from Rachel Carey-Harper
Dear Friends,This letter is to explain why I am fasting, how I came to this decision, what I hope to accomplish, what it entails and where people could help. What will come out, among other things, will some of my spiritual faith and practice. I realize that most of us are different in this regard. I respect this and do not ask that you believe what I say rather that you try to understand and know that what I am expressing is what I believe.
I am on a hunger strike to insure that Leonard Peltier gets treatment at the Mayo clinic for a debilitating and life threatening condition that was intensified by the treatment he received from the prison facilities. Beyond this however, I am fasting to gain Leonard Peltier the supposed inalienable rights this country guarantees, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is evident by the facts that these have unjustly been taken away from him by a corrupt system intent on its own preservation, profit and power. While for years I have been aware of Leonard´s plight, written a few letters, signed countless petitions, something happened that has made me feel called to take this extreme action.
I go on prayer walks which last about 2 hours 3-4 times a week. There are times that it is a very intense experience. A few months ago, during one of those times, images of Leonard came and I (as others have) saw him free. However it came most strongly upon me that this would only be possible with a massive, prolonged hunger strike. I felt something ask/urge me to participate. So when I read about the organization that was taking place for this action a familiar sensation that I get when in Quaker Meeting for Worship when I have a message I am suppose to speak (like a lead weight in my stomach) came over me. Although I tried to ignore it the feeling stayed with me for a couple days until I acted. Furthermore, I was moved by the phrase from Northwest Leonard Peltier Support Network “There comes a time when people who believe in social justice need to pull together. This is just such a time.”
On this hunger strike I will be fasting and praying for Leonard. This fasting will, for me, be a spiritual exercise with a political objective. I also feel that it is necessary to pray for the people that put him and keep him in this situation, the widows of the slain FBI agents and ordinary citizens of the United States. I pray for changes in hearts and minds; that they might be open. I pray that truth and respect guide our lives and I pray that people have the strength to overcome any fear of losing any of the privilege or power that came from white supremacy. To be true to the spirit is to be truly free.
As earthquakes tear the fabric of the land, so physical violence and the violence of oppression and injustice bring suffering and shred the harmony of inner peace. Ultimately, the agents of oppression and our whole society suffer spiritually in immense proportions. Violence is essentially a spiritual dis-ease born from emotional and physical hurt, trauma and oppression. It alienates us from the roots of our being. Often the suffering and pain of victims of violence can be seen. The extreme problem of this behavior for those who perpetuate it is hidden even from themselves; like a fatal disease that has no symptoms. The pain and suffering of survivors sometimes lasts a lifetime. Many people who act in oppressive or violent ways and those who collude with them don´t realize that until properly addressed, the injury connected to their spiritsoul will effect every instance of their future in this lifetime and the next. Just as the “good” people of Germany before WWII who rallied in the hundreds of thousands to put Hitler in power and stood by for the holocaust had a responsibility so we have a responsibility for the atrocities that our systems perpetrates whether it is Leonard or Mumia. The majority is responsible for participating or colluding with white, male supremacy. So I am fasting for Leonard, for victims everywhere and for you and me.
People on this hunger strike are asked to find someone else to fast when their time is over. I am taking over for Dale Pfeiffer who is scheduled from Feb 6 - 19. Currently, I am planning to pick it up on the 20th and fast until Leonard gets treatment. If this doesn´t happen by March 6th I will re-evaluate the situation. My experience with fasting is a few 4 day fasts as part of spiritual exercises/experiences. Also for the last two years I have once a month fasted from the night before the new moon to the day after. I have found each time very unique and different. Unfortunately I do not have any anorexic tendencies so it is never easy. However I do find it worthwhile. I have some apprehension about two weeks but feel that this is the time to take such an action.
People can help this cause by sharing as much of their brilliance and energy as they can spare. One of the things I like about this action is the way the organization is being handled. The Northwest Leonard Peltier Support Network have provided a framework and have been very open to people following their own leading. Just so, hopefully, among those of us who are working closely together. In addition to whatever we come up with, the NLPSN suggests the following “Each day of the fast different fasters will issue a statements in their own words calling for the end of the torture. We are also asking people who support this campaign to help widely distribute these statements. We are also asking that supporters on each day of the fast to e-mail messages to: Ms. Kathleen Hawk, Director, Bureau Of Prisons at: swolfson@bop.gov or write to her at: 320 First St., Washington, DC 20534, or fax: 202-514-6878, or call: 202-307-3198 and ask that Leonard be allowed treatment by Dr. Keller at the Mayo Clinic., asking that Leonard be allowed medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic. We are also asking supporters to take what ever positive local actions that will advance this campaign.” In this regard we could consider doing local mailings and ideally, follow-up phone calls.
It would be wonderful if this action could be a catalyst for building a society with love, truth, beauty and respect as well as the other inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The power to bring this about rests with us.
Two of my heros are Gandhi and Alice Paul (suffragist) who both successfully used hunger strikes to win their cause. I believe that this is possible for Leonard Peltier.
A heart felt thank-you for joining in this endeavor.
In Love and Light, Rachel
From: NWLPSN, bayou@blarg.net
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW! Ojibwa-Lakota American Indian Movement activist and political prisoner Leonard Peltier is suffering continuous, excruciating pain because the the federal Bureau Of Prisons refuse him the medical treatment he needs. This is direct politically motivated torture.
For the purpose of calling attention to this torture and to help mobilize a campaign to end this, THE LEONARD PELTIER SOLIDARITY FAST/ HUNGER STRIKE has been organized. At this time there are over 50 fasters taking part in this from across the U.S. and in Canada, France, Basque Country, Russia, South Africa and Spain.
We are asking everyone who can to send daily messages to: Ms. Kathleen Hawk, Director, Bureau Of Prisons, 320 First St. NW, Washington, DC 20534, fax; 202-514-6878; phone; 202-307-3198; e-mail swolfson@bop.gov . These messages should ask that Leonard be allowed treatment at the Mayo Clinic.
For more information on how you can join the fast/hunger strike, or do support work for it, please send a message to: the NWLPSN at; bayou@blarg.net
from Waabnong Kwe:
Boozhoo. My name is Waabnong Kwe. I am Tsalagi and Ojibway. I am a member of the Wolf Clan, living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
I'm a 46 year old Grandmother living with AIDS. I am on my final journey towards the Spirit World.
Why then, some ask, would you want to do this fast for Leonard Peltier? "Isn't that putting your life at risk", I am asked.
My response to this is that my life has been at risk since the moment I was conceived. I was born Anishnawbe Kwe.
I have seen my people struggle to survive with bare necessities. I have seen the rising statistics of our youth suicides. I have seen our children taken from our homes and placed in foster homes or adopted out, not knowing where they belong. I have seen our Grandmothers and Grandfathers struggle to reclaim their native languages. I have seen my sisters and brothers stripped of their dignity. I have seen my sisters and brothers incarcerated and abused by those hired to " rehabilitate" them. I have seen our people murdered. I have seen our Sacred Burial grounds dug up so that others may have golf courses. I have heard my Grandchildren ask, "Why?" too often.
Throughout my life, I have witnessed many injustices in this world. Each time I have taken up my drum and sang prayer songs. Each time I have done what I could to help bring about awareness. I've taken risks, standing up for what I believe in. And yet I feel I have done so little.
