- Details
- By Levi Rickert
Opinion. During the opening general session of the annual National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in late October, NCAI President Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Indians, shared the story of being among several prominent Native Americans invited to fly on Air Force One with President Joe Biden as he traveled to Phoenix to issue an apology for the U.S. government’s role in federal Indian boarding schools in late October.
Macarro recounted receiving a call from Rose Petoskey (Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians), director of Tribal Affairs and Senior Advisor to the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, who asked if he would fly to Washington, D.C., and meet at Joint Base Andrews to travel aboard Air Force One with the president to attend a presidential event at the Gila River Indian Community.
He explained that he did not know in advance what the important announcement by President Biden would be. Macarro said he did not learn the details of the event until more than an hour into the flight.It would be a historic presidential event.
A while into the trip, President Biden joined the group in Air Force One's boardroom. Each leader was told they would have five minutes to discuss any topic they wished with the president.
Macarro quickly considered what he wanted to discuss. He thought about raising the topic of the Dodgers or perhaps the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration in Indian Country, including the important nomination of Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) as Secretary of the Interior.
Ultimately, Macarro decided to raise the issue of clemency for Leonard Peltier (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe), a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), who is serving two consecutive life sentences for his conviction in the 1975 killing of two FBI agents, Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Imprisoned for nearly half a century, Peltier is currently incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary in Coleman, Florida, a high-security facility.
“Mr. President, we are flying to Phoenix where you will apologize on behalf of the government for its role in Indian boarding schools,” Macarro began. “You need to know that there is an 80-year-old named Leonard Peltier, one of the oldest surviving Indian boarding school survivors, who is in prison. He attended the Wahpeton Indian School in North Dakota,” Macarro told the president.
Macarro commented that he didn’t think the president was aware of this. “It was new information for him,” Macarro said. “I then told him that Peltier has served five decades in federal prison for a crime that the government has admitted it could not prove.”
Macarro also informed the president that Peltier is in poor health and uses a walker to get around.
The NCAI president told the president of the United States that members of Congress, both current and former, have called for Peltier’s release.
Macarro explained that the biggest opposition to Peltier’s release comes from the FBI. He told Biden that the FBI director would present him with evidence that has already been proven false. Macarro explained that the FBI wants someone to pay for the loss of their two agents, and Peltier is that person.
Macarro added that even the federal prosecutor who argued Peltier’s case admitted that the government’s case against him was flawed.
After listening, President Biden paused and then asked Macarro if Peltier had been convicted by a jury.
“Yes, Mr. President, he was, and let me tell you that trial was a miscarriage of justice. There was prosecutorial misconduct, and exculpatory evidence was not allowed to be presented. Evidence that would have exonerated Leonard,” Macarro explained.
He also told the president that one of the 12 jurors had admitted during jury questioning that she hated Indians, yet she was allowed to stay on the jury, and it was that jury that convicted him.
Macarro later told Native News Online that President Biden was non-committal about any action he would take on behalf of Peltier but thanked Macarro for bringing up the case.
This past week, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, spoke on the Senate floor and called on President Biden to release Peltier.
Biden, known for his human compassion as a loving father, pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, citing the improper prosecution of his son because of his family’s political standing.
I have written several opinion pieces in the past calling for Leonard Peltier’s release. I have also written that I believe the Biden-Harris administration has been the most beneficial presidential administration for Indian Country.
President Joe Biden can seal his legacy with Indian Country by granting clemency to Leonard Peltier, a man who uses a walker to get around and deserves to be near his family in the sunset of his life.
Thayék gde nwéndëmen - We are all related.
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