2008 Woodie Awards
Peltier - Native American Political Prisoner
Jane Califf, guest commentary
Issue date: 11/7/05 Section: Opinion
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Leonard Peltier, Native American political prisoner, writer and artist, has been illegally incarcerated for 30 years. All over the U.S. and around the world, academic and legal scholars, foreign parliaments and commissions, civil rights leaders and organizations, religious leaders and organizations, Native American and Tribal leaders, writers, artists, musicians, celebrities, unions and associations have called for Mr. Peltier's release from prison - all to no avail.
The Dalai Lama, who recently spoke to a huge audience at the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus, is one of the many who have condemned the jailing of Mr. Peltier.
Since 1992, the People's Fast for Justice has undertaken annual fasts to help bring attention to this tragic failure of the U.S. justice system. Last month, from Oct. 1-12, 14 people from California, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia took in no solid food and drank liquids or only water in order to call attention to Mr. Peltier's plight.
In 1976 Peltier, a member of the Lakota Nation, was unjustly convicted before an all-white jury in North Dakota of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on June 26, 1975.
On Oct. 15, 1985, the government admitted in court that it did not have proof of who killed their agents. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has since said "the prosecution of Mr. Peltier is to be condemned; they [the prosecution] withheld evidence and coerced testimony. These facts are undisputed."
Although Mr. Peltier has been eligible for parole for over 10 years, he has been rejected each time. Before he was jailed, he was a prominent leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM), which advocated for the rights of Native American people. His incarceration was a heavy blow to an already besieged movement.
Despite having great difficulty in obtaining materials, he has been able to paint in jail and to create other objects of art. During his imprisonment, he has written many articles and a book entitled "My Life is My Sundance," which is required reading in some college courses.
Coretta Scott King has written, "Mr. Peltier's unjust incarceration remains a festering sore that impedes better race relations in America. Surely the time has come to promote healing and a spirit of trust and genuine goodwill toward the Indian peoples of America with an act that serves both compassion and justice."
To find out more about the shocking case of Leonard Peltier and what you can do to help gain his release, go to www.leonardPeltier.org or www.freepeltier.org.
Jane Califf is a field and lab program administrator at the Department of Urban Education of R-N.
The Dalai Lama, who recently spoke to a huge audience at the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus, is one of the many who have condemned the jailing of Mr. Peltier.
Since 1992, the People's Fast for Justice has undertaken annual fasts to help bring attention to this tragic failure of the U.S. justice system. Last month, from Oct. 1-12, 14 people from California, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia took in no solid food and drank liquids or only water in order to call attention to Mr. Peltier's plight.
In 1976 Peltier, a member of the Lakota Nation, was unjustly convicted before an all-white jury in North Dakota of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on June 26, 1975.
On Oct. 15, 1985, the government admitted in court that it did not have proof of who killed their agents. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has since said "the prosecution of Mr. Peltier is to be condemned; they [the prosecution] withheld evidence and coerced testimony. These facts are undisputed."
Although Mr. Peltier has been eligible for parole for over 10 years, he has been rejected each time. Before he was jailed, he was a prominent leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM), which advocated for the rights of Native American people. His incarceration was a heavy blow to an already besieged movement.
Despite having great difficulty in obtaining materials, he has been able to paint in jail and to create other objects of art. During his imprisonment, he has written many articles and a book entitled "My Life is My Sundance," which is required reading in some college courses.
Coretta Scott King has written, "Mr. Peltier's unjust incarceration remains a festering sore that impedes better race relations in America. Surely the time has come to promote healing and a spirit of trust and genuine goodwill toward the Indian peoples of America with an act that serves both compassion and justice."
To find out more about the shocking case of Leonard Peltier and what you can do to help gain his release, go to www.leonardPeltier.org or www.freepeltier.org.
Jane Califf is a field and lab program administrator at the Department of Urban Education of R-N.