I want to thank my Special Friend for making this picture of Leonard Peltier for me and I have given it to all the other faster/strikers who are supporting Leonard and all other political prisoners.

Thank You Dear Friend



Statement by Leonard Peltier for February 6, 1999

Greetings friends and supporters,

On this day my spirit continues to remain hopeful and my heart strong knowing that we are right in our struggle for my freedom and the liberation of my people. I want to thank you for your work and for the sacrifices you have made on my behalf. Twenty-three years is a very long time and I sometimes grow tired and frustrated but it is thanks to you that I do not give up. I know that in unity and in solidarity we will be successful and that one day we will work side by side in the struggle for liberation and justice for all First Nations Peoples-for all oppressed peoples.

It is among yourselves and within your communities that you have real power. You have the power to talk to one another and break down the isolation created by the dominant culture that fears you realizing your potential to stand together in unity. Despite the suffering I feel and the torturous years of imprisonment that I have endured, deep down I have no regrets in fighting for my people-in fighting for what is right. It is out of urgent necessity and with strong conviction that we must speak out and organize against forces that want to enslave us, rob us of our humanity and separate us from each other and from the Earth.

I am told that the pressure being put on the Canadian Minister of Justice, Anne Mc Clellan to release the report on my extradition is having an affect. This is just another example of how in unity, we can be successful. But, we must continue our work and we must continue this work in unity and with respect and tolerance of one another.

I hope that many of you will be able to attend the conference this June and that meanwhile you will continue your activities. The recently gained freedom of Wolverine, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, and the Irish Nationalist H-Block 3 prisoners is proof that we too can and will prevail. Again, I thank you for your work and I am moved by the intensity of activity on my behalf on this day.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier



PERSONAL STATEMENTS FROM FASTERS AND STRIKERS

PLEASE POST WIDELY
HUNGER STRIKE STATEMENT

From: White Feather Siouxsun
FEBRUARY 19,1999, Evening            

END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!

My name is White Feather. I am Oglala and I am fasting and striking because it is what I must do as one more way of showing to the world my support for Leonard Peltier. Our Brother is suffering and has for far too long now. He needs medical attention and he is being denied it because the government of the United States has always tried to silence American Indians when they stand up for their beliefs and rights. I do not accept this and I will not tolerate it! NEVER! This innocent MAN has been wronged!

When I was a child my Grandfather told me of Wounded Knee and what had been done there. He told me of how his own Grandmother was slaughtered there. I will never forget the tears in his eyes. As I grew up I knew what I would have to do. I did not think of it or even choose it, it is in my blood to fight for what is right. Fighting for Leonard Peltier is right and something I have done since the beginning of one more atrosity that was committed on Oglala land. I will never give up! I will fight for Leonard and all political prisoners for as long as I walk this Earth. Why has Leonard been denied medical treatment? He almost died once after a botched surgery. He had an assasination attempt made on his life. They want to silence him but it will not work! Enough is enough!!

He was sent to prision for a crime he did not committ. The FBI has admitted they can not say that Leonard Peltier killed anyone. Yet he suffers and we know why. The government needed someone to pay the price. They decided Leonard should be the one to pay that price because they did and do not like that he resists their policy of genocide of American Indians and all Indigenous peoples. They are afraid of Leonard because he speaks the truth. The government does not like to hear the real truth. They thought they could silence Leonard by locking him up. We have news for them. They are wrong! We are many and we are growing and we will not stop. We will continue our work to make sure that Leonard is given medical treatment. We shall be heard. We will not be silenced. We will see to it that you hear us. I and many others will NOT tolerate or allow this to continue any longer!

It is Leonard's right to have medical treatment and you who are denying him of this are guilty of breaking the laws. Who are you to decide his rights should be taken away. Has nothing been learned by this government from all the injustices that has been done to American Indians and all other Indigenous peoples?

I do not just ask that Leonard Peltier be given his right of medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic, I demand it! We, all the people who love and respect and support him demand it!

"The only thing I'm guilty of, and which I was convicted for, was being Chippewa and Sioux blood and for believing in our sacred religion." Statement of Leonard Peltier at his sentencing.

"You know we have a million stories to tell. I'm just one of a million or more stories that could be told." Leonard Peltier speaking on the song Sacrifice on Robbie Robertson's CD "Underworld of Redboy"

Free Leonard Peltier

In Solidarity
White Feather Siouxsun



HUNGER STRIKE STATEMENT by Arthur J. Miller, NWLPSN
February 5. 1999

END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!

