American Indian Movement (AIM), an Indigenous rights movement committed to uniting all Native Peoples in an effort to uplift their communities and promote cultural pride and sovereignty. In the fall of 1972, Leonard Peltier participated in the Trail of Broken Treaties March in Washington, DC which presented the federal government with a 20-point proposal for improving U.S.-Indian relations. The proposal demanded the restoration of their constitutional treaty-making powers and recognition of the sovereignty of Indian nations. That march was also met with violence by the forces of the state. A few weeks later, Peltier was falsely accused of the attempted murder of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin police officer. He spent five months in jail before AIM was able to raise his bail. Recognizing that there was no way for him to receive a fair trial, he went underground. He spent the next two years traveling to various Indian reservations, participating in direct actions, spiritual ceremonies, and leading security teams. Starting in 1973, the people at Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota were victims of ongoing violence from agents of the state as well as a group of Indian vigilantes. In June 1975, Leonard and other AIM members went to Pine Ridge to protect the people and provide various kinds of community service. On June 26, 1975, there was a shootout between the people and the FBI, leaving two FBI agents and one Indian dead. Leonard Peltier was arrested in Canada on February 6, 1976, along with Frank Blackhorse, a.k.a. Frank Deluca. The United States presented the Canadian court with affidavits signed by Myrtle Poor Bear who said she was Mr. Peltier’s girlfriend and allegedly saw him shoot the agents. In fact, Ms. Poor Bear had never met Mr. Peltier and was not present during the shootout. Soon after, Ms. Poor Bear recanted her statements and said the FBI threatened her and coerced her into signing the affidavits. A trial was held in North Dakota in 1977 consisting of the usual mix of lies and constitutional rights violations that are typical when our freedom fighters are confronted by the state. Leonard has spent much of the past 44 years held in solitary confinement in federal prisons. All legal appeals against his conviction have been exhausted. His most recent petition for release on parole was denied in 2009; he will not be eligible for parole again until 2024, when he will be 79 years old. He has received much support from around the world with people demanding his release. There was a well-organized effort to get President Barack Obama to grant Leonard clemency before he
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By Any Means Necessary