in the beautiful Minnesota Valley, and government pressure gradually forced the Dakota Indians to relocate to smaller reservations along the Minnesota River.

Abuses continued at the Minnesota River reservations during July 1862 with the agents pushing the Dakota Indians to the brink of starvation by refusing to distribute stores of food because they had not yet received their customary kickback payments. The contractor Andrew Myrick callously ignored the Santee's pleas for help. He said, “Let them eat grass.”

Outraged and at the limits of their endurance, the Dakota Santee finally struck back, killing Anglo settlers and taking women as hostages. The initial efforts of the U.S. Army to stop the Santee warriors failed, and in a battle at Birch Coulee, Dakota Santee Sioux killed 13 American soldiers and wounded another 47 soldiers. However, on September 23, a force under the leadership of General Henry H. Sibley finally defeated the main body of Dakota Santee warriors at Wood Lake, recovering many of the hostages and forcing most of the Indians to surrender. The subsequent five-minute trials of the prisoners gave little attention to the injustices the Indians had suffered on the reservations and largely catered to the popular desire for revenge. Injustice moved very rapidly through the trials of the accused. Here, in its entirety, is Case # 241: Pay-pay-sin

Prisoner states, “I was at Fort Ridgley and stood near the stable. I fired three shots.”

The Military Tribunal found him guilty and ordered he be hanged.

The revered Anglo- Saxon principle of law that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty was reversed in the case of the Indians. Authorities in Minnesota asked President Lincoln to order the immediate execution of all 303 Indian males found guilty. President Lincoln was under heavy political pressure to acknowledge states rights but he objected to what he viewed as wholesale slaughter. Lincoln was concerned with how this would play with the Europeans, whom he was afraid were about to enter the war on the side of the South. He wired the commanding officer to stay the executions and forward the "full and complete record of each conviction." He also ordered that any material that would discriminate the guilty from the questionable be included with the trial transcripts. Lincoln and Justice Department officials reviewed every case. Episcopalian Bishop Whipple pleaded for clemency but Military leaders and the Minnesota state politicians warned Lincoln that anything less than large-scale hangings would result in widespread white outrage and more violence against the Indians. After review, the president pardoned 265 of the 303 condemned Indians, approving a total of 38 executions. He offered the following compromise to the politicians of Minnesota: If they would pare the list of those to be hung down to 39. In return, Lincoln promised to kill or remove every Indian from the state and provide Minnesota with 2 million dollars in federal funds. This eagerness to buy cooperation from the state in spite of the fact that the Federal government still owed the Sioux 1.4 million for the land is both tragic and ironic.

So, on December 26, 1862, the Great Emancipator ordered the largest mass execution in American History, where the guilt of those to be executed was entirely in doubt. After 38 of the condemned men were hanged on the 26 of December, the day after Christmas, in 1862 in what remains the largest mass hanging in United States history, the other prisoners continued to suffer in the concentration camps through the winter of 1862-63.

NAMES OF THE EXECUTED INDIANS

 