My brother, Leonard Peltier is dying. Without proper medical care, such as what was offered to him by the Mayo Clinic, Leonard will die. Would I stand by and watch another brother drown, knowing I could reach out and perhaps save his life? Of course not! Nor can I sit back and do nothing to help Leonard.
As each year passes and Leonard remains in prison, I am amazed at the atrocities of the injustice system in North America. No one should have to endure what he has, let alone an innocent man. It is time now for the people of the four corners of this earth to stand together. We must do what we must, in order to bring about justice. For, when injustice of this kind is done to one, it can be done to all. And so I will begin my three day fast tomorrow. During this time, I will take up my drum and offer prayer songs. I will ask Creator and my Ancestors to look with compassion on those who know no better. I will offer prayers that Leonard will be able to receive the medical care he needs to survive. I will pray that Leonard is soon freed to live his life amongst our people, in peace.
I will do this fast because I must.
All my Relations! In Solidarity, Waabnong Kwe Toronto, Ontario
from Aileen:
Dear Brother and Sister Fasters....
I am a "breed", mix, remnant relation. One of my family unprovable is Lakota. And so I consider Leonard Peltier an Elder brother. Nearly losing all my teeth right now, his pain hits my nerve, in many a way....
So I am a distant and loving relation and intend to fast as long as I can with just juice and vitamins. I support someone disabled and may be starting a new job after unemployment next Monday - so I might have to eat to keep doing it but in my heart, I will be fasting still.
My heart and my spirit to you the fasters who can do more than I do. I hope that this is ended quickly by Leonard's freedom and medical care...by loving hands. I would ease his pain - give it to me, Leonard...I recently got Robbie Robertson's CD which had Leonard's own words in the piece "Sacrifice." It was so wonderful to hear his voice and feel his passion. When he said, (paraphrase) "...if I have to sacrifice some more, then I sacrifice some more.." And my heart said, if this brother can do this, what can *I* do?
When we think of all the damages done....When we remember Anna Mae and Leonard and so many others who died before they should have died...how can we not try to reach the heart to awaken it so that it will free this (and other) brother(s and sisters)?
So if my time is short in the fast, it is eternal in my heart. Until all people are free, I am bound. If they can treat one like this, then tomorrow it might be you or me. We can not allow it. We are meant to walk in beauty, I believe in my heart.
Many are afraid to step forward but stand with us. Be strong and may this end before any harm comes to a single faster. This is my prayer before it begins. May no one come to harm and may it work anyway. They can't do this to us anymore....
Is it justice or it it JUST US?
May this work!!!
Deepest respect,
Aileen
aterra@mindspring.com
January 21, 1999
Ona Move!
We, all of us, give solid thanks to Leonard Peltier and his numerous
supporters worldwide, for the principled assistance in France recently. I
deeply appreciate it - we ALL do.
Many years ago, when I was doing radio commentary for several Philadelphia
college stations, I frequently received taped reports from communications
people from AIM (American Indian Movement ), and promptly reported such
information to my audience. What I learned was that the U.S.
government was waging a vicious and unrelenting war against native people. In (It)
was a phase in that war that an innocent Lakota activist, Leonard Peltier
was dogged by this government, and framed for murder.For almost a quarter of a century, this kind and gentle warrior, this
artist, this son of his people, has withstood the brutal assaults of the
U.S. government, against its own "law," its own constitution, its own
precedent.On February 6, 1999 the calendar will strike 23 long and lonely years in
U.S. gulags for Leonard Peltier. Twenty-three years since an overtly
illegal extradition from Canada to the U.S. Twenty-three years in a
Yankee Iron Cage for the "crime" of resisting American repression.As we enter a new century, it is past time for us to correct this vile
injustice against Leonard Peltier. Let a new century begin with an act of
justice for the Oglola people.Free Leonard Peltier!
Free the MOVE 9! Long Live John Africa!
In the Spirit of Nat Turner
And Crazy Horse!
Ona Move!
Mumia
from Dale Allen Pfeiffer:
An innocent man is being tortured in a United States prison, kept in constant pain, unable even to chew his food. An innocent man has been locked into a tiny cell for twenty-three years now, simply for standing up to defend his people and their land. For being a true patriot, this man has been deprived of his home for twenty-three years, deprived of his family and loved ones, his children and grandchildren. Twenty-three years deprived of the freedom to come and go as he pleases, deprived of the freedoms most of us take for granted, deprived of his most basic rights and confined in a tiny cell unfit to house even a dog, though the US government has admitted that they cannot prove him guilty of the crime of which he is accused. This man is named Leonard Peltier and his people are the Lakota Indians of Pine Ridge Reservation.
Fearful that his story may someday come to light, and terrified because they cannot break his spirit, the government attempted to assassinate Leonard while he was in prison. They beat him, placed him into solitary confinement and subjected him to surgical torments to the point that he is now in continuous pain and cannot even move his jaw to eat. All of this to hide their crimes against his people, and to intimidate them from demanding what is right.
The people of Pine Ridge were terrorized and murdered so that they would not resist as the US government stole their land. They were bitterly, mercilessly oppressed so that a few major corporations might profit from the discovery of uranium deposits, and so that the US military might have the materials for more weapons of mass destruction. Their land, once a pristine wilderness, was gouged out and defiled, all for the sake of money and power.
And when Leonard stood up for his people and his land, the US government swatted him down and rigged a trial against him. They coerced and intimidated witnesses, fabricated evidence and did everything in their power to paint him as a mad dog killer. And even after these crimes of the government were uncovered, they held private meetings with judges and even presidents in order to thwart his appeals and his petition for executive clemency. And now they would torture him even to the point of death by denying him the medical treatment he so urgently needs, and which the Mayo Clinic has so graciously offered for free.
There comes a time when you have to stand up against such an injustice. For many years now, our efforts to defend Leonard and win his rightful freedom have been met by stony silence and by intimidation. This is intolerable; it simply cannot go on any longer. If Leonard continues to remain in prison, if he is denied medical treatment for another day, then all of our talk about justice, liberty, equality and democracy is a sham.
To demonstrate the strength of our convictions, to illustrate our solidarity with Leonard Peltier and the truth of his innocence, I and many, many other good people will be fasting and carrying our message to the public, from now until Leonard is released to the Mayo Clinic or until he is granted executive clemency. To the Bureau of Prisons, we demand that Leonard be given medical treatment in the Mayo Clinic. To President Clinton, we demand that Leonard be given executive clemency. In the name of all that is right, it is time to bring an end to this injustice.
Dale Allen Pfeiffer
Abuse and oppression have affected me profoundly for most of my life. It was only five years ago I realized it was time for this to stop. It was time to stand up and make a difference. It was time to make change. It was time to stop being a victim and to become empowered and strong. The perpetrators of the oppression were not going to change so it became necessary for me to change how I reacted to them. Perhaps reacted is the wrong word. I am learning to act in accordance with the spirit in my heart. I try to no longer react in accordance to the intimidations and rigid belief systems of others.It was also five years ago that I became aware of my Indian ancestry that burned strong in my blood, aching for expression. The Indian ways of respect for the spirit and soul of others and respect for Mother Earth who nourishes all things became my ways. To strive for balance in all things became my most pressing goal.
