Does anyone know who Leanord Pelltier is? I saw two of his oil painting in an antique store for $150 a piece. It was in Arkansas while we were travelling. Leanord Pelltier is accused of killing a fed officer at wounded knee, SD almost 30 years ago. He is in jail presently. You can find out more about him if you google his name.
I had never seen the video. Thank you very much for pointing it out. It gave me chills and tears. My children are part French Canuck & Ojibway. [dad's side]. I have always been interested in Wounded Knee. Mr. Pelltier was following in his ancestral footsteps in the second uprising. I have been at the Long walk center in New Mexico where the Navajo have a beautiful peaceful center. You can feel something there. It is in the wind, the earth and trees.
My dad is adopted Lakota. Have you seen "Thunderheart"? It is loosely based on Peltier and the AIM. Stay Brown, Rev J
Yes. I also have the movie, "Bury me at wounded knee" Wonder if our pres would pardon LPelttier? Every president is know for who they pardon. It ends up a controversy. I think he has served enough time. It has gone beyond a sentence, He is now a political prisoner.
I was talking to my dad about that once. The sad thing is that I don't think Peltier will ever be pardoned. If you look at how he was put away by Federal Authorities. These include the FBI and The Secret Service. These people think on one level or another that Peltier did it. These are the same people that guard the President. Then on the other side if he was pardoned do you honestly think the people who worked so hard to fuck him over and put him away will just let him walk. I somehow doubt it. There would probably be a bus accident on his way out of the prison. Then there is a part of me that has to wonder about what would've happened if he didn't go in. Would he still have the power over the outside that he has from the inside. What I mean is that since he has been in there have been hospitals and charities started to help break the cycles of abuse and repression on Indian land established in Peltiers name. The fact that we are still talking about him and what has happened and is still happening is not a bad thing. It prevents these issues from completely dying. It still hurts to know the Hollywood Indian still exists. Think about it this way Lou Diamond Phillips who is Phillipino made his entire career playing Indians. To me this is like Blackface. What you can't find an Indian to play that role? Well actually we've made it kind of hard to find Indians period. Here's another subject that doesn't get talked about. I read an article 10 years ago that stated that the area of the country with the worst gang violence was the Navajo Reservation at the 4 corners of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico meet. The reason being that during the '70s there was a government program that took young Navajo off the Rez, sent them to cities across America and taught them to weld. To survive in the cities alot of them joined gangs. Then instead of employing all of these young Navajo so they could make a decent living they sent them back to the Rez. Back to joblessness and back to poverty with a new set of rituals and a more divided tribe. I'm sorry about getting on a rant and going off topic. Stay Brown, Rev J
Rev JC, I read your above post 2 x and it makes sense and is very good. You have passion about a need and that is always good. I ask people everywhere I go if they know who Leonard Pelltier is? If they don't know I tell them , if they do I ask about LP. You are right, he is doing a lot inside, because we are still discussing him. We have not forgotten. Your "rant" is much needed as it is a way of keeping people thinking. I do the same thing on; advocating for the homeless, Alcoholic Anonymous & open mindedness = Tolerance for all people. Thank YOU.
I vividly remember when the Pine Ridge incident happened. My recollection is that there was a lot of animosity toward the Native side, just as there was animosity toward hippies. It's not surprising that there were convictions based on shoddy and incomplete investigations. I don't pretend to know any more about the particulars of Leonard's case than anyone else, but it always seemed to me that there was enough doubt and enough inconsistencies in the case that there was no way he should have been convicted. If he'd had OJ's attorneys, he would be walking free today. I also think there's one thing we should keep in mind ... somebody shot those agents. We may never know who, exactly. Law enforcement agencies don't like ambiguous cases, however. They want a conviction, especially when it's one of their own who goes down. I don't blame them for that, but I do blame them for accepting less than the truth. I too doubt seriously that Peltier is ever likely to receive any sort of pardon. The FBI is awfully powerful in Washington. J. Edgar Hoover may be long gone, but his legacy still walks the halls as powerfully as he ever did.
The funny thing about that is that if you see the documentary "Incident at Oglala." They interview a man who allegedly confessed to the FBI about the killing. I was at a pow-wow after Clinton refused to pardon Peltier. The MC got up and said, "It's too bad that Leonard Peltier isn't (Mark) Rich enough to be pardoned. Stay Brown, Rev J
