INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SOLIDARITY WITH LEONARD PELTIER Feb. 4, 2011 Fliers and Info

Nov. 22, 2011 Zinelibrary.info

As individual fingers we can easily be broken, but all together we make a
mighty fist. -- Sitting Bull

INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SOLIDARITY WITH LEONARD PELTIER
NW REGIONAL MARCH AND RALLY FOR CLEMENCY FOR LEONARD PELTIER
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY, 4, 2012, TACOMA, WA.

12:00 NOON: MARCH FOR JUSTICE Portland Ave. Park (on Portland Ave. between
E. 35th & E. Fairbanks. Take Portland Ave. exit off I-5 and head east)

1:00 PM: RALLY FOR JUSTICE U.S. Federal Court House, 1717-Pacific Ave.

This march is answering the call by LPDOC for marches and rallies on Feb.
4, 2012 Internationally in support of clemency for Leonard Peltier. Of all
the regional marches in Tacoma, 16 since 1992, this is the most important
one yet. The New Leonard Peltier Clemency Campaign is building and we need
to show public support. If you are a regular supporter, please join us
again. If you are a new supporter, who has thought about supporting
Leonard, now is the time to do it. We need all of you.

SPEAKERS:

Co-MCs

Matilaja: Yu’Pik Eskimo from Mountain Village Alaska. Member of N.W. AIM
since 1973, Friend of Leonard Peltier for 38 odd years and member of
Tacoma Chapter LPDOC

Steve Hapy: Long time Leonard Peltier and Native struggles activist,
Tacoma Chapter LPDOC

Drum:

Albert Combs and Coastal Hand Drum Singers

Welcoming:

Deeahop Conway, Puyallup Tribal member, Tacoma Chapter LPDOC Leonard's
case and up-date;

Arthur J. Miller: Northwest Regional Organizer LPDOC, Tacoma Chapter
LPDOC, long time union member and human rights activist

Keynote Speaker:

Ramona Bennett: Puyallup Tribal Elder, Life long friend of Leonard
Peltier, Grand Mother, Great Grand Mother

Chester Earl: Puyallup Tribal member

Zoltan Grossman: Evergreen State College faculty in Geography and Native
Studies, in Olympia. former board member of Midwest Treaty Network in
Wisconsin.

Closing words:

David Duenas: Puyallup Tribal Member

CAR POOLS: OLYMPIA: There will be a carpool leaving from the parking lot
at Harrison and Division at 10:15 am. PORTLAND, meet up outside of KBOO
Radio Station (20 SE 8th, Portland, OR 97124) before embarking to Tacoma
between 9:00-9:30am.SEATTLE CAR POOL: Meet at the Red Apple parking lot at
23rd and Jackson by the bus stop. Will be leaving at 10:30 am

We need new banners and signs. We need video of this event to use for
support work. We need supporters to copy and share this flier to get out
to as many people possible. We need people to forward our e-mail
statements. We need people to share on facebook information on the march.
Our marches are not about one group but rather they are the work of all
Peltier supporters in our region.

RESOLUTIONS FOR CLEMENCY: Leonard needs resolutions for clemency from
Tribes, Unions, Human Rights Organizations and others. See a sample
resolution at:

http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/resolution.htm

For donations: Please make checks payable to the Leonard Peltier
Defense/Offense Committee (mark them for NW March) and send them to:
Tacoma Chapter LPODC, P.O. Box 5464, Tacoma, WA 98415.
Join Tacoma Chapter LPDOC on facebook at: http://facebook.com/tacoma.lpdoc

Subscribe to: Northwest Peltier Support at:
nwpeltiersupport-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
For more information: www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

TACOMA CHAPTER, LPDOC, P.O. BOX 5464, TACOMA, WA 98415-0464. bayou@blarg.net

Fliers and info to download:

http://zinelibrary.info/files/Peltier_March_2011.pdf

http://zinelibrary.info/files/Peltier_March_2001_info.pdf

http://zinelibrary.info/files/Portland_Peltier_Flier.pdf

http://zinelibrary.info/files/peltier_flier2011.pdf

Underreported Struggles #55, October 2011

By Ahni Nov 1, 2011 Intercontinental Cry

In this month's Underreported Struggles: Q'eqchi community destroyed by
police, security forces in Guatemala; Tanzania government grants land
title deed to the Hadzabe; Burma's president suspends work on the
controversial Myitsone dam; Elder Mamos express profound concern over
proposed 'eco-friendly' hotel on sacred lands.

Israel's adoption of the controversial "Prawer Plan" earlier this month
has set the stage for the seizure of more than two-thirds of the Bedouin's
total land base in the Negev desert; the destruction of 37 Bedouin
villages; and the forced relocation of the indigenous inhabitants to an
area beside a garbage dump. The first phase of the eviction is expected to
begin as early as January 2012.

On October 26, the entire Q'eqchi community of Paraná was destroyed by the
Guatemalan police and private security forces in Panzos, Alta Verapaz,
Guatemala. According to Guatemala Solidarity Project, the attack was
directly overseen by a wealthy biofuels investor: Carlos Widmann, brother
in law of ex-President Oscar Berger. All houses in the community were
destroyed in the attack.