When I heard of Leonard Peltier and his imprisonment I knew that I must do something to help him. It was something I identified with deeply in my soul. The perpetrators of oppression who will not allow Leonard Peltier medical help will not change, so it will do no good to react to what they do. But to act in a way so that people will know the truth can bring about a difference and a change. I will fast to show my support for Leonard Peltier and his urgent need for an ease to his suffering. I will only fast for two days for I have a heart arrhythmia and I will need to be strong to care for my fiance, Dale Pfeiffer, who is fasting much longer than I.
Elizabeth Anne Payne
Statement by Leonard Peltier for February 6, 1999
Greetings friends and supporters,
On this day my spirit continues to remain hopeful and my heart strong knowing that we are right in our struggle for my freedom and the liberation of my people. I want to thank you for your work and for the sacrifices you have made on my behalf. Twenty-three years is a very long time and I sometimes grow tired and frustrated but it is thanks to you that I do not give up. I know that in unity and in solidarity we will be successful and that one day we will work side by side in the struggle for liberation and justice for all First Nations Peoples-for all oppressed peoples.
It is among yourselves and within your communities that you have real power. You have the power to talk to one another and break down the isolation created by the dominant culture that fears you realizing your potential to stand together in unity. Despite the suffering I feel and the torturous years of imprisonment that I have endured, deep down I have no regrets in fighting for my people-in fighting for what is right. It is out of urgent necessity and with strong conviction that we must speak out and organize against forces that want to enslave us, rob us of our humanity and separate us from each other and from the Earth.
I am told that the pressure being put on the Canadian Minister of Justice, Anne Mc Clellan to release the report on my extradition is having an affect. This is just another example of how in unity, we can be successful. But, we must continue our work and we must continue this work in unity and with respect and tolerance of one another.
I hope that many of you will be able to attend the conference this June and that meanwhile you will continue your activities. The recently gained freedom of Wolverine, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, and the Irish Nationalist H-Block 3 prisoners is proof that we too can and will prevail. Again, I thank you for your work and I am moved by the intensity of activity on my behalf on this day.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
from Ries:
A good day to all the People in the Circle,My fast has just begun. A very small token. 1 day does not compare to over 7500 days Leonard Peltier that he is imprissoned. I just watched "Incident at Oglala" again and I completly fail to see how it is possible that a man can get consecutive life sentences with this kind of evidence. A country like the United States, always critisising other countries about Human Rights, Freedom etc. It is too unbelievable to put into words.
I wish all fasters and especially hunger strikers strength All I can do is fast for now and pray. This one is for Leonard Peltier, a warrior.
Tunkashila,
hoye wayin kte
namah'un yeyo!
maka sitomniyan
hoye wayin kte
namah'un yeyo!
mitakuye ob
wani ktleo
Epelo.With great respect to all First Nation Peoples,
Chantema waste,
Ries
Sallywood
Delgany
Co. Wicklow
Ireland
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-
FREE Leonard Peltier
and
NEVER FORGET Anna Mae Aquash
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from Lois Brooks:
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW! I see injustice everywhere and everywhere I see the people suffering. Most of the time I feel powerless to stop it. Alone this may be so, I may be powerless but together we are powerful. I joined this fast to stop the injustice being done to Leonard Peltier. I am fasting to say NO you can't do this anymore. I am fasting to say you must END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW! I am fasting to say give Leonard Peltier immediate proper medical care at the Mayo Clinic. I am fasting to say to those doing the torture, we are watching you. Alone I am one tiny voice barely heard, but together with all of us you are involved in this, those who are fasting some for one day, some for two, some for the duration and those who are not fasting but are praying and helping and writing letters, making calls, and are joining their spirits to this cause, all of us will be heard. Each one of us are doing what we are able and all of it matters. Each supporter is a vital part of this. Whatever you are doing is essential.
I believe that when people come together like we are, our spirits meet on a higher frequency and that spirit sting that binds us together with Leonard Peltier makes us strong. Each act is a victory. Every time someone learns about Leonard Peltier it is a victory. So we are victorious already and we continue our struggle for justice and freedom for Leonard Peltier who has suffered for 23 years in prison and is suffering now. Let the suffering end. Together we can change things. It is the only way. Thanks to everyone who is taking part in this fast. I am honored to be counted among you.
Knowledge if power!
Lois Brooks
poet
SOLIDARITY FAST STATEMENT of Tina Evans
February 6, 1999
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!
As I start this first day of my fast, I am left to wonder. I wonder how a "great nation" can starve and opress a man so ... how he can be abused and neglected the way he has been.This fast was originated as a way to draw attention to Leonard Peltier's urgent medical condition, and the lack of competent medical treatment for his condition. Would you want your father, brother, uncle, or grandfather treated in such a way? Would you do whatever it took to ensure his rights as a human being? Or would you let him waste away, spending his every waking moment in excrusiating pain?
Me personally? I would do whatever was in my power to help him. Wether he was a prisoner of society, or a prisoner of war. I would starve myself just to share his pain ... letting him know that i stand with him. Not before him, and not behind him ... with him. I would let people know of his situation in order for him to get the attention he needs. I would give him my heart so that his would not ache. I would love him as my Lakota brother.
Leonard Peltier has spent the last 23 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He has been taken from his family, his home, his beliefs ... his life. He must now eat through a straw because of the condition his jaw is in. And all I ask is WHY?? Why should he not be allowed the medical attention that he deserves? Other prisoners, committers of unspeakable wrongs, have been allowed to leave the prison (under guard) to gain medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic. Why should he not be given the same right? How can ANYONE sit by and watch this man in such pain? He is not such a monster that a "great nation" should be so leery of him. He is a man. A man who desperately needs help. Put yourself in his shoes. Would you concede your way of life, or your beliefs because someone told you to? Leonard has stood up for what he believes in ... his people. And for that he has been treated like a monster. I say that those who would neglect this man, or ANY man for that matter, would have to be the monster.
To Ms. Kathleen Hawks: Madam, as a single mother of three girls I ask you ... how can you sit calmly while a man dies slowly and painfully at your hands? Are you that heartless? That cruel? Would you want your children to know that you are such a monster? How would you explain this to your children? "Well, he had to pay for a crime that he didn't commit. He was an indian, so he didn't matter much. He didn't need what the 'white man' needs, so we let him waste away."
I would hope that if you have children you would think about the fact that they may not be so "upstanding" as they get older. Maybe one day one of your children will be imprisoned. Maybe one day one of your children will be neglected and starved to death ... left to slowly die an agonizing death, or live a miserable existence. Maybe one day you will open your eyes and put yourself in Leonard's shoes. Maybe one day you will have a small glimmer in your dark heart and let this man get the treatment he needs before it is too late. Maybe one day you won't be such a monster.
My final stement to you madam is this ... I DEMAND THE END OF THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!
In Solidarity,
Tina Evans
DevHawkWi@aol.com
from ish:
There are those of us who are silent..but are sending these fast statements
out to news outlets across the country, and around the world, congressional
representatives, as well as Kathleen Hawks-Sawyer..<G>
You all are not alone..just keep 'em coming..
The police who showed to check out the protestors in Brussels at the US
embassy were wholly sympathetic to Leonard's plight as they had seen the
news on CNN. It apparently has not been aired here in the states, but we
are getting International attention.
