And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
From: "LPDC" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: November Leonard Peltier Freedom Month
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 18:21:19 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
LPDC web site: http://members.xoom.com/freepeltier/index.html
Dear Leonard Peltier supporters,
Below is a letter from Leonard Peltier accompanied by a proposal for
November Leonard Peltier Freedom Month. We will soon be sending out details
as to what we would like to see happen and how you can help. For now,
please let us know if you have any feed back regarding our plans. We
encourage you to copy and distribute this information to other supporters
and organizations who may want to be involved.
Also, don't forget to organize something for Leonard's birthday on September
12, (and the week that follows on campuses) International Day of Outreach
and Fund Drive for the November campaign. Remember, if you are planning
something, let us know asap so we can begin to publicize your events.
Thank you.
In solidarity,
The LPDC staff collective
My Brothers and Sisters,
It is hard for me to believe that the year 2000 is so quickly approaching
us. As I sit in this cell and think about my grandchildren who are growing
up so fast, my friends who have passed on, and the many years of my life
that have been stolen from me, I remind myself of the attention my own
suffering has brought to the realities of Indigenous Peoples everywhere. I
know that my own persecution has become a symbol of the persecution all of
our people face everyday.
But, I have not given up hope for freedom. Today I am asking you to stand
up and represent me and everything I am so proud of, the dignity,
spirituality, and pride of the First Nations Peoples of the world.
My dream is to continue what the Trail of Broken Treaties started; an event
that will have a historical and lasting effect in the minds and
consciousness of the public. We are hoping to carry out such an event this
November in Washington DC. November will be a critical time for my freedom
campaign.
This December will be Clinton's last likely chance to grant me Executive
Clemency. My defense team will have been steadily lobbying Congress to
support clemency for two months prior to the event. Therefore, November
will be an important time for a strong show of public support. The irony is
that at the same time, "Native American Heritage Month" and the Thanksgiving
holiday will be occurring and will be bringing additional attention of
Native Americans into the public, making November an important month to
bring real issues of Indigenous Peoples of the U.S. into the limelight of
the media.
I believe that we can accomplish a successful campaign to do this if we all
pull our resources together. I can visualize all the colors of our Native
Nations' flags flying high around a culturally brilliant and attention
attracting event in front of the White House this Fall. The thought of
different Indigenous Nations coming together in unity to support
sovereignty, human rights, dignity, cultural preservation, and my freedom,
warms my heart. Please read the proposal attached to find out more about
our plans and how you can help. Thank you.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
LEONARD PELTIER FREEDOM MONTH PROPOSAL
November 1999 Washington D.C.
We, the members of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, are writing to ask
for your support, endorsement and collaboration regarding our plans for a
November 1999 - Leonard Peltier Freedom Month in Washington D.C. As you
know, Mr. Peltier is a Native American leader who has been unjustly
incarcerated for 23 years in the United States. FBI documents released years
after his trial, together with other sources, have proved that critical
ballistic evidence establishing his innocence was withheld from the defense,
and that witnesses were terrorized into giving false testimonies against
him. Though long overdue for parole, and in deteriorating health, Mr.
Peltier remains in prison. Amnesty International and numerous other human
rights organizations have recognized him as a political prisoner and
demanded his immediate and unconditional release. In 1991, over 300
representatives of First Nations, Black and Popular Movements from Alaska to
the Tierra del Fuego, gathered in Xelaju (Guatemala) for the 500 Year
Continental campaign. They recognized Leonard Peltier as the symbol of
Indigenous Resistance and his call for freedom is supported by numerous
Indigenous organizations worldwide and has repeatedly been a major concern
in the frame work of the United Nations - International Decade for the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
It is clear that the judicial system in the United States has utterly failed
Mr. Peltier, and thus, indirectly, all of the American people. We recognize
that we must now demand justice from the other two branches of our
government, specifically, the executive and legislative branches. President
Clinton has the power to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier at any time, and
the United States Congress is charged with overseeing the correct conduct of
affairs by such agencies as the United States Parole Board, and the FBI.