In an historical event, the Tanzania government has offered a traditional
land certificate to the Hadzabe, an Indigenous People that even now, some
believe to be extinct. The move, hailed by the villagers and supporting
organizations, will ensure land tenure for the nomadic tribe. This is the
first time in Tanzania's history the government has provided a land
certificate to a "minority tribe".

A United Nations expert has urged Norway to reject the proposal by one of
its parties to repeal key laws and policies designed to protect indigenous
groups, saying its approval would represent an "enormous setback for the
recognition and protection of human rights in the country." The proposal
would take away many of the land ownership, self-determination and
protection rights of the Sami people, Norway’s largest indigenous group,
which also inhabits parts of Sweden, Finland and Russia.

Hondeklipbaai, a small community located on the northwest coast of South
Africa, is trying to stop the world's largest diamond mining company from
getting out of its promise to rehabilitate the land it has exploited for
almost 80 years. De Beers is trying to sell the mine to a consortium led
by Trans Hex Diamonds. However, the community of Hondeklipbaai says Trans
Hex simply doesn't have the financial clout to carry out a rehabilitation
programme of this magnitude.

The Elder "Mamos" or Spiritual leaders of the Sierra Nevada de Santa
Marta, have expressed profound concern over plans to build a new
seven-star hotel on their ancestral land within the Tayrona National Park
in northern Colombia. The Mamos warn that the site for the proposed hotel
is located on sacred lands that are supposed to be held inviolate.

Indonesian forces opened fire on the Third Papuan People's Congress,
dispersing the peaceful gathering that had attracted thousands of Papuans
to Jayapura city, the capital of West Papua. Thankfully, the "tough
response" seems to have backfired. As noted by New Matilda, the
indiscriminate repression has served well to strengthen the Papuan voice
and attract much needed support from around the world.

Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), a massive iron ore mining company based in
Australia, is trying to get out of a state order that forces the company
to protect any burial sites they encounter on Yindjibarndi lands in
Western Australia's Pilbara region. The company also wants to avoid its
legal obligation to consult the Yindjibarndi. "There are 250 [sites] or
more in this country, some very important places for our religious
ceremonies," says Michael Woodley, chief executive of the Yindjibarndi
Aboriginal Corporation (YAC). Any number of those sites could be at risk.

Indigenous Peoples and supporting NGOs are calling on Philippines
President Aquino to take back his decision to let mining companies fund
and organize their own private militias to secure their operations. In no
uncertain terms, It is the indigenous peoples and rural communities that
are in dire need of protection from violence and attacks, not mining
corporations.

In the last 6 weeks, Moroccan police forces have brutally assaulted
peacefully-protesting Saharawis on two separate occasions, injuring men,
women, and children. For the past 36 years, the Saharawis, Western
Sahara’s indigenous population, have been forced to endure illegal
colonization, resource theft, abuse and discrimination by Morocco, as well
as nearly twenty years of waiting for a referendum on the status of
Western Sahara as promised by the UN. The ongoing conflict gets little
international exposure, since Morocco maintains a virtual media blackout
in the occupied region and has banned NGOs from operating there.

For the first time in 300 years, a sacred place near the Mohawk River is
back in the hands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. The Cohoes Falls
property, as it's commonly known, is a key site in the story of the Great
Peacemaker, Deganawida, the visionary who formulated the Great Law of
Peace or Kaiienerekowa.

The recently-elected government of Papua New Guinea has promised to get
rid of all draconian amendments to the Environment Act and restore the
rights of the country's indigenous landowners. The controversial
amendments were a not-so-subtle attempt by the previous administration to
stop a lawsuit against the equally-controversial plan to dump mine waste
off the Rai coast.

Armed with bows and arrows, the Ache community of Chupa Pou has
successfully removed a large group of Brazilian farmers from their
ancestral lands in eastern Paraguay, near the border with Brazil.
Fortunately, there are no reports of bloodshed and the farmers left
without any resistance; however, the farmers have said they will return to
the Ache's land.

The expansion of coal mining operations in Jharkhand's Northern Karanpura
Valley poses a major threat to the region's Indigenous population, their
local environment and a precious cultural heritage that dates back more
than 8,000 years. According to FIAN International, more than twenty new
coal mines have been slated for the valley.

Two Saami communities have said they will do everything in their power to
stop a mining company from exploiting their internationally-protected
lands in Northern Sweden. The Saami communities of Girjas and Laevas
recently found out that Kiruna Iron AB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the
Australian company Scandinavian Resources Ltd., wants to develop two iron
mines in the Kalix River Valley. Both of the proposed mine sites are
located within the Saami's nationally-recognized reindeer herding grounds
and the European Union's Natura 2000 ecological network of protected
areas.

Hundreds of Namibians welcomed the return of 20 skulls that were taken to
Germany during the Herero and Namaqua Genocide more than a century ago.
Sadly, the return did not include any kind of apology or reparations from
the German government, even though it was more than called for: The
skulls, uncovered from German medical archives in 2008, were used to
investigate the rather absurd theory of white supremacy by Eugen Fischer,
teacher of the infamous Nazi physician Josef Mengele.