Our prayers are with you all..Ish
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
from Iosu Fernandez:
FEBRUARY 7TH - MORNING
Greetings from the Basque Country for all people who is participating in
the solidarity fast for Leonard.Greetings to Leonard and all the political prisoners.
Greetings also to all the people who from the institutions in the US are
not giving the proper care that Leonard's health deserves.Governments use people who work in this institutions to shut up the voice
of the people who fight against the injustice. I will fast specially to
make these people who work in the US institutions open their eyes.I Will
fast specially for those who close their eyes, for those who doesn't want
to see.
HUNGER STRIKE STATEMENT by Arthur J. Miller, NWLPSN
February 5. 1999
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW! In our world today, there are so many important struggles the people are faced with. For the effects of the evil madness of power and greed manifests itself in nearly every aspect of our existence. Some times the reality of this can overwhem us. Whereas, it is important that no wrong be overlooked, that a voice be given to all those that suffer, but there comes a time when all those who struggle must come together and take a stand. For we all know that all things are connected, our struggles, no matter how many miles apart they maybe, no matter how many different names may be applied to our struggles, the root cause of the suffering of all is within the decadent lust for power and greed by but a few people who walk this earth.
The case of Leonard Peltier is not just about what the U.S. Government is willing to do to one man, one activist, one indigenous person, though that is important also, it is also about the continuing U.S. Government policy of genocide of indigenous people. A policy of taking all that they have and giving nothing in return. Leonard Peltier represents the resistance to this policy.
There is a very clear reason why what happened on the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota Reservation on June 26, 1975 took place, for which Leonard has now spent 23 years locked-up for. The U.S. Government was acting in the interests of the nuclear power/weapons industry in trying to steal more Lakota land where uranium had been found. The U.S. Government knew that the traditional Lakota people would resist, so they set out to suppress that resistance. Many traditional Lakota people were terrorized and murdered by a death squad. When the traditional Lakota people asked the American Indian Movement (AIM) for help, among those that answered that request was Leonard Peltier.
The FBI sought to destory the resistance and on June 26, 1975 they tryed to provoke an incident that they could use as a justification to suppress AIM. In the same arrogance that Gen. Custer had shown a hundred years before, the FBI did not believe that any people were capable of defending themselves against the invaders might. That mistake costed the lives of two FBI agents on that day.
Leonard became the target of the U.S. Government's outrage that someone had dared to resist their unholy desires. Leonard was extradited from Canada based upon lies from the U.S. Government. Leonard was convicted based upon fabricated evidence, coerced witnesses and by a judge who would not allow self-defense evidence.
The U.S. Government believed that Leonard would no longer be able to continue his resistance, for they buried in the dungeons of the Marion Federal Prison. But Leonard continued to speak out against the injustice that had been done to him and his people. People began to hear his words and a support movement grew. The U.S. Government came to fear Leonard's power of unbreakable spirit and resistance. They tried many things to break Leonard, they even tried to assassinate him. Now they are trying outright torture.
Though Leonard has taken the full impact of the genocidal policies of the U.S. Government and he has become a living representation of the resistance to those policies, Leonard is also a man. A man who has been locked up for 23 years in a cold lonely cell. Away from his family, away from his hopes and dreams, away from the land of his people. There are not the words in our language that can be given to truely explain to you the great suffering Leonard has been forced to endure. And now he lives every day in continuous, excruciating pain.
The time has come for all people who believe in social justice to pull together in the spirit of unity and as one strong voice and DEMAND THE END OF THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW! As a means to call attention to the torture of Leonard and as an act of solidarity with Leonard, the Leonard Peltier Solidarity Fast/Hunger Strike has been organized. Over 55 people across the U.S. and in Canada, France, Basque Country, Russia, South Africa, Spain and Italy will be fasting. I am honored to be among these people.
Starting on Feb. 6th I will begin a hunger strike that will continue as long as it is neccessary. Yes, there are risks involved in such an action. For I am not a well person. I suffer from kidney disease, more than likely from a great amount of exposure to lead when I work for the Bunker Hill Mining Company. Over 56% of my co-workers at Bunker Hill also suffer from this disease. I cannot do anything about what happen at Bunker Hill now. But I know in my heart that the same greed that has led to the suffering of my co-workers and myself is the same greed that is causing Leonard's suffering.
For 20 years now I have been trying to aid Leonard's struggle through writing and organizing. For 20 years I have seen Leonard suffer because he will not give in to the forces of evil. And now those forces are torturing him. The time has come for me to take my commitment to a higher level, and for one person there is no higher level than their own life.
We, the fasters of the Leonard Peltier Solidarity Fast/Hunger Strike ask for your active support. In supporting this action, you will not only be acting in solidarity with Leonard, you will not only be acting in support of the fasters from different lands, but you will be acting in your own interest also. For what has, and continues to be done to Leonard can be done to any person who resists the forces of power and greed. Leonard is locked up in the iron house and is suffering for us, the people, we the people need to take a stand for Leonard and demand the end of the torture of Leonard Peltier now!
In Solidarity
Arthur J. Miller
coordinator,
Northwest Leonard Peltier
Support Network
SOLIDARITY FAST STATEMENT of Becky DeLaney
February 6, 1999
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!
Reading Leonard's statement... Moved me deeply.. and gave me strength to
go for the 4 days... no food just juices and fluids... I thank you
Leonard and I'm honored to fast for you ... and all people.. AND THIS
COUNTRY..
I Love this Country But we all have a tendency to sit back and let the
government run it self i think... I for one don't even watch the news
any more... I just get tired of it all... such conflicting natures we
have... And men like our presidents that have so much power that we gave
them...
I don't understand this power...
I went up on a hill this summer... and had dreams... but one scared me
so... I was in the Black hills in south dakota... I dreamed the hills
where red with blood and had dead eye watching us... before I left the
black hills I saw this dream in the clouds over a mountain in the
sunset... but also in the clouds I saw a herd of buffalo's all white
running into a waterfall... I was so moved by this... but i was not
afraid any more of my dream... and now i see it as the heart of turtle
Island watching us... and she is sending a whole herd of white buffalos
to help us be strong... I had allot of dreams up on that hill and i will
go back again soon...
I have rewrote this a few time not sure what to say...
We all suffer, some more then others..
But I believe in this country..
it is not the country it is the men that run it ..
but we as a people have the right to vote and disagree with the
leadership..
I believe what has happen to Leonard could happen to any of us..
We just can't sit back and let it keep happening over and over...
and i believe it will wake up and do the right thing...
IN GOD WE TRUST...
on every dollar...
OUR GOD IS THE SAME GOD ....
MINE COMES AS A WOMAN TO ME..
BUT SHE IS THE SAME AS YOURS...
really... One GOD ...
NO MATTER WHAT WE NAME HIM OR HER...
EVEN IN THE BIBLE IT SAY GOD HAS MANY NAMES...
SO IN MY GODS NAME HELP LEONARD GET THE HELP HE NEEDS TO GO ON...
SEND HIM TO THE MAYO CLINIC PLEASE...
JUST DO THE RIGHT THING...
IT DON'T HURT TO DO THE RIGHT THING.. REALLY...
JUST DO IT...
Spiritrider
starman.docman.grayhawk
from Gorka:
Fast has started in Barcelona - Catalunya Country in Spanish State.
