President Biden: Pardon Leonard Peltier!

We must pressure the President to pardon Peltier and all political prisoners

President Joe Biden has pardoned his son Hunter, in the face of strong opposition from the MAGA Right and even Democratic members of Congress. Well, now is the time for Biden to do the right thing and pardon Leonard Peltier. But to win Leonard’s freedom will require massive public pressure on the President: from social movements, labor unions, the faith community, and just ordinary folks. The time is now to free Leonard Peltier and all political prisoners.

I first learned about the Native American movement when I was just becoming an activist in the Chicano Liberation Movement in 1969. I was involved with an amazing liberation organization called the Crusade for Justice founded and led by the iconic Rudolfo “Corky” Gonzalez. It was through Corky and the Crusade that I learned about Chicano history – my family’s history, my history. And it was the Crusade that introduced me to the American Indian Movement, and the struggle of Indigenous peoples in the US. It was at mass meetings of the Crusade that I heard Dennis Banks of the American Indian Movement (AIM) speak about the longstanding struggle of this continent’s Indigenous peoples.This experience helped to inspire and shape me as a revolutionary fighting for a new society that would end all oppression, and practice genuine self-determination and sovereignty for the Indigenous nations and for the Chicano Nation.

One of the most inspiring of the Indigenous leaders is Leonard Peltier, a political prisoner who has been unjustly incarcerated in the Coleman federal penitentiary for 46 years. He was framed by the US government for the killing of two FBI agents after a long FBI military siege at the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975. More than 60 Indigenous “traditionalists” who opposed the sell-out reservation leadership of Pine Ridge were murdered by the FBI and its stooges during this siege. Leonard was convicted based on false testimony and absolutely false circumstantial evidence. Leonard’s case and calls for freedom have received support from Tribal Nations, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, the 14^th Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, former FBI agents, and James Reynolds, the former US Attorney who handled the prosecution of his case. He is considered a political prisoner entitled to immediate release by Amnesty International.

Gary Stevens, “Revolutionary Portraits: Leonard Peltier” (2010) / CC BY 2.0

We cannot let Leonard die in prison. Here is what he has said about his situation: “I don’t know how to save the world. I don’t have the answers or The Answer. I hold no secret knowledge as to how to fix the mistakes of generations past and present. I only know that without compassion and respect for all of Earth’s inhabitants, none of us will survive—nor will we deserve to.” – Leonard Peltier, Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance

If Biden is willing to pardon his own son for criminal wrongdoing, he needs to do the right thing and pardon Leonard Peltier and other innocent victims of political persecution. But we know we won’t get justice without a coordinated effort from our movements. We need to act now. Flood the White House with our voices – call President Joseph Biden and request/demand that he immediately pardon Leonard Peltier. Leave your comment at 202-456-1111 or call the Switchboard: 202-456-1414. Support the Leonard Peltier Official Ad Hoc Committee and sign Amnesty International’s online petition to President Biden. Si Se Puede!!

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Bill Gallegos is a member of Liberation Road and a veteran activist in the Chicano Liberation Struggle and the Environmental Justice Movement.