Burma's president unexpectedly suspended construction of the controversial
Myitsone dam project "to respect the will of the people". The dam, located
in one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots, would have displace
12,000 people and irreversibly affect Burma’s central river system and
rice-growing area.
Featured Article

!!!This land is ours!!! A tale of land theft through violence and laws -
In this guest article, Frauke Decoodt examines the ever-growing land
rights struggle of the Maya-Ixil Peoples in Guatemala. The Ixil's
ancestral land was usurped by the State government in 1984 during the
genocide in Guatemala; however, it was not until May 2011, when a
government representative told them they were living on 'state property',
that the Ixil understood the scope of the historical theft. Now, the Ixil
are doing everything in their power to right the historical wrong and
restore their land rights.
Videos of the Month

We struggle but we eat fruit - a loving portrait of the Ashaninka Peoples
and their efforts to protect their threatened forest lands and preserve
their way of life.

Cycles of the Element - an upcoming documentary film about the effects of
colonization on indigenous nations, and how to spark change from within to
rise above it.


Strategies of Struggle from Below - an experimental documentary exploring
diverse forms of social organization throughout the beautiful, unique but
complex country of Colombia.

Blood in the Mobile - a 2010 documentary film that exposes the connection
between mobile phones and Democratic Republic of Congo's bloody civil war.

Indigenous US activist Peltier wins rights prize

(AFP) Sept 6, 2011

MONTEVIDEO — Leonard Peltier, an indigenous rights activist jailed in the United States for decades, has received the first Mario Benedetti Foundation international human rights prize, the group said Monday.

The group called Peltier, a Native American activist convicted in 1977 for the murder of two US FBI agents, the longest serving political prisoner in the Americas. The case stemmed from a shootout at a reservation in the US state of South Dakota.

"Leonard Peltier, who on September 12, 2011 will turn 67, has spent more than half his life in prison. He is a symbol of resistance to repressive state policies by the United States, where there are people in jail for ethnic, racial, ideological and religious reasons," a foundation statement said.

Ricardo Elena, a member of the foundation's honorary board, said Peltier's case "is one that is repeated over and over: violation (of rights); persecution, eviction, invasion and expropriation of the indigenous people from the time it was 'discovered' until now.

"It did not just happen in the United States; it is happening in southern South America with the (indigenous) Mapuche people, and with indigenous people in North America," he stressed.

Peltier, whose family is indigenous Chippewa and Lakota, fled to Canada after the shooting and was later extradited. He was convicted in part based on the testimony of a woman, Myrtle Poor Bear, who claimed she was his girlfriend and witnessed the shootings. Poor Bear however admitted later she was pressured to make the testimony, but a judge blocked her testimony.

Elena took a swipe at the United States saying it "likes to think it is the seat of democracy, but it has political prisoners just like a dictatorship might have."

The Mario Benedetti Foundation was set up to support human rights and cultural causes in synch with the work of the Uruguayan writer who died in 2009.

Police used excessive force on San Francisco Peaks defenders

Protest Halts Snowbowl Waste water Pipeline Construction End Destruction
and Desecration of Holy San Francisco Peaks

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News June 19, 2011

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Navajos and others defending sacred San Francisco
Peaks said police used excessive force on those taking action to defend
the Peaks from the use of sewage water for snowmaking on the mountain.
Native American medicine men conduct ceremonies on the mountain, and
gather herbs for healing ceremonies, on the Peaks, long sacred to 13 area
American Indian Nations.

"Those who cut us out endangered our well being ignoring the screams to
stop. They treated our bodies the way they’re treating this holy mountain.
If they had their way, we wouldn’t even exist. There is more danger in
doing nothing. To idly stand by and allow this destruction and desecration
is to allow cultural genocide," said one of the young woman who locked
down.

At sunrise on Thursday, June 16, 2011, more than a dozen people stopped
ski area construction on the Holy San Francisco Peaks. Six individuals
used various devices to lock themselves to heavy machinery and to each
other inside the waste water pipeline trench, the six arrested said in a
statement released Sunday, June 19.

Kristopher Barney, Dine’ (Navajo) and one of the six who locked himself to
an excavator stated, “This is a continuation of years of prayers and
resistance. It is our hope that all Indigenous Peoples, and all others,
throughout the North, East, South and West come together to offer support
to the San Francisco Peaks and help put a stop to Snowbowl's plan to
further destroy and desecrate such a sacred, beautiful and pristine
mountain!”

“What part of sacred don’t they understand? Through our actions today, we
say enough! The destruction and desecration has to end!” said Marlena
Teresa Garcia, 16, a young Diné woman and one of the six who chose to lock
down. “The Holy San Francisco Peaks is home, tradition, culture, and a
sanctuary to me, and all this is being desecrated by the Arizona Snowbowl
Ski Resort. So now I, as a young Diné woman, stand by Dook’o’osliid’s side
taking action to stop cultural genocide. I encourage all indigenous youth
to stand against the desecration that is happening on the Holy San
Francisco Peaks and all other sacred sites," said Garcia after being
arrested and released.

