Dan first learned of Leonard Peltier while doing research for a college project. He immediately became intrigued by the case and read every book he could get his hands on, deepening his interest in direct involvement. In the early 2000’s, Dan joined the Leonard Peltier Support Group of New York City. As a history major, he wrote his senior thesis on Leonard Peltier. After graduating Kean University, he immediately started working with others on interviewing key people associated with Peltier’s case/story, collecting essential primary sources & documents on the case, and writing articles for various publications including the Toronto Sun, Kean University “Cougar’s Bite” paper, and the forward for Paul Berg’s book entitled “Sandra’s Hands.” To date, he has amassed what Leonard Peltier himself calls the largest collection of documents personally owned (outside of the originals lawyers) in the world. He’s currently working on a collaborative book project with Leonard Peltier as well as other various book projects.

Paulette Dauteuil was involved in revolutionary politics since the mid-60s. She was a member of Venceremos Brigade from Chicago in 1976 and an organizer of Prairie Fire Org. Comm, chapter Los Angeles Ca. 76-79. She became part of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee in LA and, with Robert Robideau, organized the Los Angeles defense trial of Leonard Peltier after his escape from Lompoc Federal Prison. They put together for 3 months 3 defense houses and raised enough money to feed all the Native People and activists who participated during his trial.

She was Office Manager & Editor of “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse” at the Leonard Peltier Defense Comm. in Lawrence KS. and Portland, Or; and recently completed 6 months as Office Manager in the National Office in Fargo, No. Dakota.

Currently a member of the Plaid Dragon Collective (1985-), the former Co-Chair (2010-2012) and National Secretary (2012-2014), and serve on the Advisory Board of the Jericho Movement for Amnesty for Political Prisoners and POW’s. Currently she is doing lobby work in Washington D.C. for Leonard Peltier’s clemency campaign and for treatment of his health issues, and will be doing the same for Jericho Federal Prisoners.

Dawn is an author and artist who lives in Northern California. She has a variety of semi-useful skills, such as how to share a cup of coffee with a camel and the correct manner of cooking with an iron in a federal penitentiary.

Dawn has long advocated for abandoned/neglected children and animals. When she was adopted as a sister by Pedro CrowDog, she learned of Leonard Peltier and was stunned by the injustice.

She is still stunned by the injustice. Dawn has been married and widowed twice, but she did not know what commitment looked like until she met Leonard Peltier. Leonard is principled to the core – that is why he remains imprisoned.

Dawn divides her time between attempting to throw effective fits about the grossest miscarriage of justice in modern history, following through on missions for Leonard, and enjoying the pack of dogs she is fortunate enough to live with. She is also enrolled in Blackstone Paralegal School.

Dawn is Personal Assistant to Leonard Peltier and Executive Assistant to Jenipher Jones, Esq., Leonard’s lead counsel.

Ward Churchill was a member of the Leadership Council of Colorado AIM from 1980-2009 and a national spokesperson for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee during the mid-90s.

The author or editor of more than 20 books and well over a hundred articles, he was professor of American Indian Studies and chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado/Boulder until his retirement in 2007.

Lenny Foster (Navajo), who has served as Leonard Peltier’s spiritual advisor for several decades, submitted a written statement during the two-week-long the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII):

My name is Lenny Foster, and I am of the Towering House clan born for Mountain Cove, originally from Fort Defiance, Arizona. I am a citizen of the Navajo Nation, and I have been a spiritual advisor for Leonard Peltier since March 1985 when I started visiting him at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. My specific duties with him have been conducting sweat lodge ceremonies and pipe ceremonies. My prayers have been to sustain his sanity, for spiritual cleansing and purification, and to help him enhance his humanity and remain spiritually strong.

Opium Sabbah brings a rich and diverse musical legacy to his music. Son of the legendary Cheb i Sabbah, Opium Sabbah was raised listening to the spiritually rich and exotic music of India and North Africa. He watched and listened as his father pioneered a new genre of world music, and was introduced to musicians, vocalists and producers who would later influence his own musical career, such as Shukhwat Ali Khan, Cheb Khaled, Hassan Hakmoun, and many others.

However, growing up in San Francisco, California would introduce Opium Sabbah to Hip-Hop culture, and Rap Music, where Opium first emerged as a graffiti artist, then as an Emcee making waves and an impression on stages in venues from San Francisco to Morocco to India, performing alongside artists such as Raekwon and DJ Quick.

Opium is also the Co-Chair of Oakland Jericho, a national movement helping political prisoners and their families worldwide, as well as Leonard Peltier’s Ad Hoc Committee and Oso Blanco’s C.A.P (Childrens Art Project)

When The Occupation of Wounded Knee and When Leonard Peltier was arrested, llegally Arrested and Extradited from Canada, Brenda was in high school. She has followed AIM and Leonard Peltier’s case since 1973.

Now, she will be able to have a direct impact for Leonard’s Freedom as a member of this Board.

An award-winning journalist, Lori Lovely is a syndicated writer and editor. Her work has appeared in a wide range of local, national and international publications.

After working on a Master’s degree in History, Lovely started a media consulting business and continues to work as an independent freelance writer. She is also the author of a children’s book, Isadora’s Dance.

Caretaker of an historic farm where she raises alpacas and operates a thriving agritourism business, she believes in hard work, honesty, and giving back to the community. A longtime volunteer for several non-profit organizations, Lovely is an AIDServe Superstar Award recipient. In addition, she was a 25-year member of CARA Charities, a member of the Indiana Historical Society and a volunteer for the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Her charitable efforts include animal rescue and volunteering for the Indiana American Indian Association.

I was born in 1947 in Grand Forks, ND. In approximately 1949 I was taken away from my mother, twin brother and nine other siblings and brought to Minneapolis, MN. I was reconnected with my mother, brother and some siblings in or about 1963. I lost touch with family members upon the deaths of my brother, Thomas Carl, in 1965 and my mother, Ana Jettie Robideau, in 1966.

With the efforts of my daughter, Veda, I was re-connected with family members, including Leonard who is the son of my sister Alvina, in 1994. I am a member of the Minnesota Chippewa White Earth Tribe, I moved to Oakland, CA, in 1968 and worked for the Oakland Unified School District for 38 years. I currently live in Fremont, CA.

Donna Wallach has been active with the Leonard Peltier Support Group Silicon Valley, which she helped to co-found, since 1999.

She joined the Ad Hoc Committee in December 2023.