First, we ask that you sign the
online petition.
Then, take some time to write to the Chairman of
the Committee on the Judiciary, Representative
Lamar Smith.
Sample Letter
The Honorable Lamar Smith
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Smith,
COINTELPRO is an acronym for a series of
counterintelligence programs conducted in the
1950s-1970s by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) against various dissident
groups and political activists.
Despite citizens’ efforts since 1975, no serious
effort has been made to officially investigate
alleged constitutional and human rights
violations by the FBI against such organizations
and individuals—nor have such occurrences
against residents of the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation, South Dakota, been addressed.
In 1975, the U.S. Senate Select Committee to
Study Governmental Operations with Respect to
Intelligence Activities (or “Church Committee”)
was poised to address allegations of misconduct
with respect to the FBI’s counterintelligence
program and its targeting of Indigenous civil
rights organizations and Native American
activists following the 71-day siege at Wounded
Knee, SD (27 Feb-8 May 1973). That hearing was
cancelled and never rescheduled.
The last official request for relief, initiated
in March 2004 (and still pending), was a request
to your Committee for congressional hearings
focused on the FBI’s improper use of
confidential informants in Indian Country.
I join with other activists and organizations in asking the Committee on the
Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, to
schedule hearings on "COINTELPRO: Its
Legacy and Continuing Impact." This inquiry must include an
investigation of the so-called “Reign of Terror”
on the Pine Ridge Reservation (1973-1976), the
many deaths and injuries that occurred during
that time, and the role of the FBI in fomenting
violence on the reservation in an attempt to
“neutralize” the Indigenous rights movement.
All Americans have the right to know the truth.
Most of all, however, Indians must be heard on
these matters.
I believe that these
measures will finally bring closure to the
residents of Pine Ridge and put to rest the
tragic events of the 1970s. I also believe this
to be the Committee’s opportunity to find the
truth and, hopefully, pass legislation that will
begin to address some of the gross injustices
committed not only against political activists
and dissident organizations under the auspices
of COINTELPRO, but reverse laws enacted
since September 11, 2001, that have limited our
constitutional freedoms.
Sincerely,
Signature
