Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Challenges. Discussion »
COLEMAN, FLORIDA Leonard Peltier, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, who has been imprisoned for the past 36 years, issued an Indigenous Day statement.
Leonard Peltier
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians
Peltier is serving a life sentence in the US Penitentiary in Coleman, Florida. He was accused of the 1975 murders of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He was convicted in 1977.
Peltier is considered to be a political prisoner of war by many American Indians throughout the United States and others worldwide. Through the years, Peltier's supporters have included the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and Bishop Desmond Tutu, among other prominent names.
The following is Mr. Peltier's statement:
Greetings, my Relatives and Friends!
It has come to my attention in the last week or so that a lot of our young people and women especially are standing up in support of our Indigenous Brothers and Sisters in Canada. It really does my heart good to see the activism and concern of the different generations of People coming together There is great potential for educating those who don't know about the perils that face our environment.
With personal knowledge I totally understand the difficulties of getting people to take action to bring about change. The direction that the world corporations have taken historically and today have largely been at the expense of the Indigenous People around the world. I encourage anyone who reads these words to become involved as much as possible to stem this tide of environmental destruction taking place.
The health of our environment transcends across all walks of life. If we don't have healthy water, healthy air, healthy food, and healthy children we will not have a healthy future. That is the law. I can't say enough how important it is that we communicate and join hands with our Indigenous Brothers and Sisters all over the world. We need to join together to bring about the change of these corporations who trample on our environmental rights.
I encourage you again to seek out the organizations that are already involved in this endeavor, and remain united with one another. I will encourage all the People that I work with and have worked with to do their part in this struggle. I&339;ll close for now, but in the Spirit of Chief Teresa Spence keep on keeping on, and idle no more!
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
Leonard Peltier
posted January 19, 2013 9:20 am est
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