JOIN OUR

MAILING LIST

SITE CONTENT

About Peltier

The Writer

Context

The "Reign of Terror"

Facts of the Case

The Peltier Trial

The Post-Trial Revelations

The Proof:  FBI Documents

COINTELPRO

FBI War Against AIM

Incident at Oglala

Investigation

The Extradition

The Trial

Post-Conviction

You Can Help

Write Letters to Congress

Background

Historical Context

It is important to put the shoot-out on June 26, 1975, in its proper context and understand that the incident at Oglala was part of a larger struggle—a struggle that continues today.

To understand the gross injustice of the Peltier case, it is not at all necessary that you agree with but understand the politics of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the struggle in which Indigenous People were engaged in the 1970s.

We urge you not to focus on the reasonableness of the basis for the investigation of AIM by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the politics, rhetoric, or actions of AIM. Instead, focus on the chief investigative branch of the United States government (the FBI) and its counterintelligence program through which the Bureau—according to the U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, or the "Church Committee"—engaged in "lawless tactics" and responded to "deep-seated social problems by fomenting violence and unrest."

It is a fact (and one supported by the government's own documents) that the FBI actively supported the "Reign of Terror" on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; sought to disrupt and "neutralize" AIM; and targeted AIM members, including human rights activist Leonard Peltier. It also is fact that the FBI, supported by government prosecutors, orchestrated the wrongful conviction and illegal imprisonment of Leonard Peltier.

Decide for Yourself

Educate yourself. Arm yourself with the truth. And demand freedom for Leonard Peltier.

• American Indian Movement (AIM)

• COINTELPRO

• Reign of Terror

• Wounded Knee