1. Ta-he-do-ne-cha, (One who forbids his house.)

2. Plan-doo-ta, (Red Otter.)

3. Wy-a-tah-ta-wa, (His People.)

4. Hin-hau-shoon-ko-yag-ma-ne, (One who walks clothed in an Owl's Tail.)

5. Ma-za-bom-doo, (Iron Blower.)

6. Wak-pa-doo-ta, (Red Leaf.)

7. Wa-he-hua, _____.

8. Sua-ma-ne, (Tinkling Walker.)

9. Ta-tay-me-ma, (Round Wind) -- respited.

10. Rda-in-yan-ka, (Rattling Runner.)

11. Doo-wau-sa, (The Singer.)

12. Ha-pau, (Second child of a son.)

13. Shoon-ka-ska, (White Dog.)

14. Toon-kau-e-cha-tag-ma-ne, (One who walks by his Grandfather.)

15. E-tay-doo-tay, (Red Face.)

16. Am-da-cha, (Broken to Pieces.)

17. Hay-pe-pau, (Third child of a son.)

18. Mah-pe-o-ke-na-jui, (Who stands on the Clouds.)

19. Harry Milord, (Half Breed.)

20. Chas-kay-dau, (First born of a son.)

21. Baptiste Campbell, _____.

22. Ta-ta-ka-gay, (Wind Maker.)

23. Hay-pin-kpa, (The Tips of the Horn.)

24. Hypolite Auge, (Half-breed.)

25. Ka-pay-shue, (One who does not Flee.)

26. Wa-kau-tau-ka, (Great Spirit.)

27. Toon-kau-ko-yag-e-na-jui, (One who stands clothed with his Grandfather.)

28. Wa-ka-ta-e-na-jui, (One who stands on the earth.)

29. Pa-za-koo-tay-ma-ne, (One who walks prepared to shoot.)

30. Ta-tay-hde-dau, (Wind comes home.)

31. Wa-she-choon, (Frenchman.)

32. A-c-cha-ga, (To grow upon.)

33. Ho-tan-in-koo, (Voice that appears coming.)

34. Khay-tan-hoon-ka, (The Parent Hawk.)

35. Chau-ka-hda, (Near the Wood.)

36 Hda-hin-hday, (To make a rattling voice.)

37. O-ya-tay-a-kee, (The Coming People.)

38. Ma-hoo-way-ma, (He comes for me.)

39. Wa-kin-yan-wa, (Little Thunder.)

In late April of 1863 the remaining condemned men, along with the survivors of the Fort Snelling concentration camp, were forcibly removed from their beloved homeland in May of 1863. They were placed on boats, which transported the men from Mankato to Davenport, Iowa where they were imprisoned for an additional three years. Those from Fort Snelling were shipped down the Mississippi River to St. Louis and then up the Missouri River to the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota.

Seasons Greetings!

Greetings my relatives, friends, and supporters:

In this season of giving, receiving and acknowledgement of blessings, I want to acknowledge all of the people who have helped me all of these years and I want the supporters outside the U.S. to know I appreciate them also.   Sometimes I am at a loss for words.

Some of you probably have experienced moments like that when you are overwhelmed with thoughts and remembrances of loved ones that for some reason you cannot see or who have gone on.  
I know a lot of you are concerned about the children and getting them gifts for Christmas; I was listening to a program recently that was talking about just such things and how everyone was so concerned at this time of year.  I want to just touch on that for a moment.  I would like to say there are so many of our children around the world that need our help ALL the rest of the year, and that their disappointments do not just come on Christmas or some other holiday- they come EVERYDAY when they do not have enough to eat or they do not have someone to care for them.   I want to encourage you all to think of these things and also about our elders, and the people suffering in hospitals, and of course in prisons, where just receiving a letter in the mail is like a holiday to them, or an elder who sees a familiar face and it is like a holiday to them, or a child who gets to eat all he wants ... that’s a holiday. 

Among our people there was always a celebration of the Solstice which usually falls around the 21st or somewhere about there. There were always prayers at these times and often ceremonies; but gift-giving was a year-round thing that our people did.  Maybe I am being a bit over sensitive or sentimental at this time of year, as are a lot of people, but again I want to thank you for ALL the support you have given to me,  and for the gifts you have given the children on the reservations and the letters you write to me and to other men and women in prisons.   I know there are groups that get together, like the one in Portland Oregon,  that regularly writes letters to prisoners.  These things are greatly appreciated and I have no doubt that you will be blessed by these good things you do. I know some of you in your giving sometimes might be extending your resources, but I recall one time in a fasting ceremony that I was doing; I was told, those who give of their extra are appreciated and blessed but those who give what they cannot afford-- that  is sacred. 

I pray in a sacred way, that each of you will be blessed this coming year.  Find a sacred way you can help heal the Earth, heal our troubled children and make a better place on this planet for ALL to dwell.  Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha,  Gandhi,  Black Elk, Chief Seattle, all of the well known spiritual leaders in the past had one thing in common: they were willing to think and act outside the box. In a world filled with materialism, those of you that have been helping protect the Earth, the children, the elders and victims of injustice are of that same caliber.  

I pray that you enjoy your holidays, that you feel the blessings of your actions, and that the Creator speaks to you in a kind and gentle way.  Give someone a hug for me, and tell them, “This is from Leonard Peltier.”

Your friend always,
In the spirit of Crazy Horse
Leonard Peltier
Mitakuye Oyasin

On the Passing of Nelson Mandela From Leonard Peltier December 5, 2013 6:30 PM

Greeting my relatives, friends, and supporters:

It saddens me to hear that a great man like Nelson Mandela has departed from this lifetime.  He was a man who was truly inspirational and showed us the possibilities of how a continued struggle by indigenous people could manifest itself in levels of freedom that have been marred by centuries of oppression.

Our Native people suffered the same types of oppression many times.  It is not as overt and as easily distinguished as in some places; however, if you are dead because a policeman shot you, or dead because you could not stand the racial and cultural genocide, so you committed suicide-- you are just as dead either away.   Nelson Mandela is known for leading the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.  America talked about ending apartheid and put sanctions on South Africa.  Not being all that adept at the English language, it is my understanding that (apartheid) means to keep someone apart from something; my people have been kept apart purposely from the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota. There was, and still are, measures that keep us apart from our true history, perpetrated by an education system that limits the truth of our being.  Right now, here in America, right now in Canada,  right now in South America, there is apartheid that seeks to separate us from our sacred places,  our lands, and our resources.  Right now in Canada Native people are struggling to protect their aboriginal lands from fracking which destroys the water tables and disturbs the natural balance of the Earth.   Right now with an apartheid mentality, they seek to build pipelines across Native lands that have the potential of great ecological destruction.  Right now there is an apartheid that seeks to separate us from the protection of the constitution of the United States which says treaty law is the supreme law of the land; which also says you have a right to an unbiased fair trial; which also says you have a right to a jury of your peers. Right now our young Native people are tried as adults THREE times more than other groups and kept apartheid from their families and kept apartheid from competent legal representation.

