Leonard Peltier on the Elder Singing AIM Song at Lincoln Memorial; Breaks Down Song’s Origin

Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann, seen here standing before American Indian elder Nathan Phillips.
Published January 22, 2019
COLEMAN, Fla. — Leonard Peltier, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, who is incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Coleman, Florida, for his 1977 conviction in connection with a shootout with U.S. government forces, where two FBI agents and one young American Indian lost their lives.
Leonard Peltier has been in prison for over 40 years
Peltier, who is considered a political prisoner of war by many, released this statement on the incident that happened at the Lincoln Memorial last Friday when American Indian elder Nathan Phillips (Omaha) sang the American Indian Movement anthem in front of a group of Covington Catholic High School students:
Leonard Peltier Statement on DC Events
I just saw the incident that took place in Washington, D.C. in which a demonstration between the white “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) representatives and a Native elder singing a religious song took a horrendous turn.
There were threats and insults by the young punk wearing the red M.A.G.A. hat while an elder, who happens to be my long time AIM friend and comrade Nate Philipps, was singing a religious song. Now, I see the media and folks changing it around like it was the Natives elder’s fault.
Let me explain to you what the song’s history is:
The Northern Cheyenne People gave this song to the American Indian Movement for an honor song in 1973 after the 71-day occupation of the Wounded Knee, the site of a massacre grave site, which is now a memorial site, owned by a white person.
Wounded Knee is a sacred area for the Lakota peoples, where over 350 elders, men, children, and women with unborn babies still inside of their bodies were slaughtered. There are documented accounts of soldiers who opposed the killing of babies, however there were Calvary soldiers riding their horses around the massacre grounds waving their swords with dead babies on them. The Lakota who had disarmed themselves, given up their weapons of stone tomahawks, bows and arrows and hand thrown spears to the 7th Calvary and raised the white peace flag – and the American flag, after an agreed truce between them.
The leader of the Lakota Band of Native’s was a peace Chief named Bigfoot. The Calvary was heavily armed with portable cannons, rifles, steel bayonets and knives and pistols. The 7th Calvary soldiers were under orders of their commanding officers. After the captives had been fed and convinced them they were safe, and the babies began to quiet down, and sleep under their now warm robes, did not see or hear what was about to happen. The Cavalry like thieves and rapists in the dark of night, surrounding them with those deadly weapons. Just days after Christmas (Isn’t that their Christian God’s Jesus birthday?) after feeding the Natives their last breakfast meal, they began to slaughter them, killing all who could not somehow escape.
A couple decades earlier, this same army surrounded a band of peaceful Northern Cheyenne at Sand Creek and committed the very the same murderous acts, after first approaching the Northern Cheyenne under both flags, the American flag and a white flag! When the Natives were given the flags, they were given a promise that if they exposed and flew these flags the Army would never attack them. Yet over a dozen soldiers were given medals of the highest honor awards that the American government has to bestow. Their soldiers and civilians received these awards for this act of genocide and called it a great victory of war.
Today they call it “Make America Great Again!”
So, a decade or so later, believing their own propaganda that these were victorious battles, these same murderers with dozens of their traitors again attacked the Crow scouts during a religious ceremony called the Sundance, at the Little Big Horn or Greasy Grass Creek (this was what we Natives named it).
This time Crazy Horse and many other young powerful war leaders (we call SHIRT WEARERS of the Lakota Nations) and their allies, the Cheyenne, were at the camp guarding the people, armed only with stone tomahawks, bows and arrows against superior weaponry. They defended and wiped out Custer and his band of murderers and rapists of children, helpless elders, women and babies.
On their way back to camp, the young heroic Cheyenne warriors made up the song now known as the AIM song and rode into camp singing it, and the women and men joined in and the whole camp began to sing it.
The song says thank you to the Great Spirit for allowing our young men to be brave and courageous to fight off and to protect the young children, the women, unborn babies, the elderly woman and men and our leaders.