Those arrested decribed the action and excessive police force in their
statement released Sunday:

A banner was hung on the side of the trench that read “Defend the Sacred!”
where two protesters were locked together. Over the half mile of open
construction, the group chanted, “Protect Sacred Sites, Defend Human
Rights!”, “No desecration for recreation!” “Stop the cultural genocide!
Protect the Peaks!” and “Human health over corporate wealth."

“This waste water pipeline will poison the environment and to children who
may eat snow made from it. Snowbowl plans to spray millions of gallons of
waste water snow, which is filled with cancer causing and other harmful
contaminants, as well as clear-cut over 30,000 trees. The Peaks are a
pristine and beautiful place, a fragile ecosystem, and home to rare and
endangered species of plants and animals,” said Evan Hawbaker, one of the
protesters who locked themselves to the excavator.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Forest Service, the City of
Flagstaff Mayor and Council, and the Arizona Department of Environmental
Quality are all responsible for permitting Snowbowl to endanger public
health, destroy the environment, and desecrate the Holy Peaks,” said Nadia
del Callejo, one of the protesters who locked themselves in the trench.

“Throughout history, acts of resistance and civil disobedience have been
taken by young and old against injustices such as this. This action is not
isolated but part of a. continued resistance to human rights violations,
to colonialism, to corporate greed, and destruction of Mother Earth,”
added Del Callejo.

A separate group of supporters, some wearing hazmat suits, “quarantined”
the entrance to Snowbowl Road. Banners were stretched across the road that
read “Protect Sacred Sites” and “Danger! Health Hazard - Snowbowl."

Shortly after initiating the action, a Snowbowl security guard spotted two
people locked to an excavator. By 6:00 a.m. more than 15 armed agents,
including the Coconino County Sheriff’s Department, City of Flagstaff
Police, and the FBI stormed the mountain.

At approximately 7:30 a.m., the Flagstaff Fire Department, assisted by
County Sheriffs, started aggressively cutting two people from the
excavator.

“We took every possible measure to ensure our safety. Our actions were
taken to safeguard Indigenous Peoples’ cultural survival, our community’s
health and this sensitive mountain ecosystem. Those who cut us out
endangered our well being ignoring the screams to stop. They treated our
bodies the way they’re treating this holy mountain. If they had their way,
we wouldn’t even exist. There is more danger in doing nothing. To idly
stand by and allow this destruction and desecration is to allow cultural
genocide," said one of the young woman who locked down.

“The police's use of excessive force was in complete disregard for my
safety. They pulled at my arms and forced my body and head further into
the machine, all the while using heavy duty power saws within inches of my
hand,” said Hawbaker.

After being cut out, the two were treated by paramedics and arrested for
trespassing. The police, firefighters, and paramedics then proceeded to
cut two people locked in a nearby trench.

Extraction took about forty minutes and the two were immediately seen by
paramedics after being unlocked. One of the individuals sustained injuries
to their arm from abusive force. Both were charged with trespassing, with
an added charge of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor," for one
of the individuals. Police proceeded to unlock the last group who was also
inside the trench nearby.

"Our only offense was resistance; resistance of the implications that's
Snowbowl's development exudes. The police's defense was to implement
tactics of fear to reach a goal, essentially to continue construction as
soon as possible. Our safety was prioritized second to Snowbowl's demands.
I was one of the demonstrators in the trench, locked at the neck with a
partner. I was not aggressive. My lock was sawed through, inches away from
both of our heads, secured solely and recklessly by the hands of a deputy.
During the process, we were repeatedly asked to chant to reaffirm our
consciousness. The police's response was hasty, taking about ten minutes
in total--it was dehumanizing," said Haley Sherwood, one of the last
protester to be cut out.

Both women were also seen by paramedics. One was sent to the hospital for
heat exhaustion although she denied feeling dehydrated. She started to
faint during the extraction when police, EMTs, and firefighters attempted
to force the pair to stand and move them from their location. Both women
repeatedly expressed that they were being hurt and choked by law
enforcement officers and firefighters. Both of the protesters were
arrested for trespassing, with additional charges to one of them for
“contributing to the delinquency of a minor” and “endangerment."

Four of the protesters were taken to County Jail. The two young people
were taken to Coconino County Juvenile Detention Center. FBI agents
attempted to question four of those arrested.

As word spread about the demonstration to protect the Peaks, overwhelming
support and solidarity poured in from throughout the community and
internationally.

Bail was raised shortly after the arrests. All demonstrators were released
by 3:30 p.m. Three of the protesters, including Marlena Teresa Garcia,
immediately filed a report for excessive use of force after being
released.

“How can we be trespassers on our Holy Site?” questioned Barney. “I do not
agree with these and the other charges, we will continue our resistance.”

