seattle indymedia center

February 2, 2007 marked the 31st anniversary of Leonard Peltier's illegal extradition to the United States from Canada using coerced and fraudulent testimony. This was the beginning of his odyssey that resulted in his false conviction for the June 1975 murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Fargo, North Dakota 1977.

On February 10th, supporters from around the Pacific Northwest joined together for a march, demanding freedom for Leonard Peltier.

Matilaja - Master of Ceremonies

Bill Bischel

Arthur J. Miller - Tacoma Leonard Peltier Support Group:

There is a spirit among all people. There is a spirit among the human race. We can only take so much. We can only take so much from these people and we start to fight back. And I don't care about their money and their guns. The purpose of political repression is to stop the struggle. And if we stop struggling, if we stop our culture, our ways, our education to our young, then they win.

[The government is] still holding 140,00 pages [on Leonard Peltier]. That is number that is hard to fathom, that many pages. Why? They say it's in the national interest. [They say Leonard Peltier] is a threat to national security... Well, the thing we need you to do is go home and talk to your friends, your unions, your churches, your tribe, whomever you can talk to and tell them what they are doing to Leonard Peltier is a threat to OUR national security. And we need a homeland security struggle to free Leonard Peltier and kick Bush the hell out of there.

 

People are dying around you because of police brutality, because of the ... hunger for oil by the Bush administration. We have to wake up and we have to teach each other how to communicate to wake others up. This is our responsibility to each other as human beings.

Leonard Peltier represents the injustice this country has done against native people. And has continued to do. We need to teach each other the reality of these injustices... Leonard Peltier, who has served 31 years in prison for an alleged offense of killing two FBI agents. The United States government has admitted in open court they do not know who killed these agents. That is not the reality of what this is all about. This is about the need for the United States government to cover up their own actions against native people during that period of time which we call the reign of terror.

[It was a time] when the United States government, a colonial police force, entered our lands and were responsible for over 60 homicides and 300 assaults. And were responsible again [for] the... taking away of more land. One eighth of the Pine Ridge reservation was handled over to the government during this same time.

We have a right to defend our land. We have a right to defend our freedoms, whatever they may be. Do not allow them [the United States government] to criminalize your rights.

 

Chuck Conway

Kelly White

VIDEO/PHOTOGRAPHS: The video of events are used by supporters around the country. If you have video or photographs, please send copies to:

Tacoma Leonard Peltier Support Group
P.O. BOX 5464
TACOMA, WA 98415-0464
bayou@blarg.net

For up-dates and notices on helping Leonard Peltier please sign up on the NW Peltier Support e-mail list by sending an e-mail to: nwpeltiersupport-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
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Leonard Peltier Defense Committee & Leonard Peltier Legal Team
Bob Robideau- Co-director LPDC Barry Bachrach
Toni Zeidan- Co-director LPDC Mike Kuzma

Email: info@leonardpeltier.net
Phone: 915-533-6655
Website: http://www.leonardpeltier.net/
Freedomwalk: http://www.freedomwalk.com/