Ona Move,
Dear friends, brothers & sisters My fast has begun, my best wishes of healt and freedom to all, specially to Leonard Peltier.
The world is watching!!!
Gorka
from Bill Boemmels:
FEBRUARY 7TH - EVENINGLet me begin my statement by expressing my appreciation for my fellow fasters, our support network, the LPDC and the LPSN's across the country as well as all of you strong hearted people who are neither fasting nor in the support network, but share our love for our brother Leonard and our immutable desire to see him treated medically and ultimately set FREE!!!My interest and involvement was reignited about 6 months ago during a search of the web for genealogical data. While searching I ran into a link to a site on Leonard's status. I was appalled and saddened. I became angry with myself for losing track of the situation for so long. I decided I needed to get involved in, if nothing else, spreading the word.
I fumbled around on my own for a while, writing letters and asking friends and relatives to do the same. Were they just humoring me when they said they would, well I have no way to know. (If you are reading this and were humoring me, or someone else who may have asked, then shame on you! Get off your ass and do something now, please!)
I contacted the LPDC and was put in touch with the Leonard Peltier Support Group / Greater New England. I would like to reaffirm my support to both groups here and now. I am impressed with the dedication and love that I witnessed at the meeting that I attended and would thank Jonathan and Rebecca at LPSG/GNE for bringing me into their circle and making me feel welcome.
Now, on to our purpose.
The fire has been lighted. Let us fan it into a conflagration the likes of which has never been seen before. Our brother Leonard has served 23 years in prison for his desire to protect his "family". Imagine being put in jail for defending your house or family.
The extradition was based on lies and phony documents presented to the government of Canada. A broken trust, how do we maintain a diplomatic relationship on that basis. Did you think you could get away with it! Canada, please release the report on the investigation of the extradition of Leonard Peltier. Show the world that someone understands the difference between truth and cover up.
Ms Kathleen Hawk and the Bureau of Prisons, I challenge you to step forward and treat this man, this human being, to the medical attention that he requires. How can Leonard's medical condition be ignored in a system, which claims to be both humane and rehabilitative.
Members of Congress and The Senate, shame on you! How is it that you can sit by and watch this tragedy play out without getting involved? Why does a man, who cannot be proven guilty of a crime greater than "aiding and abetting an act of self-defense", sit in a tiny cell serving out two life sentences. A little harsh, don't you think! Why is he denied medical treatment for a condition, which keeps him in constant pain? Let's put a little pressure on the Bureau of Prisons to allow the Mayo Clinic to treat this man and a little nudge of the Executive branch to answer the request for Executive Clemency.
William Jefferson Clinton, How is it that a request for Executive Clemency, a process that would normally take 90 days, sit on your desk for five years. Did we forget our campaign promise or was that just another untruth. We can handle it, just be straight with us. After all, the United States has not honored one single treaty or agreement with the indigenous peoples since we discovered you.
Al Gore, you aspire to the office of President….Don't expect my vote. You've already demonstrated the apathy that I find less than desirable. The Owls may have their nests, but a noble hawk is unjustly caged in Leavenworth.
This is a call to action, are any of you listening. Well, we will see and adjust accordingly on Election Day.
Bill Boemmels
DZebredow@snet.net
from Quwahia Whisperingfire:
O'siyo, Dear Mrs..Hawk;
I know you are receiving much mail and communication about helping Leonard Peltier get immediate medical treatment. I will not waste your time by telling you details that you are more aware of than I am. But I do intend to express my great concern over why nothing is being done either to rectify this situation before crises, or at least explain what the hold up is. Please help us, help me to understand this appalling situation. Hasn't he suffered enough. Is there a lesson or a warning the government is trying to use Leonard for. Because if it is, let me tell you something...we will be the teachers of helping you to learn what being a human being is all about. Do you know anything about the 'Law of the Great Peace?' This is regarded as the world's oldest living constitution, the five nations of the Iroquois made an agreement among their nations sometime around 1390. The United States borrowed the symbols from this constitution, the tree of peace and the united league of the Iroquois; the eagle clutching arrows bound together, look at the back of your quarter...Our nature has always been for peace in all aspects of life. Why are we treated so disrespectfully.
You will never be able to kill our dignity, only your own. Remember, see with your heart not with your fear.
The Creator Sees Everything...The earth hears you, the sky and the wood mountain sees you, and so do all the people and children of the earth. If you too believe this, you must be a role model...be a good one so that you will grow old, and rest with no shame.
Put yourself in Leonard's body for just a moment and free yourself!
In the Spirit of Humanity
...Don't allow Leonard Peltier to Die, please!
Quwahia Whisperingfire / 'First Nations People'
from Quwahia Whisperingfire:
February 9, 1999
O'siyo,
Greetings and great inspiration in prayers to all fasters and non-fasters!Remember, especially when doubt tries us...We are the Original People of
this western Hemisphere.We have been here for thousands and thousands of years.
No man has ever, can ever set the date of how we originated in this part of
the world, only the Creator knows. We organized our government under the
study of nature, the animals, the plants, the minerals and the sky...
The wind is my mother...The trees are my body reaching up to the Sun...and
the stars are my eyes...Life, is the sacred circle, a measurement with no beginning and no ending .
In this circle we have always been One.So what happens to one of us, happens to all of us.
This is my fifth day of fasting, I look forward to my prayers and the great
feeling of love and connection
that I feel of everyone...right in the essence and the depth of my being...
Thank you, Ron Dunning for your beautiful, strong words of encouragement,
we all need to be reinforced in our faith in humanity ... (this is our only
hope) ...for this, as all meaningful struggles, are difficult and
frightening at times.Allow medical treatment for Leonard Peltier at Mayo Clinic.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
In the Spirit of Humanity
...Don't allow Leonard Peltier to Die, please!Quwahia Whisperingfire / 'First Nations People'
from Laurie Good Hands WomanWheeler:
February 10, 1999
You have the key to unlock the door, that will allow our suffering innocent brother Leonard Peltier, go receive the medical treatment he requires...Open It Now !!Tonight I am on the verge of entering my 7th day of the fast. I just ended my evening prayers for my brother Leonard Peltier and also my fasting brothers and sisters. I picked up my drum and sang a power song. To ask The Creator to give me renewed strength, wisdom and the words to share, that might help the ones with deaf ears to listen and cold hearts to thaw. To look justly instead of unjustly, to really reflect on true pain and suffering and to FEEL that pain that can no longer be tolerated!
I have followed Leonard Peltier and his fight for 23 yrs now. I cannot believe in a Country that professes truth, justice, freedoms of speech, equality and God as its foundation, that this even happened! Let alone lasted the 23 yrs. Where in this case is there any justice? Since the trials there were no truths wanting to be heard. Leonard's freedom of speech was denied. Equality...do you even comprehend the meaning? I do know you understand the meaning of prejudice, for any other prisoner that requires medical attention and receives it. Yet our red brother is denied! The Mayo Clinic has already said they could ease his pain and perform the surgery HE MUST HAVE !! And still you say no? On what grounds? Is this your justice?
I am a wife, mother and grandmother. Leonard has a wife and children also. Do you have a family? What would it do to your children, knowing the parent they love was in excruciating pain and dying and NO one cared enough to get him medical attention? I wounds my heart to think that these children will give up, on a country who does not live by their own words. But I don't blame them. But I do blame a Government who has purposely denied medical attention to an innocent man !!