----------------
Press contact for those defending San Francisco Peaks:
Contact: Beth Lavely Tel: 928.254.1064 protectpeaks@gmail.com

AIM Women's Leadership: Infiltration and stalking by US agents

Nov. 26, 2010

Women in the American Indian Movement share the stories of their lives

By Brenda Norrell

Censored News

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com

SAN FRANCISCO -- Women in the American Indian Movement shared stories of lives lived with great courage, as federal agents stalked them and attempted to intimidate them, during the AIM International Conference this week.
The AIM Women’s Leadership panel brought together five AIM women to share their life stories. Anne Begay, Navajo, was among them. Begay is the mother of Kathy Peltier, the daughter of Leonard Peltier.
Begay spoke of her Dine’ family, a medicine family of men and women medicine people, who provided her with a childhood of structure, rich with history and culture.
After returning from the Longest Walk in 1978, Begay took her daughter Kathy to the park one day. Her daughter was about two years old at the time.
“This gentleman sat down next to me, with shiny shoes.”

He began to question her.
“Who’s her father?”
“None of your business,” Begay told him. He persisted with his questions and referred to the murder of Anna Mae Aquash.
He said, “Well, we know who you are. And if you’re smart, you’ll know what we did to Anna Mae can happen to your daughter too.”
“So, for all those years, it has been terrifying,“ Begay said, “to know that they can do that to my daughter.”
Speaking on the panel, Yvonne Swan, Colville from Washington State, spoke of being under government surveillance in the 1970s, because Leonard Peltier was her friend, and Bill Kunstler was her lawyer.
Swan spoke of learning to become aware of the men “with shiny shoes,” and men in suits, parked in unmarked cars. She trained her children to watch for these men, and once her son was grabbed by one of them, but was able to get away.
During her fight against corporate mining, she also watched for those federal agents that stalked members of the American Indian Movement.
“The government is merely a screen for the rich corporations,” Swan said. “They have the money to buy people off, they have the money to send people in to disrupt.
“But don’t ever underestimate the power of the people.”
Opening the panel discussion, Swan said the voices on the panel were coming from the hearts and spirits of the women.
“We’re survivors of abuse as women, as is Mother Earth, as is Grandmother Moon.”
Speaking of the importance of the American Indian Movement, Swan said she takes her actions seriously and holds herself accountable.
“We’re caretakers, we are up against the destroyers.”
“We are told to not take more than we need, because there are future generations that are coming that will be hungry.”
Swan pointed out that the Six Nations model of governance became the model for the US Bill of Rights. However, the US removed the aspects of the Six Nations governance that gave US women power and leadership. Ultimately, the US tortured and imprisoned women in the US as they fought for their right to vote.

Swan also pointed out the role of the Pope that resulted in American Indians being called “Savages.”
Madonna Thunderhawk, Lakota, said the struggles are intergenerational, the struggles for the “land, water, our people, the children.”
“The work continues, the struggle continues.”
Thunderhawk said she has continued to struggle since the 1960s in South Dakota, because this is what the movement taught her.
“I learned not to just sit back and complain.”
Thunderhawk said she appreciated seeing the youths present at the conference, and that Clyde Bellecourt’s talks always fire her up.
Corine Fairbanks of Santa Barbara, Calif., AIM, spoke of watching out for personal egos and those on Facebook who pose as traditional Indians, but are actually New Agers. Fairbanks also spoke of disruptions, with people carrying out the work of federal agents by spreading negative comments.
Speaking on infiltration, Fairbanks pointed out that even small groups of peace activities are targeted for infiltration by US agents.
Morning Star Gali, Pit River, born in the AIM Oakland house, said organizing within the movement has been an honor.
“For me, the movement was always grounded in a place of spirituality and love, that was the movement I was raised in.”
Morning Star spoke of bullying and abuse. She encouraged women to support one another.
“We’re survivors, we’re survivors of rape, we’re survivors of abuse.”
.

Watch this webcast, recorded live by Earthcycles. Women's panel begins at time: 1:54:00 on this video:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11046674
Read about the case that led to Yvonne Swan Wanrow becoming a hero for women and Indian rights, in a case involving the sexual abuse of children:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yvonne_Wanrow

Watch Parts II, III, IV and V
http://www.youtube.com/user/mihoaida

Medical Alert: Leonard Peltier Must Be Transferred

At this time, Mr. Peltier's most pressing need is proper medical
care. His only hope of being seen by qualified physicians and
receiving care that complies with standard medical protocols is to be
immediately transferred to another facility. For background
information on this current crisis, read our November 2010 press
release at http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/pressrelease20101115.htm.

You can help. Please print this letter (PDF
format): http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/download/LappinLtr.pdf.
Sign the letter; write your name and mailing address; and mail or
fax your letter today.

Mail to: Federal Bureau of Prisons
Address: 320 1st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20534
Fax: (202) 514-6620

Sample Text

Often a handwritten heartfelt letter is quite effective. Remember to
always employ a respectful tone and keep your comments brief and to
the point. If you wish, you may adapt the following text.

[BEGIN]

Harley G. Lappin, Director
U.S. Bureau of Prisons
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534

Dear Mr. Lappin:

It has come to my attention that Leonard Peltier #89637-132, an
inmate at the U.S. Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, is in
dire need of medical attention.

I believe that Mr. Peltier's medical needs are urgent. He needs to be
seen by proper medical staff. Therefore, I respectfully request that
Leonard Peltier be transferred to FCI-Oxford in Wisconsin or
FMC-Rochester in Minnesota. Either of these facilities can adequately
accommodate Mr. Peltier's medical needs.