I could go on and on, but you can see where I am heading with this. The struggle from apartheid, I am sure, is not over in South Africa, nor is the struggle against apartheid and slavery over in America. We must all consider Nelson Mandela an inspiration, but I am also inspired by the least of our people who stand up for what is right, like  the young man or young woman who peacefully mans a roadblock against developers or fracking companies or some factory that hurts our air.  While I am at it,  in all this chaos, I also want to remember a brother by the name of Wanbli Tate who tirelessly championed the rights of indigenous people through radio programs, writings, and the internet, to bring attention to the wrongdoers represented in government and corporations. 
We have lost a lot of our people in their last years, and again I remember my brother Russell Means who was also tireless in his efforts in trying to bring about an end to this American version of apartheid that faces Native people.
In the spirit of all those who have gone before us in this struggle, I would like to say stay strong and NEVER, NEVER give up.

Your friend always,
In the spirit of Crazy Horse,

Leonard Peltier
Mitakuye Oyasin

Day of Mourning Statement from Leonard Peltier November 2013

Greetings my relatives friends and supporters
It is yet another year.  It seems like a thousand years ago but only a year in time in reality from the last time I dictated one of these statement for the day of mourning
so, again, I want to say as last time, that I am honored that you would want to hear my words.

Sometimes when I lay on my bunk and I am between sleeping and awake, for a small moment of time, I am free and I am there with you. I know this sounds kind of melodramatic and I am not trying to be so, but things affect you differently inside of here and things affect you differently as you get older.  But I want to say with all my strength, some things don’t change, at least not for me.

When I think about all we have lost to this corporate world, when I think about the losses of clean water and rivers and oceans and when I think about the losses of clean air when I think about the losses of freedom for hard working families that once had a father that could take care of his family with as single job but now has to work two or three jobs and the mother must work too and the children that come home from school with their own key and have to wait the return of one of their parents.  When I think of these losses, when I think of the wage slaves that are being created daily all over the world in the name of progress, when I think of these losses I think... we damn sure have a good reason to mourn, but I really believe that the word mourn should have a different meaning for us, not something where we cry and throw our hands up and say “ WHY WHY, WHY ME,  WHY US, WHY THIS”  but something that we say NO MORE to. Something we make a vow to, renew our efforts, renew our minds, renew our directions to take back our water take back our air take back our forests and our mountains and valleys, restore this mother earth to the natural balance the creator meant it to be. We need to talk to the churches, talk to the various religions, we need to get them to recognize that the strongest form or worship isn’t singing songs and bowing your head, the strongest form of worship is to respect and restore to balance the beauty of nature and the earth that was given to us, that is part of us, that we are a part of, and to be responsible for. 

This may sound like the ramblings of some old 69 year old man in prison for 38 years but I have had a lot of time to think about these things and when my grandchildren come to visit me, it gives me a sense of urgency for all of us to start doing something NOW!

If each one of you would take a vow to get six other people along with yourself to do at least ONE meaningful thing to restore this balance and get each one of those people to network and get 6 more people and let it go out from there like the branches of a tree then together we can make a difference.  We can make a difference starting today. 
This day of mourning would become the morning of a new day!

I have quoted others before and I do so again because I respect the wisdom of elders and people long past. Someone once said and I don’t remember who said it,
 “All evil needs to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”
If this is more than you care to do, or if you think you can’t be involved with others for some reason, I respect that, but I would encourage you to at least plant one fruit bearing tree that someone in the future, perhaps some child would have something to eat. That maybe some other living creature might have a place of shelter and food to eat. there will always be changes throughout the earth and throughout mankind, some uncontrollable and some with design.

I know we can make a change for the better if we put our hearts and minds together and let this day of mourning be a time of renewal, we can spread the concept that mankind must live in harmony with the creators handy-work and with one another.  If this time I have spent here in prison could produce anything of value I pray that it would move you to become involved. Find the right things within government and support them,  and find the wrong things in government and change them.  This government as it stands right now is on the verge of losing what constitutional rights people have.  This government is violating the constitution over and over and over.  These violations started before you or I were even conceived.   As some of you may know the Constitution is a copy of the Iroquois 6 nations Confederacy law.  The constitution originally was designed so that men would have maximum freedoms as long as they did not infringe on the natural rights of others or in essence harm someone else. The freedoms and respect that the law implies that we should have for one another in this nation should extend to all those outside of this realm because what is right for one man should be right for others.
We should allow other people to be free from fear.  I remember an old jewish man I once met in hardware store,  I engaged in conversation with him.   He had fought in WW2 and he said to me, and I always remember his words, “this isn’t the nation I fought for, this nation has become a nation of people who are afraid of their gov’t and anytime the people are afraid of their gov’t they are not free and I have noticed that what people will do to someone else wrongfully, sooner or later if circumstances change they will do it to you also.  

