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On the Oglala Commemoration (PDF Version)
50th Anniversary Statement from Leonard Peltier Greetings my relatives, friends, supporters, loved ones. I want you to understand that after all these years in prison, I may not think like you, I may not talk in a way you think I should talk, but times like these wear on you. You get old. Your knees hurt. Your back hurts. Everything hurts. You get to a point where you see things as they really are, past the flowery words that people use to make you feel good about things that are irrelevant. In talking about my case, sometimes I think I talk too much about it, sometimes not enough. In thinking about freedom and thinking about justice, it is very hard to not think about it. When you are imprisoned, when you are in a box, a large coffin, day in and day out, year in and year out, it never ends. The Taking of Leonard Peltier's Childhood (PDF Version)
My name is Leonard Peltier and I am 77 years old. I am a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe. I am Anishinaabe and Dakota. I was taken to Wahpeton Indian School, an Indian boarding school, in Wahpeton, North Dakota when I was nine years old and did not leave until I was 12. This is my story. When I lost my grandfather in 1952, life changed forever. He was a good and kind man and he was my mentor and knew how to live off the land. But then he got pneumonia and did not survive. I will never forget watching him die from the foot of his bed. Even now, that sad memory comes back to me as I lie in my bunk at night in a federal penitentiary. On Beginning His 48th Year of Imprisonment (PDF Version)
I could go on and on about the mistreatment of our people and on and on about my case, but the United Nations said it. That the United States has kept me locked up because I am Native American. The only thing that really makes me different from other Native Americans who have been mistreated, had land taken, or been imprisoned by our government, is that it is all a matter or court records in my case. The violation of Constitutional rights has been proven in court. The fabrication of every piece of evidence used to convict me has been proven in court. The United Nations itself, comprised of 193 nations, has called for my release, noting I am a political prisoner. Leonard Peltier's Day of Mourning Statement (PDF Version)
Greetings my relatives, friends, loved ones, and supporters. First, I want to say how deeply grateful I am that you would want to hear what I have to say. It is an honor to be with you in spirit; though I am far away. Being my age and having spent these many years in prison plays on your heart to the nth degree. I am here because I wanted to make a difference for our people, and I want to encourage others to do the same. My heart has not changed, and my intentions have not changed. The love and faith I have in our future generation has not changed. (PDF Version) With a heavy heart, I will say that Eileen Janis was one of my best friends, as were her parents. What I felt when I heard she was in a coma cannot be captured in words. Sadness, surely. A relentless horror that uranium is still taking my people, far too young, while I am trapped in here. An impotent furor that I could not come home to help her.  Statement for the Walkers (PDF Version)
Greetings My Relatives, and I do mean relatives, because in this realm we all share the same Mother. We all share the same challenges of political chaos, climate change and threats to the future of coming generations. I am so at a loss for words and so overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude for your caring about me. Although, I know, in all actuality, I represent what happens and could happen to any of us who stand up to our oppressors. |
