The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
It seems like it’s been a long time, but Leonard Peltier is back in the spotlight for a couple of reasons.
Peltier, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, who is now 79, is serving two consecutive life sentences in a Florida prison for his role in a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation that left two federal agents dead.
First of all, he was recently denied parole from the prison that is approximately 70 miles northeast of Tampa. He has now been in prison for more than 29 years and there are numerous organizations that consider him a political prisoner.
One of the organizations that has been sympathetic to Peltier’s prison sentence, is the Assembly of First Nations. It was announced on July 16 that the assembly has reversed 37 years of support because of an alleged role Peltier played in the interrogation of murdered activist Anna May Pictou Aquash.
Aquash, 30, was killed by a gunshot in December 1975 and her body was later found at the bottom of a bluff in the Black Hills two months later, but authorities didn’t file an indictment until March 2003.
Two American Indian Movement members, Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham, were convicted in the death of Aquash. Peltier was an AIM leader and was said to support and protect the traditional people being targeted for violence on Pine Ridge before his imprisonment.
Family and friends of Aquash have always maintained that Peltier played a role in her interrogation, whom Peltier suspected of being an informant.
The murder of Aquash continues to create paranoia and remains manifested in mystery, particularly because the law isn’t 100 percent positive who ordered her killing. Looking Cloud and Graham were convicted, but family members of Aquash believe Peltier was the mastermind behind it.
Last October, 30 members of Congress wrote to President Joe Biden requesting clemency for Peltier because of perceived constitutional violations and prosecutorial misconduct during the investigation and Peltier’s trial.
And because Peltier was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta and extradited to the United States to stand trial, the Assembly of First Nations has had a resolution saying Peltier’s extradition was gained through fraudulent affidavits in violation of an extradition treaty between the United States and Canada.
Peltier was tried in 1977 in Fargo and a jury convicted him of the murders of the two agents, but federal prosecutors later changed his charges to aiding and abetting.
Last October, when Peltier turned 79, the Rapid City Journal published a photo of hundreds of demonstrators outside the White House with many holding a large banner that said “Enough is Enough, Free Leonard Peltier.”
Moira Meltzer-Cohen, an attorney for Peltier, told the Journal that Peltier is now dealing with some health issues including diabetes and a heart condition, has certainly been punished for his role in the murders of the two federal agents and has always maintained his innocence.
However, the FBI opposes freedom for Peltier. In a June 7 letter to the U.S. Parole Commission, the FBI called him a remorseless killer whose legal arguments are unfounded and debunked.
It’s unclear what the resolution by the Assembly of First Nations will do in the fight to get parole for Peltier. More importantly, the assembly withdrew it’s support of Peltier out of compassion for the family of Aquash, who continue to believe that proper justice wasn’t served after her death.
The resolution, signed on July 9, reads in part, “it is a strong first step to bring truth and healing for survivors and families.”
In another recent development, attorneys for Peltier have filed a new round of Freedom of Information Act requests with FBI Headquarters and FBI field offices in an attempt to secure release of all files relating to Peltier.
(Marvin Baker is a news writer for the Kenmare News and formerly Foster County Independent.)