These violations of human rights must stop.  I know the task may seem overwhelming and I can’t say that I have the answer for success at making a change but I do know the answer for failure.. thats to do nothing.
So if my imprisonment serves nothing else but to be living proof of these violations, then so be it,  but it is a reality.  Right now, it has been selective violation, but there are powers at hand that seek to inflict those violations upon everyone.  This reminds me of a story that I heard once where a man said:

 “First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—
and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

I ask you to remember these things because they are truisms that have happened and they will happen again to you and your children and your children’s children if we do not take a stand.   a famous  warrior named Emiliano Zapata from the Mexican revolution once said “I would rather die on my feet then live on my knees” .... I could go on and on but I suppose you get my meaning.  I encourage you to be active, to stand your ground and help us recover the ground we have lost.

God, I wish I could be there with you.


I am going to close for now.  Be thankful you have the time you have,  be thankful you have each other,  and give each other a hug for me.

I will see you when I see you

Your friend
Leonard Peltier.

Statement from Leonard Peltier 11/11/2013 "Inside Looking Out"

Greetings my relatives, friends and supporters,

I am communicating to you today to address some of the concerns about the changes that have taken place within the organization that leads the efforts to bring about my freedom. I am referencing the LPDOC as you well know, those of you who are familiar with the organization, there have been changes every two or three years.  Sometimes people feel this is too much and some feel it is too little and this is why I am having this comment sent out. 

First of all I want you all to know that I deeply deeply appreciate ALL the people who have given parts of their lives to help bring about my freedom and enhance the lives of my people all over the world.  I know it has been difficult for many, in fact for most because it is a drain on ones resources, ones time, and often times takes away from a persons family and personal life to be involved in movement activities.  I appreciate that, I don’t know how to impart to you how deeply I appreciate that. There is no one who has come through the doors of the LPDOC that has all the answers or could possibly make all the right decisions, all we can really do is do our level best to do what is right, and try to right what is wrong. This kind of work wears on people and I do not expect any person to devote their ives to me.  This isn’t all about me. This is about the constitutional violations toward americans that put me here. This is about the violations that keep me here. This is about the human rights violations that put AND keep me here. This is about the human rights that indigenous people all over the world deserve to have honored. This is about the treaty rights that the indigenous people of america have with the United States that are being violated feloniously today. This is about the legal procedures that were violated in my case that stand as possible precedents in the cases of others to come. Of all these things I mentioned, I am legally adjudicated evidence of those violations.  I am not the only person who is evidence of these violations however, because of your struggles and those before you, and those who struggle now I am probably more visible than most of the others.  As I said before people coming to the defense committee are not expected to devote their whole lives to me and I fully realize they have families and children. The older members of AIM and the struggle have grandchildren they are taking care of now.  I guess what I am trying to say to you is that it is not unusual nor inappropriate for there to be changes within the Peltier Defense Committee.

As native people, and as movement people we represent in most cases the poorest of the poor in America and we are dealing with the most powerful, politically strong, well financed organization in the world today and so its not so difficult to see how we can be stressed from time to time and have changes from time to time for we are in fact the most vulnerable ALL the time.  We don’t have enough money to always fund the most needed lawyers and legal workers or secretaries or web managers or whatever.  We rely mostly on the good hearts of people who volunteer and we have never had enough money to pay these good people what their efforts are worth so it is easy to see why people at some point might choose to travel a different path in due time because they all have families and their own lives to live.  People come into this organization with various skills and skill levels and most times they further those skills and skill levels and it enhances the strength of all of us whether they stay within this committee or not because of their involvement in their community using those skills.

In the near future you will see some changes in our website, and our level of activities, and our promotion, even more so of all our concerns for our mother earth, and our children’s future. I have personally, grand children and great grandchildren at this time and I know that you would understand my concerns for their future and my concerns for the future of all of our children.  If it were not for our indigenous cultures which are totally linked to the natural environment the creator gave us than I would have had no reason to be at Oglala that day nor would the other native people on Pine Ridge have a reason to remain where they live today.  That area is still the poorest of the poor the suicide rates there among children are epidemic and among adults its the same. The Cathedral, the Temple of their way of life, the Black Hills of South Dakota has the faces of those who led the destruction of their lives carved upon them.  The Black hills of South Dakota was forcibly leased from the Lakota people, that lease has been up for over 40 years and yet America does not return it.  The Lakota people have not accepted money for it and yet this injustice continues while all the while people of America turn a blind eye to this violation of religious freedom.  This is only one example that I mention because of the size and how blatant it stands out and how most americans are not aware of this. We truly want changes in America, we want changes in the Americas from the far north to the extreme far south. We want a turnaround in the destruction of our natural environment.   On the dollar bill it says in “God we trust” it should say something to the effect in God’s handy-work we MUST trust.