Singing thank you Great Spirit for giving us the strength to save our children with bravery You gave us. Thank you for showing us your love for our peoples. We pray you give us peace with these people who only want war and to kill our nations/peoples.
This is the meanings behind the words of the AIM song.
So last Friday, this young man stood there acting like he was making fun of our religious leader, and smirking like he was superior to him. Someone should have been there to remind him about the high numbers of evil crimes done to us in the past hundred years! Hundreds of Native children had been raped and the Catholic priest responsible received as punishment a transfer to another church. He should have been reminded that most of the Indian Boarding schools run by Catholics had their own graveyards. Some with as high as 200 unmarked graves!
This is what those kids were demanding: to return to those days when America was supposedly great.
I am Northern Cheyenne and our family heard that song was composed by my maternal uncle Donlin Mcmanus aka Ernest Hisbadhorse, Jr. Do you know if this is true?
Thank you sir for your enlightening commentary on the history of the AIM song. It is a beautiful Prayer to the Creator. It is a shame more people do not know the true history of my people and yours . I am truly ashamed of many of the horrendous things done to the people of the first nations in the name of god. I am sad that this continues to this day. I wonder how those misguided youths and those who support them would react if someone were to mock their prayers and hymns. I am pretty sure they would be as enraged as I am about their conduct. Stay strong!
Everyone is leaving out the video recording of the black Israelites taunting the Natives about their worship and that they worship animals and a lot of name calling to the Natives. Why aren’t you talking about that? To me that was more of an insult than the white kids.
To be fair this is an article about the origin of the honor song used by Mr. Phillips to defuse the volatile situation between the “Hebrew Israelites” and the MAGA morons. I think it’s commendable to Native News that they’re sticking to the subjects that concern all of us. Certainly the “Hebrew Israelites” deserve the bulk of the blame for igniting this situation, but it’s a battle best fought by others who will draw the ire away from Native people.
“Everyone ” is not omitting the crass behavior of the Black Isrealites. I viewed several videos and also saw and heard them calling the Native Americans “uncle tomahawks. ” I view their conduct as unacceptable. I also view the “tomahawk chops” some of the young men were doing as unacceptable. I’ve viewed read and listened to much of what has been said and written about the incident, including the young man’s statment. I want to believe him. I think that he is being singled out unfairly IF he is telling the truth. I don’t believe any of the death threats toward anyone involved are justifiable. But I also don’t want to believe that the “school spirit” chants including the gestures and apparent mockery of Mr Phillips drumming and chanting (which are a form of prayer) are justifiable. I believe that much of the disrespect I perceived comes from a lack of knowledge and understanding of the cultures of the Native Americans and the history of American genocidal and callous treatment of them which continues to this day .
Such a disgraceful history of treatment of the Native Americans! Build a Heavy Karmic Debt that will have to be expiated. So many lessons need to be learned and acted upon and People have to learn to live with true Reverence for All of Life, all plants and animals included, that make life possible for people who ungratefully only take and do not contribute. This is the definition of parasitism.
Another excellent article by Mr. Rickert showing the true nature of the attitude Mr. Phillips used to place himself in physical jeopardy in his attempt to defuse the dangerous situation created by the “Hebrew Israelites.” I have read articles suggesting that Mr. Phillips was singing a “war chant” in an attempt to bring on a physical confrontation between himself and the MAGA brats. I have read articles asserting that Mr. Phillips “accosted” the MAGA youth trying to goad them into physical violence. I have also read the shameful articles from the point of view of the young brats suggesting that THEY were the ones trying to keep the peace (through jeering and ridicule?).
By including the opinion of Leonard Peltier, Mr. Rickert skillfully reminded us that Natives have ALWAYS been besieged by the discrimination and injustice in this country and many have served time in prison because of it. As I’ve always said, little changes in this country. Discrimination, injustice and racism are an American tradition.
I am so disgusted with the entire MAGA hat wearing bunch. The incident we’re talking about is one of the worst displays of disrespect. I watch the coverage and I see that most the coverage is saying that Mr. Phillips is at fault. We all know it was not. That little punk and his Punch Me Now face shows it all.