Thank you in advance for transferring Leonard Peltier and immediately
addressing his medical needs!

Sincerely,



Signature

[END]

Thank you for all you do on Mr. Peltier's behalf.

Launched into cyberspace by the
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
PO Box 7488, Fargo, ND 58106
www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

Leonard Peltier - update about calls

Greetings, Supporters.

Thank you so much for taking immediate action on Leonard's
behalf.  The prison authorities have received the message.  Please
stop contacting the prison at Lewisburg now.  Instead, redirect all
efforts with regard to Leonard's health concerns to the White
House.  Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111.

Launched into cyberspace by the
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
PO Box 7488, Fargo, ND  58106
Web site:  www.whoisleonardpeltier.info
E-mail:  contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

Demand Leonard Peltier's Immediate Transfer to the Mayo Clinic

Call to Action: Write, Call and E-mail USP Lewisburg

Demand Leonard's Immediate Transfer to the Mayo Clinic!

The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
urgently calls upon all supporters to
consistently and constantly contact USP Lewisburg
to demand Leonard Peltier be immediately
transferred to the Mayo Clinic for a full medical
evaluation and appropriate treatment. As many of
you know, Leonard has exhibited symptoms of
prostate cancer for over a year.  After months of
pressure by attorneys, Leonard underwent blood
tests in June of 2010. Those results were not
made available until early November 2010. A
biopsy was indicated which was ordered by a
physician and approved by the prison.  However,
the biopsy has not been performed.  The delay in
testing, diagnosis, and treatment is unacceptable
and constitutes medical neglect.

Please, in contacting USP Lewisburg, refrain from
speaking out of anger.  Your outrage, disgust and
frustration can and should be expressed in a respectful yet forceful manner.

To be clear, we still need to keep the pressure
on the White House, so keep making those calls
and writing those letters to President Obama.

Contacts:

The White House

President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC  20500
Comment Line:  202-456-1111
Switchboard:  202-456-1414
Fax:Â  202-456-2461
Web Form:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Bureau of Prisons (Be certain to always reference
"Leonard Peltier #89637-132" when contacting the BOP)

Warden Bledsoe
USP Lewisburg
U.S. Penitentiary
2400 Robert F. Miller Drive
Lewisburg, PA  17837
Phone: 570-523-1251
Fax: 570-522-7745
E-mail address: LEW/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV

BOP may start blocking e-mail addresses and phone
numbers, so you may want to use several different
e-mail addresses and phone numbers to make your point.

FREE LEONARD PELTIER!

Thank you for all you do on Leonard's behalf.


Launched into cyberspace by the
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
PO Box 7488, Fargo, ND 58106
(701) 235-2206 (Phone)
Web:  www.whoisleonardpeltier.info
E-mail:  contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info

FBI harasses Dakota activist Waziyatawin for speech in Minnesota

By Brad Sigal Fight Back News January 8, 2011

Take action:

The Twin Cities chapter of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network initiated a solidarity statement and encourages individuals and organizations to sign on. The statement is available here.

Winona, MN - On Jan. 3, an FBI agent contacted Waziyatawin, a well-known Dakota activist and scholar. The agent from the FBI’s Mankato, Minnesota office wanted to question her about her beliefs and about the content of a speech she gave in Winona on Nov. 8, 2010. Waziyatawin said she declined to talk with the FBI agent about the presentation or her viewpoints and instead referred him to her attorney.

According to a statement being circulated by her supporters, Waziyatawin’s Nov. 8 speech concerned the brutal realities of the colonization of this continent’s land, its resources, and First Nations People. She also spoke of a common need to restore the environment and a way of living that is not reliant on capitalism and the destruction of nature.

The FBI agent claimed to be investigating her because of the speech, which sparked a series of letters in the Winona Post newspaper. The first letter in the newspaper, by a college student who attended the speech, accused Waziyatawin of making “terroristic threats.” He told Minnesota Public Radio that the FBI then contacted him three times about his accusations.

The accusation of “terrorist threats” seem to revolve around the fact that the speech included the phrase “by any means necessary,” and when responding to questions about violence she also allegedly said or implied that violence was likely in the struggle to win justice for Native people. Waziyatawin told Minnesota Public Radio, “When I'm talking about there will undoubtedly be violence, I'm talking about violence against the Dakota people by the state, if we work toward justice.”

At the same time Waziyatawin says she is not a pacifist, given the history of genocide and ongoing oppression against Native nations and peoples by the U.S. government. In a statement on Dec. 2 responding to the controversy over her Winona speech (before the FBI got involved), she said she does not apologize for her Winona speech, and she invoked the words of Little Crow, the leader of Dakota resistance in 1862. Her statement pointedly runs through the basic facts of genocide and ongoing oppression of the Dakota people:

"Our land is still under occupation. Most of our people still live in exile. Dakota people are still prevented from practicing basic freedoms (even access to sacred sites). All of the systems and institutions to which we are subject are colonial in nature and they all prevent us from living freely as Dakota people. We hold a fraction of 1% of our original land base in Minisota and our populations would die if we had to subsist on those small parcels of land. Our populations still suffer from high rates of early mortality, suicide, and violence. We suffer tremendously from Western diseases (alcoholism, cancer, diabetes). We live in a society that continues to justify our extermination and non-existence while glorifying perpetrators of genocide and rationalizing land theft. And, we have largely, silently witnessed the destruction of our homeland through extensive mining, logging, manufacturing, energy production, industrial agriculture and animal feedlots."