Tomorrow and the next day and the next, I will continue to fast for our brother Leonard. For as long as it may take or until my body will no longer function. Until you realize he deserves his rights to medical corrective surgery. It is Leonard Peltiers time to heal !!
I am disabled and I require several medications to keep my muscles and tendons from intense pain and to function half way properly. This I have ceased during the fast. I will suffer with my brother, side by side till he receives medical relief. But this is nothing to what our brother has sacrificed. One day soon, I pray that he will be set free, to soar with the strength of an Eagle, with honor and return to his family and the people that love him.
Heap!! Kikta yo!! (Wake Up!!)
We are one people in Solidarity....Laurie Good Hands Woman Wheeler
EarthenTre@aol.com
SOLIDARITY FAST STATEMENT of Becky DeLaney
February 6, 1999
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!Reading Leonard's statement... Moved me deeply.. and gave me strength to go for the 4 days... no food just juices and fluids... I thank you Leonard and I'm honored to fast for you ... and all people.. AND THIS COUNTRY..
I Love this Country But we all have a tendency to sit back and let the government run it self I think... I for one don't even watch the news any more... I just get tired of it all... such conflicting natures we have... And men like our presidents that have so much power that we gave them... I don't understand this power...
I went up on a hill this summer... in the black Hills in south Dakota and had dreams... but one scared me so... I dreamed the hills where red with blood and had dead eye watching us... before I left the black hills I saw this dream in the clouds over a mountain in the sunset... but also in the clouds I saw a herd of buffalo's all white running into a waterfall... I was so moved by this... but I was not afraid any more of my dream... and now i see it as the heart of turtle Island watching us... and she is sending a whole herd of white buffalos to help us be strong... I had a lot of dreams up on that hill and i will go back again soon...
I have rewrote this a few time not sure what to say... We all suffer, some more then others.. But I believe in this country.. it is not the country it is the men that run it .. but we as a people have the right to vote and disagree with the leadership.. I believe what has happen to Leonard could happen to any of us.. We just can't sit back and let it keep happening over and over... and I believe that the men and women that run this country will wake up and do the right thing...
IN GOD WE TRUST...
on every dollar...
OUR GOD IS THE SAME GOD ....
MINE COMES AS A WOMAN TO ME..
BUT SHE IS THE SAME AS YOURS...
really... One GOD ...
NO MATTER WHAT WE NAME HIM OR HER...
EVEN IN THE BIBLE IT SAY GOD HAS MANY NAMES...
SO IN MY GODS NAME HELP LEONARD GET THE HELP HE NEEDS TO GO ON...SEND HIM TO THE MAYO CLINIC PLEASE...
JUST DO THE RIGHT THING...
IT DON'T HURT TO DO THE RIGHT THING.. REALLY...
JUST DO IT...
--
Walk in the Beauty of the day!
Live each day as if it where your Last!
Ride the Wind and Live to tell!!Spiritrider spiritrider@ameritech.net
starman.docman.grayhawk
from Rob los Ricos:
Leonard Peltier is a political prisoner in the United States.The issue of whether he should be in jail or not is in itself a subject of debate. However, one thing is certain: Lepnard Peltier is in urgent need of medical treatment and the Federal Governement is withholding it from him. He is unable to eat solid food and liquified food is not being provided for him. In short, he is being starved to death by the bureau of prisons.
The well-respected Mayo Clinic has offered to provide all medical treatment for Mr. Peltier for free, yet the government refuses to allow him access to treatment.
This is a violation of international human rights treaties which the United States has agreed to and signed. Right now, there are international efforts being made to draw attention to Mr. Peltier's imminent death due to negligence.
It is my hope that there will be continued and expanding awareness of this man's situation and that such publicity will force the government to allow Mr. Peltier the medical treatment he so desperately needs.
This is a news story of great significance, as the United States must demonstrate to the world whether or not it recognizes human rights for its citizens.
We, the fasters and supporters engaged in solidarity efforts for Mr. Peltier, will not stop our efforts until Leonard has received the medical attention he needs.
Feel free to reply if you'd like more information on this effort and I'll supply you with what I have.
In Solidarity with the Hunger Striker - Rob los Ricos desires@yourbidding.com
FAST STATEMENT from Pilar:
FEB 11TH EVENING.
My name is Pilar. I was born in a place called Spain. I growed up there, and now I live in another little place called Basque Country. I growed up surrounded by the hapiness of having a family, and a place where , I thought, I belonged to. I had a father who taught me to listen, to respect and to learn from other cultures different than the one existing here.Beeing a little kid I become aware of what had happened with those Nations my father used to teach me about. I become aware of the injustice that was being commited. It was later when I started to participate in a more political struggle, it was then when I knew that a man called Leonard Peltier had been framed and sentenced for something he had never done. Just for being Indian. Just for being defending his People. Just because he raised his voice against the injustice ...And it was then when I realized I couldn't keep myself quiet. The struggle is being long but he ramains in prison. I've tried to help over these years spreading the word about his case. I'm proud of my little part in this struggle because people in this part of Mother Earth is beginning to be concerned about him. But that was just talking. Now it was time to act. What we are asking for has nothing to do with his judicial case. We are asking for medical treatment. The treatment that every living being deserves. Last week I heard about a white owl from Russia that had been sent to London in order to have an special surgery because he couldn't see, because he was blind. I'm happy our little winged brother will have a better life now. And I guess al of you received the new with an smile in your face. Even Mrs. Hawk. But meanwhile she's letting our brother Leonard suffer excruciating pain. It's up to her that Leonard receives the treatment he needs,...It would be so easy to stop his suffering! Just a phone call, maybe a little signature...How is it possible?, How could any person deny the proper medical treatment to other human person? Unless she is deliberately willing to kill him.... It's human rights what we are talking about. And the president and congresspersons of the US seem to know very well about this matter, at least out of their boundaries...
That's why I'm fasting for. Because I'm fed up of their hypocrisy. Because it's time for justice. Because this justice is no blind like our little brother owl was. Because Leonard is suffering. Because I love him so much. Because I love you all.
Pilar
Basque Country
Spain Iosu & Pilar [iosu@insetel.es]
The International Leonard Peltier Solidarity Fast/Hunger Strike
2/12 statement by Rachel Carey-Harper
On Feb 20th I will begin a hunger strike to get Leonard Peltier the medical attention he so desperately needs and hopefully eventually his freedom. It is evident by the facts that these have unjustly been taken away and withheld from him by a corrupt system intent on its own preservation, profit and power. My fast will be a spiritual exercise with this human rights objective. I will pray for the people that put him and keep him in this situation, the widows of the slain FBI agents and ordinary citizens of the United States. I pray for changes in hearts and minds; that they might be open. I pray that truth and respect guide all our lives. And I pray that people, myself included, have the strength to overcome any fear of losing the privilege or power that comes from white supremacy.At a sunrise to sunset prayer vigil in Hyannis, MA on 2/6/99 a poster from the Mashpee Leonard Peltier Support group said “Free Leonard and Free Ourselves”. Freeing Leonard and freeing all of the political prisoners in the US (or giving them new, fair trials with juries of their peers), is essential for as the well known slogan says, “you can´t have peace if you don´t have justice”.