I could go on and on but I feel like I am getting to preachy. Forgive me if I have rambled, if you can imagine sitting in a building that you don’t like, for ONE day imagine how it would be to sit in there for approx 13688 days plus and think about these things and try to work on these things.   So I would like to sincerely encourage you to try and mend your differences and join with me to make this a better place for the future of our children and all natural life. And if you so decide to be involved with some other group I totally respect that,  but I encourage you,  deeply encourage you, to always be doing something to make a difference in our world. A difference for the better.

Forgive me if this seems a bit lengthy but the future of my involvement is very important to me and when you get to be 69 years old, one day could be a lifetime.   If you have any doubts about this statement- just as one of your grandparents.  In saying this I want you to understand why we are gearing up to do everything as soon as possible.   I don’t know what else I can say to get you to better understand this situation at the moment but again I want to say I appreciate all your efforts,  all the things you have done, and for the indigenous people of the United States I want to echo the words that they say over and over again in their own way  

WE ARE STILL HERE.

This is our home, this is our past, this is our present, and this is our future.

May the great spirit bless you with the things you need and enough to share with others who have needs also.

In the spirit of crazy horse and all our people of the past who have given unselfishly that we might exist today and have values that are worth living for.

Your friend always, IN all ways
Mitakuye oyasin
Doksha
Leonard Peltier

A New Direction for the LPDOC

November 8, 2013

Dear Supporters of Leonard Peltier,

After three years of being a part of the campaign to free Leonard Peltier,  I am closing that chapter of my life and moving on.  We have had a  chance to  use our creativity in bringing awareness to this important case of constitutional violations  to the forefront, not only in the U.S. but in many countries as well.  Through the use of multia media,  people around the world had an opportunity to see and hear the Walk that my family and many friends did in the name of Leonard.   Our Team also had a successful concert at one of the biggest venues in New York City, the Beacon Theater, talked about before but never done until our team.  You will also get to witness more of our work in the upcoming Infomercial.

From a business standpoint, it is good policy to replace managers every three years, just to keep ideas fresh and so it is that David Hill will guide the new freedom campaign.  This is truly Leonard’s wish and we respect his right to choose  the people who will be surrounding him. 

Our Team will not disappear from  the heart of Indian Country.  It is our belief  that out fight is not just about one man’s freedom  but about the injustice and total disregard for the rights of Native people in and on our own homeland.   We have always been guided by our ceremonies  and Spiritual leaders and we will continue forward, following a path that our Creator has made for us.   

Please continue to support Leonard Peltier’s fight for freedom, as we will as well.  It is our prayer that one day soon, he will walk free and have the ability to share his good words and gratitude with the people who have his best interest and have been a part of this struggle for so many years.   I wish you all the best and thank you for the support and kindness you have shown to our Team. 

May you forever walk in peace toward the place where there is justice and equality for all of creation.

In the Spirit of Our Warriors,

 

Dorothy Ninham
dorothyninham@yahoo.com

Native History: More Than 300 Dakota Sentenced to Death

This Date in Native History: On November 5, 1862, a five-man military commission convicted 319 Dakota men in connection with a series of armed conflicts in southwestern Minnesota. Of the 392 tried, 307 were originally sentenced to death—later reduced to 303—and 16 to prison terms. Ultimately, 38 men were hanged after a review of those 303 cases by President Abraham Lincoln.
 

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/11/05/native-history-more-300-dakota-sentenced-death-152079

The Oglala Commemoration Auction is Now Open

The Oglala Commemoration Auction is now open to raise funds for the 2014 Oglala Commemoration in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, 26 June 2014. 

Visit http://www.oglalacommemoration.com/auction.html.  

E-mail all bids to Oglala_commemoration@yahoo.com; Subject line:  "BID"; Body: List the item and the amount of your bid.
Payment by money order or via PayPal.

These current auction items can be had in time for Christmas.

www.oglalacommemoration.com/auction

03 November 1972: Occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building in Washington, DC

On Nov. 3, 1972, protesters from the Trail of Broken Treaties Caravan occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices in D.C. for six days. Read the 20-Point Manifesto, it begins: "We seek a new American majority - a majority that is not content merely to confirm itself by superiority in numbers, but which by conscience is committed toward prevailing upon the public will in ceasing wrongs and in doing right."  See http://www.aimovement.org/ggc/trailofbrokentreaties.html.

President Barack Obama Proclaims November Native American Heritage Month

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 A PROCLAMATION

 

From Alaskan mountain peaks to the Argentinian pampas to the rocky shores of Newfoundland, Native Americans were the first to carve out cities, domesticate crops, and establish great civilizations. When the Framers gathered to write the United States Constitution, they drew inspiration from the Iroquois Confederacy, and in the centuries since, American Indians and Alaska Natives from hundreds of tribes have shaped our national life. During Native American Heritage Month, we honor their vibrant cultures and strengthen the government-to-government relationship between the United States and each tribal nation.

