- Details
- By Levi Rickert
The San Francisco City and County Board of Supervisors has declared February 24, 2022 as a Day of Solidarity with Leonard Peltier through a resolution passed unanimously at its regularly scheduled meeting on Feb. 15, 2022.
Want more Native News? Get the free daily newsletter today.
Peltier (Turtle Mountain Chippewa Nation), 77, was convicted of killing two FBI agents in a shootout at Oglala on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in June 1975. Since many legal experts have maintained the federal case against Peltier was flawed. Native Americans across Indian Country consider him a political prisoner.
The resolution also urges “the federal government to release Leonard Peltier and grant clemency after many years of unjust confinement as a political prisoner.”
One point in the resolution reads: “Former Federal Judge Kevin Sharp has declared Leonard Peltier’s innocence on the grounds that he was denied his Constitutional right to a fair trial and has requested his release from Federal prison.”
The resolution was submitted to the Board of Supervisors for consideration by Anthony Gonzales of AIM-West, a chapter of the American Indian Movement, and the American Indian Cultural District. It was introduced to the Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Hilary Ronen.
The Peltier has been incarcerated for over 46 years. He is currently is incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary at Coleman, Fla. (USP Coleman 1).
The resolution mentioned Peltier contracted COVID-19 and has known morbidities, such as diabetes.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors directed the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors to transmit a copy of the resolution to President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In recent weeks, members of Congress and the International Indian Treaty Council have asked President Biden to grant clemency and for his immediate release.
More Stories Like This
Lawsuit Filed by Fort Belknap Indian Community Against Greenberg Traurig, LLP Reads Like a Movie ScriptSpecial Edition Native Bidaské: Oglala Composer Mato Wayuhi
Ho-Chunk Trucker Spreads MMIP Message, Offers Safe Haven from Domestic Violence
Native News Weekly (September 24, 2023): D.C. Briefs
Assemblyman Ramos Honored with Award for Long Service to California Native American Commission
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