Freeing ourselves means, for those of us of European decent, living lives that don´t perpetuate injustice and oppression. Our falsehoods are all around us and the truth is that we can´t be free while we are living a lie. There are thousands, perhaps millions of examples of these falsehoods. We learned that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb when Lewis Howard Latimer, a black man, invented the filament without which it would be little more then a glass ball. Plus, everyone whose ancestors came from Europe, has benefited from a system of white privilege and supremacy. This is the underlying reason that Leonard has been in prison for 23 years and is denied essential medical treatment. There are four reasons that we continue to live in lies; ignorance, closed mindedness, fear and not knowing how to do it differently. Fear is an emotional closing in, a tightening. Love is an opening out, faith a letting go. Once white people overcome this fear our lives become richer with new experiences. Once we overcome the fear we start to do things differently. We notice the race, gender and class of the experts to whom we listen, notice how white supremacy is playing out in our live. We learn about and address issues with the prison-industrial complex, and take action to overcome injustice freeing Leonard Peltier with our letters, faxes and prayers.
Ultimately people without color must come to realize how very much we benefit from this system. Lucretia Mott said in regards to slavery “Our clothing is a stained with the blood of the slave”. Just so today; third-world women, living in virtually slave conditions, are making our clothing and shoes. And it´s true in the US in a figurative sense, for from the earliest grades those of us of European decent have preferential treatment which leaves people of color at the economic bottom. Where we predominate, schools have plenty of books, there are adequate doctors and jobs, cheaper food, the list goes on.
Why change? Why not protect white privilege and resist change with every means possible, even incarcerate an innocent man? What´s in it for us? The answer is, first, because change is a fact of life. Second, if our lives are built upon lies who are we? Are we the people we really want to be? Is this the ideal for future generations? The implications are extreme. One that is less obvious is that living a lie disconnects us from our spiritual path. Wouldn´t it be wonderful if our world was surrounded with peace, beauty and faith. Isn´t that what we really want?
As earthquakes tear the fabric of the land, so the violence of oppression and injustice shred the harmony of inner peace. Ultimately, the agents of oppression and our whole society suffer spiritually in immense proportions. We become alienated from the roots of our being. If we are willing to open our eyes, often the suffering and pain of victims can be seen. The problem of this behavior for those who perpetuate it however is hidden, even from themselves; like a fatal disease that has no symptoms. The pain of survivors sometimes lasts a lifetime. Many people who act in oppressive ways and those who collude with them don´t realize that until properly addressed, the injury connected to their spiritsoul will effect every instant of their future in this lifetime and the next. We have a responsibility for the atrocities that our systems perpetrates whether it is Leonard Peltier in particular or the death penalty.It would be wonderful if the hunger strike is a catalyst to free the political prisoners in the US and build a society of love, truth, joy and respect. Life is short and the power to bring this about rests with us.
To be true to the spirit is to be truly free.
Rachel Carey-Harper rch@capecod.net
A Spiral Path to Knowhere - http://www.capecod.net/~spiral
(Faster´s statements posts updated daily)
from Quwahia Whisperingfire:
I will pray for our brave brother Terry Red Eagle.
I will pray for the safety and health of Arthur and Dale
I will pray for all, especially Leonard PeltierThe night air will fill with Sage in the four directions of our Mother Earth. What happens when the soul does not eat? It will dry up and whether like a neglected flower. It is more important that we feed and nourish our souls than our stomachs. We feed our souls by drinking light and love. And when it is fed, we have genuine fulfillment. A while back, I had a vision, a ring of elders asked me one night: What are you doing about peace? How are you caring for beauty? I sadly told them, I could not find a place where it could grow properly. So I had stopped trying, for awhile. I went to sleep within my self, hibernating, like my brother bear, to forget. The elders were not pleased, but in their compassion, said to me: "Now is the time to plant, now is your time to grow." Fe. 6th I began to plant again. And I will not give up this fight, this time. My prayers are are my food...I dine with you all!
In peace.
Allow medical treatment for Leonard Peltier at Mayo Clinic.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
In the Spirit of Humanity
...Don't allow Leonard Peltier to Die, please!
Quwahia Whisperingfire / 'First Nations People'
from Barbara Fortier:
Everyone,
I am so grateful for receiving Quwahia Whisperingfire's beautiful message tonight. Right before I read it I was thinking, would I be happier not ever hearing about Leonard Peltier? I thought, my stomach would be full but I believe that I'd be blind. I choose opened eyes. I was wondering, as my 7th day is upon me, what is giving me the will to do this? If a banquet was prepared for me, I would not eat. Food would not satisfy me, for my soul is so hungry for justice. Food would not taste good to me, only knowing that Leonard is getting his needed care. I am not so brave to say that I will continue a straight fast until Leonard is sent to the Mayo Clinic, but I am saying that I will continue until I can no longer & I will know that food can help me. For now, I, also, choose to continue to dine with all of you through pray & action. I pray that everyone continues until they respond favorably to the demands of the people. I pray that our souls will be filled for knowing that we chose to remain united & exercise our right to be heard. I pray that our souls will be filled because we did not give up.
United, Barbara Fortier
SOLIDARITY FAST STATEMENT of Reid Jenkins
For release: February 14, 1999 (A.M.)
How much time must a man serve for an unsolved crime? In the case of Leonard Peltier it just passed the 23 year mark. The United States government admits that it does not know who killed the two FBI agents Peltier was convicted of killing, but he is a political prisoner and for that reason our government is not playing by the rules. People all over the world have cried out about this injustice. I believe that it has helped. I don't believe that Leonard would be alive today were it not for his supporters, but we need to do more.My hat is off to Arthur J. Miller and those who've helped organize this SOLIDARITY FAST/HUNGER STRIKE. I'm the coordinator of the Leonard Peltier Support Group in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm participating in this hunger strike because I know so many people have worked so hard and for so long to win Leonard's freedom only to find disappointment after disappointment. There are times when support for Leonard is strong and there are times when support is not so strong. Now is a time when support is strong. We need to do all that we can now because Leonard needs us more than ever. He has done more for us than most of us will ever realize. He has handled his imprisonment with great strength and integrity, believing as he has always said that it is the people who will get him out. We are the people and it's up to us. He has given selflessly from his heart since he was a teenager to help his people and he continues his work from prison. His work for Indian people is good for all of humanity.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons (B.O.P.) refuses to allow proper medical treatment of a problem aggravated by one of the prison doctors at the B.O.P.'s Springfield Medical Facility. Peltier was transferred to the Springfield facility in 1996 for long overdue treatment of a problem with his jaw. Dr. Collins, a surgeon there, examined Leonard and told him that he was going to recommend a transfer to the Mayo Clinic. The B.O.P. ignored this advice. Dr. Collins performed two operations and Leonard almost died. He was in a coma for fourteen hours. He underwent five days of radiation treatment which makes no medical sense at all. His mouth is now stuck in a position where it's open a quarter of an inch. He cannot chew his food and the prison refuses to accomodate him with a special diet.
Leonard has been in great pain for about three years. His condition is serious and needs to be treated now. Doctor Eugene Keller of the Mayo Clinic has reviewed Peltier's medical records, says that the condition is correctable and has volunteered to perform the operation. Warden Booker has said that he can't transfer Leonard to Mayo because it would be a security risk, but Mayo Clinic has a contract with the Bureau of Prisons and prisoners are sent there all the time, some of whom are dangerous as well as high profile. Leonard refuses of course to be transferred back to Springfield. He filed a medical malpractice lawsuit last summer. It was dismissed in October.