As we observe this month, we must not ignore the painful history Native Americans have endured -- a history of violence, marginalization, broken promises, and upended justice. There was a time when native languages and religions were banned as part of a forced assimilation policy that attacked the political, social, and cultural identities of Native Americans in the United States. Through generations of struggle, American Indians and Alaska Natives held fast to their traditions, and eventually the United States Government repudiated its destructive policies and began to turn the page on a troubled past.

My Administration remains committed to self-determination, the right of tribal governments to build and strengthen their own communities. Each year I host the White House Tribal Nations Conference, and our work together has translated into action. We have resolved longstanding legal disputes, prioritized placing land into trust on behalf of tribes, stepped up support for Tribal Colleges and Universities, made tribal health care more accessible, and streamlined leasing regulations to put more power in tribal hands. Earlier this year, an amendment to the Stafford Act gave tribes the option to directly request Federal emergency assistance when natural disasters strike their homelands. In March, I signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which recognizes tribal courts' power to convict and sentence certain perpetrators of domestic violence, regardless of whether they are Indian or non-Indian. And this June, I moved to strengthen our nation-to-nation relationships by establishing the White House Tribal Council on Native American Affairs. The Council is responsible for promoting and sustaining prosperous and resilient Native American communities.

As we observe Native American Heritage Month, we must build on this work. Let us shape a future worthy of a bright new generation, and together, let us ensure this country's promise is fully realized for every Native American.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2013 as National Native American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 29, 2013, as Native American Heritage Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.

Barack Obama

Free Leonard Peltier: White House Tribal Nations Conference (Flyer)

Download and post/distribute in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

• 1-Side
• 2-Sides

Protest Planned to Stop Further Desecration of Burial Sites on Black Mesa

What: Rally Against the Theft of Antiquity, Stop Peabody’s Restraint on Black Mesa Navajo History.

When: October 30, 2013 - 11AM-2:30PM

Where: Museum of Northern Arizona's Colton House, Flagstaff, AZ (3101 N Fort Valley Rd) 86001

Why: Millions of Indigenous remains, artifacts, and sacred objects have been desecrated by Peabody Energy's coal mining at Black Mesa, Arizona. All these are being withheld in vaults at closely associated universities. Peabody's recent expansion plan threatens to further desecrate hundreds more ancient sites.

Flagstaff, AZ - Concerned Diné (Navajos) and other indigenous rights supporters will be holding a protest to expose Peabody's deliberate process of confiscating Indigenous History.  More:  http://intercontinentalcry.org/protest-planned-stop-desecration-burial-sites-black-mesa/

Uranium, water, and the future of the Black Hills

Today marks the beginning of the water permit hearings for the proposed Dewey-Burdock Project, Powertech’s proposed uranium mine in the southern Black Hills here in South Dakota. You can read the water rights permit applications here, the groundwater discharge permit application here, and the consolidated case webpage here.

There are so many problems with this proposed mine, it is hard to pinpoint just one major issue. But the amount of water being requested by Powertech might just qualify.

More:  http://legislation.dakotarural.org/2013/10/28/uranium-water-and-the-future-of-the-black-hills/

Tribal Leader Registration for the 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference

Announcement from the White House

Tribal Leader Registration for the 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference

On behalf of President Obama, the White House Council on Native American Affairs cordially invites each federally recognized tribe to send ONE [emphasis added]  representative to the 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference.  The Conference will be held at the Department of the Interior's Sidney R. Yates Auditorium.  Only tribal leaders authorized by their tribe as the designated representative to the White House Tribal Nations Conference are permitted to register.  Register here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/webform/2013-White-House-Tribal-Nations-Conference      

• DATE: Wednesday, November 13, 2013
• LOCATION: Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240

Please register by 10:00pm ET on Friday November 1, 2013.  Please ensure your e-mail address is correctly entered as your confirmation and all further instructions will be sent via e-mail. 

 

The Conference's Breakout Sessions will be built around the input received from tribal leaders so please list below the two topics you would most like to see covered during these sessions. 

 

For any questions please contact us at IndianCountry@who.eop.gov.

Celebrate South Dakota statehood by letting Leonard Peltier go

October 28, 2013

Celebrate South Dakota statehood by letting Leonard Peltier go
by Steve Hickey, State House District 9

It’s hard to throw a party when some in the room don’t share your excitement, or worse, when they resent the occasion or even your very existence.

 

There is so much to celebrate in South Dakota’s 125 year state history and yet there are painful atrocities in our past and lingering present issues we ought not ignore.
Revisiting them can facilitate healing. If not this year, when?

We share this state with Native Americans who have a very legitimate historical and ongoing beef with us wasi'chus. When Governor Daugaard announced he was setting up a commission to plan our statehood celebrations, he asked for public input to solicit ideas of things we could include. It provoked this September 18 tweet from me:

@stevehickey

SD seeks ideas to celebrate statehood. Giving the Black Hills back ain't happning but how about a meaningful reparation gesture of some sort. 