Her statement goes on to quantify the destruction of the environment and lands that were stolen from the Dakota people to create the state of Minnesota.

Her point of state violence against Native people was driven home in a statement put out by her supporters: “At the time she spoke, members of the Dakota Nation were holding a Commemorative March along the route that nearly two thousand Dakota people were forcibly marched in 1862. The march route passes through Winona on its way from Lower Sioux Agency to Fort Snelling, where, over the winter of 1862-1863, those who managed to survive the march itself faced confinement, starvation, disease, rape and (for many), death.”

Waziyatawin gained public attention in 2007 when she was arrested three times for committing civil disobedience to protest the official 2008 Minnesota sesquicentennial celebration, which didn’t adequately deal with the fact that the founding of Minnesota as a state came at the expense of the Dakota people in the midst of war and horrific violence. During the sesquicentennial, Waziyatawin and other activists tried to symbolically block a commemorative wagon train en route to St. Paul. All charges were dropped against her for those arrests.

Waziyatawin has worked through lectures, speeches and classes to help non-Native people learn about the history of the U.S. government’s brutal treatment of Dakota people, and current Dakota struggles for justice. She helped inspire a group of non-Native activists to form a Dakota solidarity group, Unsettling Minnesota. Waziyatawin gave the keynote speech at the Minnesota National Lawyers Guild’s annual Social Justice dinner last year.

The FBI’s harassment of Waziyatawin doesn’t appear directly tied to the ongoing case of FBI and grand jury harassment against anti-war and international solidarity activists in Minnesota and Chicago. But activists involved see a clear connection because in both cases the FBI is working to undermine well-known progressive activists with allegations relating to ‘terrorism’ based on their speech and their ideas. At their Jan. 6 meeting, the Minnesota Committee to Stop FBI Repression endorsed a solidarity statement condemning FBI harassment of Waziyatawin.

The Twin Cities chapter of the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network initiated the solidarity statement and encourages individuals and organizations to sign on. The statement is available here.

The Trial of Land Defender, John Graham

Graham maintains his innocence despite a guilty verdict. He now faces life in prison.

by freejohngraham_info Media Co-op

Pennington County Court, Rapid City, SD

John Graham, 1980, La Ronge, Saskatchewan

Also posted by freejohngraham_info:

The Trial of Land Defender, John Graham

Jury Convicts John Graham: Land Defender Faces Life in Prison

Witnesses Testify in Graham Trial, Judge Decides Marshall Must Too

Trial of John Graham: Reports From Rapid (Nov. 30)

Trial of John Graham Native Land Defender Begins

On December 10 a South Dakota jury found John Graham guilty of felony murder in the death of American Indian Movement (AIM) member Anna Mae Aquash. John Graham, a Tuchone native originally from the Yukon, continues to maintain his innocence. Aquash was murdered in the 1970s in an execution-style killing in South Dakota. Graham has said that she was his friend and comrade.

In 2004, Arlo Looking Cloud was convicted of murder for aiding in the murder of Aquash. He received a life sentence with a chance of parole in 2013. Earlier this year, Richard Marshall was acquitted on the charge of supplying the gun that killed Aquash. Looking Cloud testified against both Marshall and Graham at trial. Thelma Rios plead guilty in November of this year to charges of aiding and abetting, for which she received five years of probation and no jail time.

At trial, the state alleged that John Graham took Aquash from Denver against her will and ultimately killed her in the hills of South Dakota. The government claimed the motive for the murder was that AIM believed Aquash to be an informant who had knowledge of sensitive information.

The jury acquitted Graham of premeditated murder: the first-degree charge. Nevertheless, the lesser charge of second degree felony murder* carries a sentence of life in prison.

Aquash was a Mi’kmaq from Nova Scotia and was well-known as a skilled organizer and warrior with AIM. In 1975, she said she had been targeted and threatened with death by the FBI. Her body was found on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in February 1976. The original autopsy report, made by an FBI-contracted coroner, stated her cause of death as "exposure" and made no record of the bloody bullet-wound in the back of her head. The FBI removed her hands for purposes of identification in Washington as they claimed the body was unidentifiable. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) buried Aquash as a Jane Doe.

When the hands were identified as those of Anna Mae Aquash, AIM attorneys requested a second autopsy by an independent coroner. The new coroner Gary Peterson, testified at Graham's trial that he had indeed noticed the entrance wound and an object (the bullet) lodged in her head through a cursory examination.

The time from 1973-1976 on Pine Ridge is referred to by many as "the reign of terror." A paramilitary squad known as the Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs), operated on Pine Ridge and were organized by the BIA. The GOONs were notorious for targeting traditional Lakotas and AIM members by shooting up homes, running people off roads and outright murder. According to former GOON, Duane Brewer, the group was given ammunition and intelligence by the FBI themselves.

