American Indian activist and political prisoner Leonard Peltier
has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for the sixth consecutive
year. Peltier has been an inmate in the United States federal prison
system since 1976, so the fact that he has earned the distinction of a
Nobel nomination every year since 2004 is especially remarkable.
Peltier's unlawful conviction in the deaths of two FBI agents in
South Dakota has long been internationally decried as one of the most
blatant injustices in recent United
States legal history. In the aftermath of his trial, federal
prosecutors were openly excoriated for having manufactured evidence
against Peltier, for having withheld exculpatory evidence, and also for
having coerced witnesses into giving false testimony.
Lynn Crooks, Assistant Special Prosecutor in Peltier's trial, admitted
to a federal judge that 'the government does not know who killed its
agents, nor do we know what participation Leonard Peltier may have had
in it.'
And yet Leonard Peltier has remained a prisoner for more than 33
years. Fifty five United States Senators and Congressional
Representatives (including Democrats and
Republicans) have filed an appeal brief demanding that Peltier receive
a new trial. Amnesty International has repeatedly called for Peltier's
immediate release from prison, governments from all over the world have
passed resolutions insisting that Peltier be released, and a large
contingent of distinguished human rights advocates have been very
outspoken in their strong support for Peltier - including six people
who have already received the Nobel Peace Prize: Nelson Mandela (1993),
Rigoberta Menchú Tum (1992), Mikhail Gorbachev (1990), the 14th Dalai
Lama (1989), Archbishop Desmond Tutu
(1984), and Mother Teresa (1979).
Despite his well known status as a political prisoner, however,
the basis for Peltier's Nobel nominations has been his remarkable
success in furthering the causes of peace and
human rights. During his 33 years of unjust incarceration, Peltier has
worked tirelessly on a multitude of organized efforts to help other
people achieve a more dignified and
humane existence. While the Nobel Committee in Oslo (Norway) requests
that letters of nomination not be made public, it is nonetheless widely
known that Leonard Peltier has facilitated numerous significant
donations to a wide variety of charities and human rights organizations.
Peltier is, of course, not financially wealthy - but he is an
accomplished painter. Often expending his meager prison commissary
account funds on art supplies such as paints, brushes, and canvas, he
produces works of art which are subsequently donated and auctioned.
Peltier has also worked to establish assistance programs for many
underprivileged groups, and he has helped in other ways to fund a
multitude of efforts from scholarships for Native students to shelters
for victims of domestic violence. The Christmas fundraising effort
begun by Peltier more than 25 years ago on the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation in South Dakota (one of the most impoverished places in the
United States) has steadily been expanded and now provides assistance
on at least five different
Indian Reservations ' the families now receiving the benefits of this
annual program number more than one thousand. It is difficult to
determine precisely the sum total of donations and contributions that
Peltier has helped to facilitate, Peltier refuses to boast about his
humanitarian work and many of his projects have not been made public.
It is estimated, however, that the total contributions resulting from
Peltier's work during his 33 year imprisonment extend into the millions
of dollars.
Peltier's long record of human rights advocacy involves more
than raising money. He has written a great deal while in prison,
consistently taking advantage of every opportunity to encourage people
not to harbor resentments, to take care of the environment, and to
treat each other with love and respect. It is no small irony that a
person treated in such an inhumane way should so strongly advocate the
humane treatment of others, that a person so financially impoverished
should help raise such extraordinary amounts of money for others, that
a person with such just cause for bitterness and resentment should
encourage forgiveness, and that a person imprisoned should be one of
America's strongest advocates for freedom.
Peltier's 1999 book Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance
(Saint Martin's Press) continues to be a best seller on many lists. It
is fitting that Leonard Peltier's own words (from his book) should
conclude this official press release: 'We are in this together - the
rich, the poor, the red, the white, the black, the brown, and the
yellow. We are all one family of humankind. We share responsibility
for our Mother Earth and for all those who live and breathe upon her.
I believe our work will be unfinished until not one human being is
hungry or battered, not a single person is forced to die in war, not
one innocent languishes imprisoned, and no one is persecuted for his or
her beliefs. I believe in the good in humankind. I believe that the
good can prevail, but only with great effort. And that effort is ours,
each of ours, yours and mine'.Never cease in the fight for
peace, justice, and equality for all people. Be persistent in all that
you do and don't allow anyone to sway you from your conscience.'
Please join the LP-DOC is congratulating Leonard on this monumental
acheivement!
Write to Leonard Peltier at this address:
Leonard Peltier # 89637-132
USP Lewisburg
PO BOX 1000
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837
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For more information about Leonard Peltier's case, about his
humanitarian work, or about his works of art, please contact his
defense committee at this address:
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
P.O. Box 7488
Fargo, North Dakota 58106
http://whoisleonardpeltier.info/