 
For the last number of weeks I’ve given prayerful thought as to what might constitute a meaningful gesture. Since the offenses are by and large justice-related, key pardons come to mind. What if we let Leonard Peltier go free? In native circles here and far abroad, Leonard Peltier has become a modern symbol of a couple centuries of horrific Indian injustices by our government.

Sick and now just shy of seventy, he’s not hurting anyone and since his kangaroo trial nearly forty years ago, reasonable doubt has surfaced that he ever did. At best he was convicted on circumstantial evidence and since his incarceration several decades ago, the case against him has been seriously compromised. In 1986, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged there had been the fabrication of evidence, withholding of exculpatory evidence, coercion of witnesses, improper conduct by the FBI and willful illegality on the part of the government. His trial is certainly one of the lower moments in American justice.

Even if you are of the opinion this guy killed two FBI agents, and there is no evidence he pulled the trigger or even had the gun, my plea to let him go is an appeal to the fact that these murders were in the midst of a civil war-like situation aggravated by FBI agents terrorizing the Pine Ridge reservation in the wake of Wounded Knee II. Certainly, as a judge stated in 1992, the government is “equally responsible” for the death of its own agents.

My appeal is also in consideration of that fact that there were more than a couple hundred natives mysteriously murdered during this period of time in hits and drive-bys—- some would say plausibly committed by U.S. Marshalls, tribal police, state-sanctioned paramilitary GOON squads, white vigilantes and government agents. If we are judging people on circumstantial evidence as we did with Peltier, why stop with him?

Letting Peltier go is not about what he did or didn’t do, it’s an acknowledgment and admission of so much that “we did do” and so much that we have done.

Recently I've floated this idea with elected officials in our state. I'd like to think Senators Johnson and Thune, Congresswoman Noem, Governor Daugaard and my colleagues in the South Dakota legislature would join me in formally seek Presidential clemency for Leonard Peltier. Only President Obama can make this happen and he could do it today. If our Great Chief in Washington is truly empathetic toward the plight of the REDSKINS, he will do it.

We can’t go back and fix Wounded Knee I, but it’s still not too late to redress Wounded Knee II. If we want to move into a new era, we need to let go of some things from the previous one. Time to let Leonard Peltier go and let that wound heal.
_____________________________________

An addendum for my conservative friends: Every ammo-stocking, liberty-loving conservative in South Dakota fearing the Federal government (NSA overreaches, enemy lists, infringements by law enforcement and the like) needs to look past their Indian animosities for a moment and take a long hard look at what happened to Leonard Peltier. Martin Niemöller’s line comes to mind and so I’ll redact it for use here… first they came for [Leonard Peltier] and I did not speak out… then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. Yes, the genocide of American Indians does warrant a likening to the eradication of the Jews.

Source:  http://www.voicescarryblog.com/celebrate-south-dakota-statehood-by-letting-leonard-peltier-go/

In response:

"Free Leonard Peltier," Says SD Republican

NY to judge: Unseal documents on '71 Attica riot

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York's attorney general has asked a state judge to release sealed documents about the 1971 riot and retaking of Attica state prison in an effort to reveal the full history of the nation's bloodiest prison rebellion and answer the questions of families whose loved ones died there.

Read more:  http://news.yahoo.com/ny-judge-unseal-documents-71-attica-riot-222349049.html

2013 Leonard Peltier Holiday Gift Drive

2013 Leonard Peltier
Holiday Gift Drive


Children's Winter Clothing, Toys & School Supplies

Please only send NEW items for children of ALL ages.  


(Donors tend to send small sizes & toys for younger children often. Please remember that our teens need some holiday cheer, too!)

NORTH DAKOTA

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Belcourt, North Dakota (Leonard Peltier's Nation)

TMBCI Holiday Gift Drive
Attention Cindy Malaterre
PO Box 900
Belcourt, ND 58316 

SOUTH DAKOTA

Oglala Nation, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Paul Waha (Shields) Peltier
PO Box 646
Pine Ridge, SD 57764

Peltier Network: Year-Long Support

Peltier College Scholarship (Cash Donations)

Oglala Commemoration
1939 Wentzville Parkway
#191
Wentzville, MO 63385

School Supplies (Paper, pens and pencils, binders, erasers, backpacks, etc.)

Oglala Commemoration
1939 Wentzville Parkway
#191
Wentzville, MO 63385

 

Thank You!

We Wish You Many Blessings This Holiday Season and Throughout the New Year!

Leonard Peltier International Tribunal: Executive Summary

 

Download (PDF):  http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/download/IPT_Executive_Summary.pdf

Note:  Additional comments and Tribunal-related materials are forthcoming.

