ELL: Why We Should Free Leonard Peltier

Fri Apr 9 16:43:39 UTC 1999

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	      From: "David Harris" <dharris at las-inc.com>
	      To: <president at whitehouse.gov>, <vicepresident at whitehouse.gov>
	      Subject: ELL: Why We Should Free Leonard Peltier
	      Date: Fri, 9 Apr 1999 12:43:39 -0400
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	      -Why We Should Free Leonard Peltier-
	      ---------------------------------
	      Mrs. President and Vice President:

	      I recently viewed a documentary of the events surrounding the
	      killing of two
	      FBI agents on the Pine Ridge reservation which led to the
	      incarceration of
	      Leonard Peltier in the 1970s. If you have not seen it, I highly
	      recommend
	      it. It is called "The Oglala Incident". I had often heard that
	      the methods
	      used to extradite Peltier from Canada were illegal. Now I
	      understand why.
	      The documentary also looked at a couple of key pieces of
	      evidence that were
	      twisted in order to implicate Mr. Peltier, and it demonstrated
	      to my
	      satisfaction that a great injustice was done here. Do I believe
	      we have
	      evidence proving Mr. Peltier's innocence? No. But the evidence
	      which
	      supposedly proves his guilt is full of holes and, were it not
	      for the FBI's
	      having stepped in and controlled every aspect of the trial, he
	      would surely
	      have been acquitted as his two comrades were in a previous trial
	      before he
	      was extradited.

	      Events on the reservation which preceded this incident had the
	      tribal
	      members in fear for their lives. The reservation had the highest
	      murder rate
	      in the state of South Dakota, something like ten times higher
	      than any other
	      area. It was evidently common for hired goons to arrive
	      unexpectedly at a
	      house or group of houses and shoot down defenseless old men and
	      women in
	      order to put fear into the hearts of the traditional Indians who
	      wouldn't go
	      along with the "progressive" agenda of the dictatorial tribal
	      government.
	      One of these "goons" was actually interviewed in the film. The
	      idea that an
	      unrecognized car racing into an area where old folks and
	      children live with
	      no prior warning would put fear into your heart and make you
	      race in to
	      protect your family is not so far fetched considering these
	      factors.

But the important thing to me is this: Peltier's release would be a small
step in the direction of reconciliation with the Sioux - reconciliation
which the vast majority of Americans want. We recognize today how wrong our
ancestors were in their dishonest and brutal treatment of these tribes. The
vast majority of people recognize the importance of preserving this unique
culture and in reaching out to them with the hand of friendship in order to
discover the wealth of wisdom they have to teach us about living more in
tune with the environment so as to preserve it for our children, and living
more in tune with our spirits so as to promote health and happiness in this
era of stress and never htaking enough time for the truly important things.

When Peltier was awaiting the judge's decision, he wrote a letter outlining
the injustices faced by his tribe throughout the history of its association
with the US government from the mass slaughtering of the buffalo to the
Wounded Knee atrocity and on to repeated land grabs up through WWII which
have left the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations bereft of any useful land
from which to gain a living. Based on these prior events, he said, he knew
he would be convicted. The whole trial was a sham.

In weighing the relative advantages and disadvantages to releasing Peltier,
we should ask ourselves these questions:

1- Would Peltier represent a danger to society if released? I believe the
answer to that question is a resounding no. He has not been a violent
in-mate. He has worked hard within the framework of the law and society to
make others aware of his plight. When he is interviewed, he comes across as
bright and articulate. He is not full of vengeance but, instead, calmly
makes a good case for the truth of his assertion that he is innocent despite
having spent in excess of two decades in prison.

2- Would his release help to give the Lakota a sense that we, the white
majority, really do, in this more enlightened age, want them to succeed and
to survive? I believe it would, in combination with other conciliatory acts,
serve this purpose.

3- Would his release enhance our relationship with other countries? Yes. The
European Union has repeatedly spoken out about the injustice of Peltier's
plight. Why would they waste their breath on this issue if they weren't
convinced that his release is justified? Also, it would help Muslims in the
Arab World and other countries to take our role as peace arbiters in the
Israeli-Arab conflict, in Kosovo, and elsewhere more seriously. How can we
expect them to take America seriously when we tell everyone else to respect
minority rights but won't do anything about our own indigenous peoples'
rights?

I recommend this documentary and hope you will watch it. I believe it will
demonstrate to you the need to look into his case more closely in order to
weigh the obvious benefits of granting him a presidential pardon while you
are still in office. I believe, as stated above, that it is in the interest
of the American people to release him and to let him get on with his life.
Holding him for year after year serves no other purpose other than to give
comfort to a few vindictive FBI agents who can't accept the fact that their
two buddies' own foolish and reckless disregard for federal law and their
own lives (they entered the reservation illegally) is in large part
responsible for their needless and senseless deaths.

Sincerely,

David Harris
Herndon, VA

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