Dennis Banks to Join Leonard Peltier Walk for Human Rights at Alcatraz Island

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Challenges. Discussion »

Leonard Peltier
Walk for Human Rights

LEECH LAKE, MINNESOTA - Dennis Banks, the co-founder of the American Indian Movement and leader of several Longest Walks, will join the "Leonard Peltier Walk for Human Rights" at Alcatraz Island this December.

Banks made the announcement on his Facebook wall on Thursday.

The "Leonard Peltier Walk for Human Rights" will kick off on December 18, 2011 at Alcatraz Island and will end Memorial Day weekend 2012 in Washington DC.

"It's about time we walk for Leonard Peltier," said Dorothy Ninham, Oneida, national chair of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee. "This walk is about all of the human rights violations committed against him. It's a shame. I go to visit him all the time."

Peltier, Lakota, has been in prison for the past 35 years. He was convicted of killing two FBI agents who showed up on June 25, 1975 at a private residence in Oglala, South Dakota.

In late June, Peltier was placed in solitary confinement in the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Many American Indians and others around the world view Peltier as a political prisoner. Through the years, Peltier's supporters have included: the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and Bishop Desmond Tutu, among other prominent names.

Peltier's story has been documented elsewhere, such as "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse" by Peter Matthiessen and in Robert Redford's "Incident at Oglala," but "Prison Writings: My Life is My Sun Dance" provides the closest glimpse of the man himself.

Dennis Banks on
the Longest Walk

Last month, Banks finished the Longest Walk 3 - Reversing Diabetes in Washington DC.

"We want to stop at reservations along the Walk's route so that we can educate a whole new generation of American Indians about who Leonard Peltier is," commented Ninham.

Banks will assist Ninham with the coordination of the Walk's route, according to Ninham.

posted August 18, 2011 1:55 pm edt