UN Urged To Declare Canada's Treatment Of Aboriginals Genocide

[This week] former National Chief Phil Fontaine, elder Fred Kelly, businessman Dr. Michael Dan and human rights activist Bernie Farber sent a letter to James Anaya, UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, arguing that several specific crimes against aboriginal people in Canada qualify as genocide under the post-Second World War Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG).

More:  http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/18/genocide-first-nations-aboriginals-canada-un_n_4123112.html

Aboriginal News Group Statement on the #Mi'kmaq / #ELSIPOGTOG Crisis

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Communiqué from the ANG Public Information Bureau:

To the Sovereign People of the Independent Mi'kmaq Nation
To all Colonialised Peoples of the Fourth World

The Aboriginal News Group (ANG) wishes to extend its support and solidarity to the Indigenous warriors standing strong  in defence of Mi'kmaq / Elsipogtog territorial and human rights under Canadian occupation and against the unwanted exploitation of their lands. We recognise their peaceful protest as part of the international struggle in defiance of intentional acts of genocide undertaken against Indigenous / First Nations Peoples throughout the Fourth World and within the occupied territories of North America.

Clearly, the 'Indian Wars' are not over.

Aboriginal rights defenders and concerned residents who have taken non-violent, community control over a roadway that crosses through their Nation in protest of an environmental wipeout of Indigenous land were viciously attacked by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) state security forces employing fear tactics; rubber bullets and tear gas aimed against unarmed Indigenous Peoples on their own territory. Unnecessary mass arrests of prominent protesters and and the seizing of personal computers and recording devices against (seemingly) targeted members of the independent media has also occurred.

This is not democracy. Nor is it benevolent colonialism.

This is genocide under the provisions of the 'Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide' : (Resolution 260 (III) A of the U.N. General Assembly on 9 December 1948).

And Canada (the 'Peaceful Country') is in blatant violation of these very basic human rights.

We have all watched (mostly in silence) how the Canadian tradition of colonialist exploitation and xenophobic self-centred  importance has resulted in the mass liquidation of millions of First Nations Peoples, legal and extra-legal racial segregation; punishing residential 'de-Indianising' schools; mass incarceration; widespread communal depression and the institution of socio-politically isolated Bantustans designed to rob Indigenous Peoples of our lands, our rights and our very dignity.

This is the basic formula of genocide.

The unapologetic use of state-sponsored violence, social coercion and subvert; psychological repression of speech; cultural and political expression in order to prevent the development of a viable, pan-Indigenous consciousness. In other words, the actions undertaken at Elsipogtog by state authorities is intended to marginalise the autochthonous Mi'kmaq Nation as a sociopolitical entity within Canada by way of force.

This is genocide.

The destruction of the Indigenous population of North America is not new news to the people of the First Nations. We continue to wage the struggle for Indigenous survival through the persistence of our resistance. The racist, enforced displacement and economic exploitation of modern First Nations Peoples, the unpeaceful dispossession of Indigenous lands and the right to protest colonialism are critical issues for all Original Peoples of the Fourth World facing extinction in the name of European and capitalist expansion.

Respect Indigenous Mi’kmaq Human and Territorial Rights!

We applaud the Mi’kmaq Warrior Society and all Original Peoples of the Fourth World courageously and intelligently resisting colonialism and Indigenous genocide.

- Editors of the Aboriginal News Group.
For further inquiries please contact:
ANG Public Information Bureau / The Fourth World:angpress@gmx.sg

###

 

Read:

 

Protests Sweep Canada Following Paramilitary Assault on Indigenous Fracking Blockade http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/18-3

 

 

Report warns of ‘catastrophic’ aboriginal uprising http://o.canada.com/news/report-warns-of-catastrophic-aboriginal-uprising/#.UmHA2jrngVM.facebook

 

 

Feathers versus Guns: The throne speech and Canada’s war with Mi’kmaw Nation http://westcoastnativenews.com/feathers-versus-guns-the-throne-speech-and-canadas-war-with-mikmaw-nation/

 

 

Journalists’ car, camera equipment seized at N.B. shale gas protest site http://globalnews.ca/news/912453/journalists-car-camera-equipment-seized-at-nb-shale-gas-protest-site/?utm_source=facebook-twitter&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=community

Freedom Is Not Free

How about $1.00? Can you spare $1.00 for Leonard’s FREEDOM? If ALL of Leonard’s supporters donated $1.00…OR…the cost of a cup of coffee, a hamburger or a gallon of gas…how GREAT would... that be to help an INNOCENT Man? It's not about any ONE of us; it's about ALL of us working together---Leonard asks us for so little, PLEASE HELP TO BRING OUR BROTHER HOME!

Donate online: http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/donate.htm

To make a tax deductible donation, send a check or money order made payable to "Wind Chases the Sun," a 501(c)3 tax exempt entity (and our fiscal sponsor) and write "LPDOC" on the Memo line.  Send your donation to the below address.

Wind Chases the Sun

N5679 Skylark Drive

DePere, WI  54115

Thank you so very much for your support.

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