In our world today, there are so many important struggles the people are faced with. For the effects of the evil madness of power and greed manifests itself in nearly every aspect of our existence. Some times the reality of this can overwhem us. Whereas, it is important that no wrong be overlooked, that a voice be given to all those that suffer, but there comes a time when all those who struggle must come together and take a stand. For we all know that all things are connected, our struggles, no matter how many miles apart they maybe, no matter how many different names may be applied to our struggles, the root cause of the suffering of all is within the decadent lust for power and greed by but a few people who walk this earth.

The case of Leonard Peltier is not just about what the U.S. Government is willing to do to one man, one activist, one indigenous person, though that is important also, it is also about the continuing U.S. Government policy of genocide of indigenous people. A policy of taking all that they have and giving nothing in return. Leonard Peltier represents the resistance to this policy.

There is a very clear reason why what happened on the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota Reservation on June 26, 1975 took place, for which Leonard has now spent 23 years locked-up for. The U.S. Government was acting in the interests of the nuclear power/weapons industry in trying to steal more Lakota land where uranium had been found. The U.S. Government knew that the traditional Lakota people would resist, so they set out to suppress that resistance. Many traditional Lakota people were terrorized and murdered by a death squad. When the traditional Lakota people asked the American Indian Movement (AIM) for help, among those that answered that request was Leonard Peltier.

The FBI sought to destory the resistance and on June 26, 1975 they tryed to provoke an incident that they could use as a justification to suppress AIM. In the same arrogance that Gen. Custer had shown a hundred years before, the FBI did not believe that any people were capable of defending themselves against the invaders might. That mistake costed the lives of two FBI agents on that day.

Leonard became the target of the U.S. Government's outrage that someone had dared to resist their unholy desires. Leonard was extradited from Canada based upon lies from the U.S. Government. Leonard was convicted based upon fabricated evidence, coerced witnesses and by a judge who would not allow self-defense evidence.

The U.S. Government believed that Leonard would no longer be able to continue his resistance, for they buried in the dungeons of the Marion Federal Prison. But Leonard continued to speak out against the injustice that had been done to him and his people. People began to hear his words and a support movement grew. The U.S. Government came to fear Leonard's power of unbreakable spirit and resistance. They tried many things to break Leonard, they even tried to assassinate him. Now they are trying outright torture.

Though Leonard has taken the full impact of the genocidal policies of the U.S. Government and he has become a living representation of the resistance to those policies, Leonard is also a man. A man who has been locked up for 23 years in a cold lonely cell. Away from his family, away from his hopes and dreams, away from the land of his people. There are not the words in our language that can be given to truely explain to you the great suffering Leonard has been forced to endure. And now he lives every day in continuous, excruciating pain.

The time has come for all people who believe in social justice to pull together in the spirit of unity and as one strong voice and DEMAND THE END OF THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW! As a means to call attention to the torture of Leonard and as an act of solidarity with Leonard, the Leonard Peltier Solidarity Fast/Hunger Strike has been organized. Over 55 people across the U.S. and in Canada, France, Basque Country, Russia, South Africa, Spain and Italy will be fasting. I am honored to be among these people.

Starting on Feb. 6th I will begin a hunger strike that will continue as long as it is neccessary. Yes, there are risks involved in such an action. For I am not a well person. I suffer from kidney disease, more than likely from a great amount of exposure to lead when I work for the Bunker Hill Mining Company. Over 56% of my co-workers at Bunker Hill also suffer from this disease. I cannot do anything about what happen at Bunker Hill now. But I know in my heart that the same greed that has led to the suffering of my co-workers and myself is the same greed that is causing Leonard's suffering.

For 20 years now I have been trying to aid Leonard's struggle through writing and organizing. For 20 years I have seen Leonard suffer because he will not give in to the forces of evil. And now those forces are torturing him. The time has come for me to take my commitment to a higher level, and for one person there is no higher level than their own life.