On March 11 1976, before the results of Anna Mae's second autopsy were known, an article entitled "FBI denies AIM implication that Aquash was informant" appeared in the Rapid City Journal, despite the fact that AIM never publicly made any such allegation. Already the FBI had begun to redirect blame away from themselves and spin a story to target AIM and discredit indigenous resistance.

"If you start with the premise that we are just as inclined to break the law as to honour it...then no case we put together has any credibility," said FBI Special Agent John Sennett during the 2001 FBI campaign against clemency for imprisoned AIM member Leonard Peltier.

In the South Dakota courtroom this month, the audience was directed not to exhibit any symbols of support or disagreement at any time during session. Judge Jack Delaney also said that reactive facial expressions would be grounds for removal from court for the duration of trial.

Said trial was riddled with inconsistencies. Witnesses contradicted one another, stating that Aquash's hands were tied in front, behind or not at all when she was "kidnapped" from a house in Denver.

The murder having taken place 35 years ago, many contradictions in testimony were explained away as a problem of degraded memory. The entire case rested on verbal testimony without a shred of material evidence.

Witness Darlene Ecoffey (previously Kamook Banks), wife of Robert Ecoffey (the lead investigator of Aquash's murder and superintendent of the BIA on Pine Ridge), and ex-wife of AIM leader Dennis Banks, had worked with the FBI for at least a decade. She is known to have worn a wire and interviewed various AIM supporters. As in the Looking Cloud trial, Ecoffey again testified that Leonard Peltier told Anna Mae and herself that he had executed the two FBI agents in the 1975 "shoot-out at Oglala." Leonard Peltier is currently serving two consecutive life sentences for the death of the two FBI agents. He has always maintained his innocence despite his parole being contingent on an admission of guilt.

"Kamook’s testimony was like being stabbed in the heart while simultaneously being told your sister just died," said Leonard Peltier about Ecoffey's similar testimony at Looking Cloud's 2004 trial. "Of all the fabrications that the government has used to keep me imprisoned, this one hurt so deeply."

Witness Angie Janis said she was at the house in Denver when Anna Mae was "kidnapped." Janis works as a secretary at the Pine Ridge BIA. Her boss is Robert Ecoffey, bringing into question her motives for testifying. Darlene Ecoffey admitted that she had been paid over $40,000 by the FBI for her work as an informant. Testimony was also heard from FBI and BIA agents including the notorious FBI agent William Wood.

The defense rested its case on December 7 without calling a single witness. Twice, defense lawyer John Murphy asked Judge Jack Delaney to dismiss the charges against Graham, arguing that prosecutors had not proven enough of their case. Delaney disagreed and denied the motion.

So why is John Graham being targeted and why do many believe that he is innocent?

Anna Mae Aquash, Leonard Peltier and John Graham all consistently refused to falsely testify on behalf of the State. In return, Anna Mae was threatened with her life by the FBI. In an affidavit, Leonard Peltier said he was offered his freedom in exchange for false testimony against John Graham. Graham himself said that agents visited him four times in the Yukon, trying to get him to sign false statements implicating AIM leadership in the death of Anna Mae. When Graham refused the FBI said that he would face the charges instead.

"(The FBI) offered me my freedom and money if I’d testify the way they wanted," said Aquash when she was arrested in 1975. " I have those two choices now. I chose my kind of freedom, not their kind, even if I have to die."

John Graham also chose this kind of freedom, for which he now faces life in prison.

It has been suggested that prosecutors may proceed to charge some former AIM leaders with ordering the Aquash murder.

This trial has brought no real resolution. If anything the truth shown here is that state still aims to disrupt resistance movements and those who dare to struggle are at odds with the goals of the state. Although the imprisonment of John Graham is a tragedy, his refusal to frame others is also an inspiration to those who continue to resist the destruction of the land and native ways of life.

In Graham's own words, “I am a warrior. I was a warrior when I first went to South Dakota and I'll be a warrior this time when I have to go to South Dakota.” (from his 2007 extradition from Vancouver to South Dakota)

Graham's defense team is still working on his behalf. His sentencing is scheduled for January 24, 2011.

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* In felony murder cases, the prosecution does not have to prove that the accused actually killed anyone, instead the accused is found criminally liable for any deaths that occur during or in furtherance of a felony. In this case the felony is the kidnapping charge. For instance, if two people are robbing a bank and one of them is killed by police, the getaway driver can then be convicted of felony murder.

Article references:

Johanna Brand, The Life and Death of Anna Mae Aquash: References the article "FBI denies AIM implication that Aquash was informant" from March 11, 1976

Michael A. de Yoanna, Passing over Peltier (pt. 2): FBI Agent John Sennett quotation

Kevin McKiernan interview of Duane Brewer, quoted by Ward Churchill

http://grahamdefense.org

Embedded Links:

http://ourfreedom.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/103/

http://ourfreedom.wordpress.com/2007/05/19/leonards-reaction-to-kamook-b...

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/155362.html