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Leonard Peltier supporters gathered in front of Union Station for a rally on Feb. 4. (Photos by John Larson)

Supporters of Leonard Peltier held a rally in front of the federal courthouse at Union Station in downtown Tacoma on Feb. 4. The Native American activist was accused of fatally shooting two Federal Bureau of Investigations agents in 1975 on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. In 1977 he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. Many activists feel he is innocent and was framed by the federal government for political reasons.

A majority of people at the rally marched to downtown from Portland Avenue Park on the East Side.

Puyallup Tribal member Ramona Bennett discussed Leonard Peltier’s skills as a mechanic. He often fixed vehicles at no charge for Native elders in and around Seattle, where he had lived since 1965. He eventually joined the American Indian Movement. “Word of this successful Indian spread through Indian Country,” she remarked. “He is more than just a symbol. He is a really great guy.”
Arthur Miller from the Tacoma chapter of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee said he has been involved in the cause for 34 years.

He said the troubles at Pine Ridge stemmed from the discovery of uranium and other valuable minerals. Mining interests wanted to acquire these. “They knew the Lakota people would not sign away their land,” Arthur Miller remarked.

Richard Wilson, who was elected chairman of the tribal council at Pine Ridge in 1972, organized a private militia, whose members allegedly attacked his political opponents. Arthur Miller described Richard Wilson as corrupt and said this caused American Indian Movement to intervene. “Leonard answered the call out of Seattle.”

He said the FBI produced a witness who said she saw Leonard Peltier shoot the two agents. Arthur Miller said she later claimed she offered this account because the FBI threatened to take her children away from her.

An effort was made in the 1990s to get President Bill Clinton to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier. Arthur Miller said strong pressure from the FBI, including 500 agents picketing in front of the White House, caused the president to back away.

This effort continues with President Barack Obama. “Chances are Obama would not grant clemency until after the election.” Arthur Miller said parole or clemency are options that could get Leonard Peltier released. “However we get him out, I do not give a damn as long as we get him out.”

He urged those at the rally to sign petitions demanding freedom for the prisoner. “He is here for us. We need to be here for him.”

Jimbo Simmons, a member of Choctaw Tribe, got involved in a group supporting freedom for Leonard Peltier in Los Angeles in the late 1970s. He moved to the Northwest in 1983. He said the rally in Tacoma is one of many such events taking place that day around the world. He said a United Nations panel that deals with the rights of indigenous peoples may take up Leonard Peltier’s case.

“You are bringing his case to the international community,” Jimbo Simmons said. “This resistance is about who we are. It is about our people, our land.”

Puyallup Tribal member David Duenas discussed how his father was involved in fighting for Native rights with Leonard Peltier. “They fought for Indian identity.”

David Duenas said those at the rally honor the spirit of Crazy Horse. “All over the world today, they are standing in unity with our brother.”