We, the fasters of the Leonard Peltier Solidarity Fast/Hunger Strike ask for your active support. In supporting this action, you will not only be acting in solidarity with Leonard, you will not only be acting in support of the fasters from different lands, but you will be acting in your own interest also. For what has, and continues to be done to Leonard can be done to any person who resists the forces of power and greed. Leonard is locked up in the iron house and is suffering for us, the people, we the people need to take a stand for Leonard and demand the end of the torture of Leonard Peltier now! In Solidarity
Arthur J. Miller

coordinator,
Northwest Leonard Peltier
Support Network



From Waabnong Kwe:

Boozhoo. My name is Waabnong Kwe. I am Tsalagi and Ojibway. I am a member of the Wolf Clan, living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

I'm a 46 year old Grandmother living with AIDS. I am on my final journey towards the Spirit World. Why then, some ask, would you want to do this fast for Leonard Peltier? "Isn't that putting your life at risk", I am asked.

My response to this is that my life has been at risk since the moment I was conceived. I was born Anishnawbe Kwe. I have seen my people struggle to survive with bare necessities. I have seen the rising statistics of our youth suicides. I have seen our children taken from our homes and placed in foster homes or adopted out, not knowing where they belong. I have seen our Grandmothers and Grandfathers struggle to reclaim their native languages. I have seen my sisters and brothers stripped of their dignity. I have seen my sisters and brothers incarcerated and abused by those hired to " rehabilitate" them. I have seen our people murdered. I have seen our Sacred Burial grounds dug up so that others may have golf courses. I have heard my Grandchildren ask, "Why?" too often.

Throughout my life, I have witnessed many injustices in this world. Each time I have taken up my drum and sang prayer songs. Each time I have done what I could to help bring about awareness. I've taken risks, standing up for what I believe in. And yet I feel I have done so little.

My brother, Leonard Peltier is dying. Without proper medical care, such as what was offered to him by the Mayo Clinic, Leonard will die. Would I stand by and watch another brother drown, knowing I could reach out and perhaps save his life? Of course not! Nor can I sit back and do nothing to help Leonard.

As each year passes and Leonard remains in prison, I am amazed at the atrocities of the injustice system in North America. No one should have to endure what he has, let alone an innocent man. It is time now for the people of the four corners of this earth to stand together. We must do what we must, in order to bring about justice. For, when injustice of this kind is done to one, it can be done to all. And so I will begin my three day fast tomorrow. During this time, I will take up my drum and offer prayer songs. I will ask Creator and my Ancestors to look with compassion on those who know no better. I will offer prayers that Leonard will be able to receive the medical care he needs to survive. I will pray that Leonard is soon freed to live his life amongst our people, in peace. I will do this fast because I must.

All my Relations! In Solidarity, Waabnong Kwe
Toronto, Ontario



From Aileen:
Dear Brother and Sister Fasters....
 
I am a "breed", mix, remnant relation. One of my family unprovable is Lakota. And so I consider Leonard Peltier an Elder brother. Nearly losing all my teeth right now, his pain hits my nerve, in many a way....
 
So I am a distant and loving relation and intend to fast as long as I can with just juice and vitamins. I support someone disabled and may be starting a new job after unemployment next Monday - so I might have to eat to keep doing it but in my heart, I will be fasting still.
 
My heart and my spirit to you the fasters who can do more than I do. I hope that this is ended quickly by Leonard's freedom and medical care...by loving hands. I would ease his pain - give it to me, Leonard...

I recently got Robbie Robertson's CD which had Leonard's own words in the piece "Sacrifice." It was so wonderful to hear his voice and feel his passion. When he said, (paraphrase) "...if I have to sacrifice some more, then I sacrifice some more.." And my heart said, if this brother can do this, what can *I* do?

When we think of all the damages done....When we remember Anna Mae and Leonard and so many others who died before they should have died...how can we not try to reach the heart to awaken it so that it will free this (and other) brother(s and sisters)?

So if my time is short in the fast, it is eternal in my heart. Until all people are free, I am bound. If they can treat one like this, then tomorrow it might be you or me. We can not allow it. We are meant to walk in beauty, I believe in my heart.

  Many are afraid to step forward but stand with us. Be strong and may this end before any harm comes to a single faster. This is my prayer before it begins. May no one come to harm and may it work anyway. They can't do this to us anymore....

  Is it justice or it it JUST US?
 
  May this work!!!

  Deepest respect,
  Aileen



From Dale Allen Pfeiffer:

An innocent man is being tortured in a United States prison, kept in constant pain, unable even to chew his food. An innocent man has been locked into a tiny cell for twenty-three years now, simply for standing up to defend his people and their land. For being a true patriot, this man has been deprived of his home for twenty-three years, deprived of his family and loved ones, his children and grandchildren. Twenty-three years deprived of the freedom to come and go as he pleases, deprived of the freedoms most of us take for granted, deprived of his most basic rights and confined in a tiny cell unfit to house even a dog, though the US government has admitted that they cannot prove him guilty of the crime of which he is accused. This man is named Leonard Peltier and his people are the Lakota Indians of Pine Ridge Reservation.

