Leonard Peltier Speaks:

Day of Mourning message

by Leonard Peltier

Aho, my relations,


Self-portrait: “Leonard Peltier, warrior”

I again write to you on this day of mourning as I approach the end of 30 years of deprived freedom. I am here to appease a vengeful government that has come onto our lands, committed genocide and continues to rob us of our history and culture while giving away our land, murdering and torturing our people.

I am held here because of the corruption of two countries, Canada and the United States, which illegally extradited me, leading to my illegal conviction and imprisonment. Despite the incessant claims of this being a country of laws and an example to the world of justice, freedom and democracy, it is obvious that this government protects whoever it wants and imprisons and kills whoever it wants.

My imprisonment is one key example of what lengths this government will go to in order to achieve its goal of repressing indigenous dissent. The United States government continually seeks to imprison all indigenous peoples on our land.

The U.S. government has been increasing its oppressive and tyrannical tactics. All people’s rights are being eroded and fears are heightened as a tool to keep the war machine alive and increase the destruction of Mother Earth. Innocent people are dying, not only in this country, but all over the world in the name of “democracy and freedom.”

My elders before me said, and I tell you now, “The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth.” And I want to say, this earth belongs to Tunkashala, the creator of all that is. There has already started a time of great cleansing upon the earth, and this government has begun to crumble. The fabric of the Constitution is soiled and torn.

We as human beings can give thanks or mourn, but if all that happens is no more than lip service, very little will happen to correct things. In the traditions of my native people, we barely had words of thanks. It was something that was shown by action of giving or doing.

We all breathe the same air, are made of the same earth and drink of the same water. We are all more relative than we sometimes acknowledge. We need to do more than just what is right. We need to join together and right what is wrong.

It is time we all unite to stop the madness threatening the whole planet and stand together with those who go beyond words and deliver on the promise of freedom and justice and against those guided by greed, arrogance and prejudice. Stay true, work in unity, confront the traitors, don’t be afraid, and don’t let our struggle die.

And finally, I mourn the loss of so many of our relatives over the past year and especially my brother Steve Robideau. I appreciate you each and every one. Now, please organize and set out to correct the wrongs so that this day of mourning will become a relic of the past.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,

Leonard Peltier Mitakuye Oyasin
 

Free Leonard Peltier! Free All Political Prisoners! For more information, visit www.leonardpeltier.org and www.peltiersupport.org or contact the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, 2626 N. Mesa # 132, El Paso, TX 79902, (915) 533-6655, info@leonardpeltier.org. Write to Leonard at Leonard Peltier, #89637-132, USP Lewisburg, P.O. Box 1000, Lewisburg, PA 17837.
 

****Voice your opinion on whether or not you fell Leonard should be set free in our discussion groups. What do you think people should do to help free him (or keep him imprisoned).