Leonard Peltier is a Native American of mixed blood, being approximately 75 percent Sioux blood. His early life could be there story of almost any Native American growing up in the 1960's. Born in Grand Forks, ND, he was raised in poverty on "the res,aE? as Peltier says in his book, My Life Is My Sundance, "My Grandfather used to come home from the store with our rations, and I would always ask him why he couldn't bring moreaE? (24). Peltier was later removed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to a boarding school after his grandfather passed away. This unsanctioned removal was Leonard's first taste of the intrusion of the US Government into Native American life. At the school, the BIA attempt

Peltier was then attracted to the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1973 by what would later be called Wounded Knee II. Leaders of the AIM occupied Wounded Knee, seizing among other things a Catholic Church, in remembrance of the Wounded Knee Massacre of Indian families and corruption on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Once again the FBI surrounded the protesting AIM leaders and traditional Indians, and 72 days later the standoff ended after much media attention. Soon after Wounded Knee II ended, the FBI began large-scale mobilization in and around the Pine Ridge Reservation (Peltier, 153). Fearing for their safety, the Oglala Sioux Nation elders asked the AIM to help protect their community. The AIM obliged, and came to Pine Ridge to protest the actions of Assistant Secretary of Interior Harrison Loesch, and the corrupt tribal chairman of the Pine Ridge Reservation, Dick Wilson. Peltier and others were disgusted by the actions of Loesch, who used his position to withhold any support of the AIM, and also approved numerous gas and oil leases on Indian lands. As stated in Incident At Oglala, "State and government authorities were concerned less with Law and Order than with the obstacle to Black Hills mining leases that AIM insistence on Indian sovereignty might representaE? Essentially, Loesch was selling off land to energy companies that didn't belong to him, something Native Americans were all too familiar with.

In 1986 the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the prosecution had withheld evidence favorable to Peltier, but then concluded that this had not affected the verdict, and upheld the conviction. The judge who ruled on that case however, has expressed much concern over Peltier's battle, "The FBI used improper methods in Peltier's extradition, and in otherwise trying the case,aE? wrote Judge Gerald Heaney in

Very recently, more new evidence supporting Leonard has been discovered. Apparently during an appeal, Peltier's lawyer made a mistake by agreeing on the testimony of Norman Brown, who had actually recanted his testimony in court and claimed to have been coerced by the FBI. Also, tapes at the North Dakota attorney General's office proved that there were other agents stationed in the area on the day of the firefight, contradicting the government's testimony. Another document has been located in which the FBI discussed plans for "paramilitary law enforcement on Indian landaE? (http://www.freeleonardpeltier.com/page16.html). In a 1985 appeals court, the government prosecutor Lynn Crooks acknowledges that "We don't know who killed themaE? (http://www.freeleonardpeltier.com/page16.html) and that is why Peltier has been tried both as murderer and the aider. That is also why so many people are calling for Leonard's freedom.

States, the American Indian Movement. Washington; U.S. Government Print

3. Weyler, Rex. Blood Of The Land: The Government and Corporation's War

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3369
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)