Fearful that his story may someday come to light, and terrified because they cannot break his spirit, the government attempted to assassinate Leonard while he was in prison. They beat him, placed him into solitary confinement and subjected him to surgical torments to the point that he is now in continuous pain and cannot even move his jaw to eat. All of this to hide their crimes against his people, and to intimidate them from demanding what is right. The people of Pine Ridge were terrorized and murdered so that they would not resist as the US government stole their land. They were bitterly, mercilessly oppressed so that a few major corporations might profit from the discovery of uranium deposits, and so that the US military might have the materials for more weapons of mass destruction. Their land, once a pristine wilderness, was gouged out and defiled, all for the sake of money and power. And when Leonard stood up for his people and his land, the US government swatted him down and rigged a trial against him. They coerced and intimidated witnesses, fabricated evidence and did everything in their power to paint him as a mad dog killer. And even after these crimes of the government were uncovered, they held private meetings with judges and even presidents in order to thwart his appeals and his petition for executive clemency. And now they would torture him even to the point of death by denying him the medical treatment he so urgently needs, and which the Mayo Clinic has so graciously offered for free.

There comes a time when you have to stand up against such an injustice. For many years now, our efforts to defend Leonard and win his rightful freedom have been met by stony silence and by intimidation. This is intolerable; it simply cannot go on any longer. If Leonard continues to remain in prison, if he is denied medical treatment for another day, then all of our talk about justice, liberty, equality and democracy is a sham.

To demonstrate the strength of our convictions, to illustrate our solidarity with Leonard Peltier and the truth of his innocence, I and many, many other good people will be fasting and carrying our message to the public, from now until Leonard is released to the Mayo Clinic or until he is granted executive clemency. To the Bureau of Prisons, we demand that Leonard be given medical treatment in the Mayo Clinic. To President Clinton, we demand that Leonard be given executive clemency. In the name of all that is right, it is time to bring an end to this injustice.

Dale Allen Pfeiffer



From Elizabeth Anne Payne:

Abuse and oppression have affected me profoundly for most of my life. It was only five years ago I realized it was time for this to stop. It was time to stand up and make a difference. It was time to make change. It was time to stop being a victim and to become empowered and strong. The perpetrators of the oppression were not going to change so it became necessary for me to change how I reacted to them. Perhaps reacted is the wrong word. I am learning to act in accordance with the spirit in my heart. I try to no longer react in accordance to the intimidations and rigid belief systems of others.

It was also five years ago that I became aware of my Indian ancestry that burned strong in my blood, aching for expression. The Indian ways of respect for the spirit and soul of others and respect for Mother Earth who nourishes all things became my ways. To strive for balance in all things became my most pressing goal.

When I heard of Leonard Peltier and his imprisonment I knew that I must do something to help him. It was something I identified with deeply in my soul. The perpetrators of oppression who will not allow Leonard Peltier medical help will not change, so it will do no good to react to what they do. But to act in a way so that people will know the truth can bring about a difference and a change. I will fast to show my support for Leonard Peltier and his urgent need for an ease to his suffering. I will only fast for two days for I have a heart arrhythmia and I will need to be strong to care for my fiance, Dale Pfeiffer, who is fasting much longer than I.

Elizabeth Anne Payne



From Ries:

A good day to all the People in the Circle,
My fast has just begun. A very small token. 1 day does not compare to over 7500 days Leonard Peltier that he is imprissoned. I just watched "Incident at Oglala" again and I completly fail to see how it is possible that a man can get consecutive life sentences with this kind of evidence.

A country like the United States, always critisising other countries about Human Rights, Freedom etc. It is too unbelievable to put into words. I wish all fasters and especially hunger strikers strength

All I can do is fast for now and pray. This one is for Leonard Peltier, a warrior.
     Tunkashila,
     hoye wayin kte
     namah'un yeyo!
    maka sitomniyan
  hoye wayin kte
     namah'un yeyo!
     mitakuye ob
     wani ktleo
     Epelo.

With great respect to all First Nation Peoples,
Chantema waste,

Ries
Sallywood
Delgany
Co.Wicklow
Ireland

FREE Leonard Peltier

and NEVER FORGET Anna Mae Aquash



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