Greetings,
The times they are a changing, indeed. Much has happened in the last few months in regards to the fight for Leonard’s Freedom. We, as the new committee, wanted to send out a letter to all of you to give you an update and also to pass along a note that Leonard wanted you to read, in its original, hand-written form.
As you well know, Leonard Peltier has become a focal point of the injustices that have faced Native Americans at the hand of an unjust government. Though he has stood strong year after year, he now faces the challenges of age, declining health, and a political atmosphere which for 38 years has sought, and been successful at, blocking any semblance of justice for Leonard.
His dedication to justice for all people has not wained.
He is as dedicated as ever. His 38 years speak volumes to that end. The reality is that he has done time for ALL of us, and now it is up to US to get him out.
Leonard’s struggle is our struggle. If these unjust, egregious violations of the constitution go unchallenged by the citizens of the United States, in fact the world, then the only ones we have to blame are ourselves. There is no legal, moral, spiritual, economic, political or lawful reason for the continued incarceration of Leonard Peltier; WE must make the difference.
As Martin Luther King once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
There has never been a change to injustices without a challenge by some-“one”. The Freedom Riders challenged racism; women’s suffrage activists won the right for women to vote; Ze Claudio Ribeiro da Silva, died fighting to try to save the Amazon; and Nelson Mandela, who stood strong under years of imprisonment’ was instrumental in the fight to end aparthied. To say the least, there have been millions of people who have died for freedom. We must not let our own freedom within our own countries fall to the wayside for political reasons.
We must continue the fight for ALL human, environmental, and social rights. We must not lose our sense of direction or our ability to work together to solve these issues.
There have been many faces and people over this almost 40 years fighting for Leonard's freedom. When the day comes when we all see him free, it will be because THOUSANDS of voices have spoken up, volunteered, organized, marched, sang, shouted, painted, walked, prayed, and otherwise fought for Leonard to be a free man. No one person, group, committee, or organization will free Leonard. We must fight for the rights of Leonard Peltier, but also for the rights of all people.
Chief Joseph once said “ Good words without action, don't last long” Thus,
we are asking you to join us in this fight for Leonard’s freedom. There are a myriad of ways in which you can be involved. We have developed a great tool to facilitate your assistance in this campaign, a brand new website that uses the latest in technology. The strategy behind this campaign is similar to the philosophy and technology used to elect our current President. We watched how these systems worked, and now we are putting them into action to help free Leonard Peltier.
Please see Leonard’s attached letter, work with his team and our strategy as he asks, help us answer his plea.
-In Solidarity
The International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
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