![]() Leonard
Peltier #89637-132
US Penitentiary - Leavenworth
PO Box 1000
Leavenworth, Kansas 66048-1000
A Message from Leonard Peltier
Thank you for giving me a chance to share a part of myself on this day of
peace.
It is important that you have taken this time out of your day and your busy
lives to share with the world your commitment to peace and a vision for change. This may
be the most important thing that you will ever do.
This day is no different than that day in 1975, when I stood up to FBI-assisted
violence on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. What is at stake now is not very different
from then. The American government strong-armed the people of Pine Ridge, too. Their
interest wasn’t to protect the Indigenous People living in strife and poverty, who
even to this day can’t make ends meet, but to support multinational corporations that
even now are only after the natural resources from a land rich in uranium. This mentality
that "Might Makes Right"… It’s nothing new. This administration is
turning back the clock and is doing nothing but playing "cowboys and Indians".
![]() Let’s be honest. There
is much to be gained by taking Iraq by force - for the U.S., for the multinational
corporations - and very little, if anything, of the administration’s actions is about
liberating Iraq’s people from a tyrannical regime. Iraqi oil is the key. It means
everything in this so-called "War on Terror". But the greed doesn’t end
there. Reports in the last few weeks show private American corporations - profiteers like
Vice President Dick Chaney’s former employer - are already in place, ready to take
government contracts to rebuild a war-ravaged country blown apart by American bombs and to
service military personnel that this administration plans to house there. An occupation
force, then.
War is good for business. And all of this will be paid for by you, the American
taxpayer.
The world is crying out for unity and greater understanding of our Arab
brothers and sisters. Without dialogue, how else will we come to understand the conflicts
in the Middle East?
The French, who have plenty of experience in the Middle East, avow the
Iraqi’s will not to succumb to American democracy in our lifetime. In this, the Iraqi
people are no different than Indigenous Peoples everywhere. And like with the Indigenous
People of this country, an understanding of tribal factions within the Arab world is
needed. Respect for their culture and spiritual beliefs is required. Acknowledgement of
their sovereignty is fundamental.
America may choose to ignore our efforts today, but we - the People - will
carry the wounds of killing innocent people in the name of American might.
My own case ended in violent action by the U.S. government and the FBI. In
whose interest was this done? For the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation? For Native
People throughout this land? For Indigenous Peoples throughout the world? In the interest
of the American public? This sort of aggression nearly destroyed my People.
Let my life serve as a reference point to all of you today. I urge you to
consider the knowledge Indian people gained in the face of terrorism. If we had unified
early on, worked together rather than as separate nations, we may have prevailed. We must
encourage our allies, the world’s nations that are opposed to military action, to
come together in unity.
These are our brothers and sisters, Aunties and Uncles, we go to bomb. They are
us and we are them, together in this great circle of life. I encourage you all to continue
together, united. Speak with one voice. Say NO to war!
I leave you with the words of an Iroquois leader, Leon Shenandoah,
"I’m working for the Creation. I refuse to take part in destruction."
Aho. Megwetch.
![]()
Leonard Peltier
|