Even misconduct by the courts is subject to comment and review by the
Congressional judiciary committee.
In order to obtain action and justice from these offices, all sectors of
society, both domestic and international, must make themselves heard, all
with the same message, and all at the same time. This will require an
enormous amount of public education as well as coordination. For this
reason, we are seeking your assistance for our November 1999 - Leonard
Peltier Freedom Month in Washington D.C..
As we all know, November is the month of Thanksgiving in the United States.
According to historical legend, the first Thanksgiving was held by the
pilgrims to give thanks to God for their very survival in North America.
They had been saved from starvation by kindly Native Americans who taught
them about local crops and wildlife. The pilgrims, in turn, thanked the Lord
and exterminated the tribes. Leonard Peltier is but one more of the most
recent victims. As people this year sit down to their feasts, surrounded by
friends and family, we plan for them to think carefully about the treatment
of all Native Americans, and in particular about Leonard Peltier, alone in
his prison cell.
November has also been declared Native American Heritage month by President
Clinton, and we plan to hold him to his word. Traditionally, Clemency
Petitions are granted by the President at the end of each year. November
will thus be a critical month. Moreover, the Parole Board could reconsider
Leonard's parole situation in the early spring, making a November action
extremely timely.
Our actions on behalf of Leonard Peltier will be very strong, but
non-violent in all ways, as requested by Mr. Peltier himself. We will ask
all sectors of society to join us in Washington D.C. for as long as they are
able to arrange. The event will begin on November 1, 1999, with Native
American ceremonial runners at the historical Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
After a speech and prayer session there, they will run all the way to the
White House in Washington D.C., where they will be met by all local
supporters, and a religious leaders of high standing, such as Bishop Desmond
Tutu, together with a Native American religious leader of equal standing.
Together they will welcome the runners, and officially open Leonard Peltier
Freedom Month. We plan to erect ceremonial teepees behind the White House
for the month, and conduct a Native American ceremony in front of the White
House each and every morning, inviting public attendance. Meanwhile, ten
young Native Americans will carry out a Freedom Fast for Peltier in front of
the White House from November 1 through Thanksgiving day itself,
underscoring the urgent need to grant him justice at last.
Additionally we are asking for cultural activities including dancing,
drumming, and singing from different Indigenous nations to represent the
pride for Native tradition and culture that Mr. Peltier has always
advocated. We will also invite all peoples of all races to carry out support
activities, both in Washington and at home. Such activities could include
such educational efforts as a reenactment of the massacre of Wounded Knee in
key public parks and other symbolic places.
Throughout the month, Mr. Peltier's family and friends will work carefully
with Congressional offices, and there will also be carefully coordinated
with the domestic press corps. For those who cannot travel to Washington
D.C., a coordinated and massive telephone campaign to the White House will
be organized.
Our goals are both educational and political. The true facts of the Leonard
Peltier case are well known and notorious abroad, but have been heavily
censored within the United States. We must teach the American people what
had truly taken place, and urge them to speak out. Most importantly we must
bring these facts to members of the United States Congress. They alone can
bring the appropriate and effective pressure to bear, both upon President
Clinton as well as the Board of Parole and the FBI itself.
Please give us your full support. Leonard Peltier is a gifted native
American leader who still has much to give his people. 23 years of his life
have been taken away and his health is beginning to fail. Please help him to
obtain justice and freedom for him so that he can continue to give his gifts
to us all.
We are asking you to help Leonard Peltier by endorsing this event, sending
letters or resolutions to U.S. officials urging immediate and unconditional
release of Leonard Peltier, sending representatives of your nation to carry
out traditional, cultural, and spiritual activities in honor of Leonard
Peltier, sending delegations to Washington DC next November. If you are
able to contribute in any of the above ways, please contact the as soon as
possible. Thank you.
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
PO Box 583
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-842-5774