I'm happy to report that there are five other people in my support group who have committed to participate in this hunger strike and have committed to continue fasting (in shifts) until Leonard receives proper medical treatment.
Reid Jenkins freejoye@mindspring.com
SOLIDARITY FAST STATEMENT FROM DARLENE HOLLAND-HAYTER
Greetings my dear Brothers and Sisters Around the World !My name is Darlene,and I am of Choctaw/Cherokee descent. Today, I too, begin my fast with hope and prayers for our dear Brother Leonard to receive the medical attention/care that he so desperately needs. My heart weeps with sadness knowing of the agony he is enduring at the hands of this government...there is absolutely NO EXCUSE for the Bureau of Prisons to continue to ignore this man's medical needs! Doctors at the Mayo Clinic have offered their expertise to help our Brother, and yet, the BOP continues to deny this lifesaving care. WHY ? For that answer...we can only speculate...
I admire you, fellow solidarity warriors...each of you, from all around the world, have made this committment to fast and pray until our dear Brother is sent to the Mayo Clinic for treatment. I pray it will be soon. Leonard has sacrificed so much for his people...it has now been 23 long years that Leonard has been in the Iron House. Each year, at Sundance, we hope to see our Brother back among the dancers...back with his family...his friends...his Nation....it has been too long! I fear for our Brother ! He needs this medical care so desperately !
A word to Ms.Kathleen Hawk : We are STRONG ! We are DETERMINED ! We are MANY...from the Four Directions, we come to beg of you to end the torture of our Brother Leonard ! We will fast until he is in the Mayo Clinic. Some of us are old, and sick...some with terminal illness, but we love our Brother and will not cease our actions until he is receiving the medical treatments he must have to survive. I do not want to DIE, but I WILL DIE, as will many of my Brothers and Sisters from around the world, unless you find the place in your heart that allows you to realize what grave injustices are being perpetuated upon our Brother and see that he is given the treatment at the Mayo Clinic. Ms. Hawk, are you prepared to have the deaths of HUNDREDS around the world on your conscience ? You WILL have, unless immediate action is taken to end this Fast/Hungerstrike by seeing that our Brother receives his treatment ! I pray to Tunkashila each day for our Brother, and for the people who are keeping him from the treatment he needs to survive. I pray that your heart will speak to you and allow you to understand what torture you are inflicting on our Brother and seek to end it. Brothers and Sisters around the world...I extend my hands to you...to join our solidarity circle...We will continue our Fast... We will continue to Pray...and we will continue to Hope. THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER MUST END NOW !
Most Respectfully Submitted,
Darlene Holland-Hayter
Acting President,Native American Indian Center, Inc.
Citrus/Levy Counties, Florida
from Quwahia Whisperingfire:
Dear Mr.. President;
Right at this moment you are rejoicing in your heart because the American people love you and have expressed that love in forgiving you of mistakes you admittedly made...and many that you have not voiced. You have experienced deep feelings of remorse, and also shame, and fear of losing what you have struggled to keep. You are in a great position is be more than just a man who has been forgiven...you can now be even more sensitive to the needs of others who are still being punished for 'someone's mistakes in judgement. I am talking about my brother, and my friend Leonard Peltier. He needs your help and your immediate attention. The eyes of the world are looking at you and all you do. Moral judgement healing is what is greatly needed in your country. Do you not realize our existence is so intertwined that our very survival depends upon your character to keep your promises? More than 370 treaties were made between the United States and the Native American peoples you call tribes...and the United States government broke each and every one of them. You have a chance to be one of the greatest presidents of all time by at least trying to set the record as it should have been long time ago before the massacres started. The killing of innocent people must stop...the oppression must stop...your hatred must stop.This is my ninth day of fasting on this hunger strike, please don't allow the blood of Leonard and many others all over the world to perish because of your inaction. I am glad for you, I am happy for your wife and children that you are not imprisoned and kept separated from the things you love. Leonard Pelier has been suffering for more than 23 years now, he needs medical treatment at Mayo Clinic...I know you know this. Today is a good day to do the RIGHT thing. Make that call, sign that letter, follow your heart if you have still have one.
Always in peace,
Please allow medical treatment for Leonard Peltier at Mayo Clinic.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
In the Spirit of Humanity
...Don't allow Leonard Peltier to Die !
Quwahia Whisperingfire / 'First Nations People'
My Statement from Quwahia Whisperingfire:
Dear Mr. President,There can never be peace between our nations, or any nations until there is a moral comprehension of treating all men alike. As a leader of our country you are supposed to give all the people the same laws. And all people an even chance to live and to grow. Why are Native Americans treated like we are less than human? Read your constitution, but this time, Mr.. President, with the eyes of your heart, not politics based on greed. We are all brothers, whether you truly believe this or not. My people only want the same chance at life as you want for your family. Leonard Peltier is a part of that family. He is not only our brother, but yours too. If we do not learn to live in peace, with respect for our fellow man and all life, the alternative is that we shall not live at all. Injustice affects everyone.
Leonard Peltier is suffering. We don't know how much longer he can survive under his medical condition that worsen everyday. Everyone I have personally spoken to, about Leonard Peltier, is shocked and appalled that this man after so many years is still locked away in your prison. Why? There is no evidence, that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is anything but innocent. Is this not your law, one must be proven guilty? And now he is dying from neglect, and refused medical care. Medical care that would cost you nothing. Medical care that he has a civil human right to be given. Leonard Peltier is not a threat to you, Sir. He is a peaceful artist that has so much to share with the world, in a good way, in a positive way...a way that serves to benefit all human kind. He is a writer and a poet... Have you seen his Art works? He is a fine and noble human being and a beacon of hope for us all. Please do not take him away from our children who desperately need role models in their lives.
Since Europeans like to put a price on everything and get 'paid'...how much is his life worth to you? Whatever it is, believe Sir, we will gladly pay it. We are willing to pay it now, with our blood, for we are actually starving on this hunger strike in hope to awaken your heart. Can you feel our pain? Can you feel Leonard's pain? You can stop this suffering by allowing Leonard to get the medical treatment that he so desperately needs. I, and many others, are willing to starve because to us, his life is worth it.
As a leader, you have a responsibility...I am sure you know, to care for people's rights, even those you keep locked up in jail forever. Recently, I saw a picture of Leonard's face, as he stood tall in his cell with the shadows of dark bars reflecting on his face. He looked really weak. Tears streamed down my face as I prayed to our Creator for his future, and the future of my people and for the good in human's to wake up.
Where is your American spirit, Mr.. President? The American spirit of preserving life and respecting all the people you rule over? What kind of life do you live, Sir? Do you mean what you say in all those fancy speeches, or did someone write them for you? Did you say them because you meant them, or did you just want to impress a lot of people to vote for you?
I will pray for you Mr..President, I will pray for all of you that have the power to help Leonard get that medical treatment. I am only one person, but there are many of us who care, unfortunately we do not have the power that you possess to save lives. Remember, one day we will all find ourselves humbled before the Creator, God. I hope you will go with 'clean hands'...this means with a clean heart (no shame or guilt), a clean life ( doing the best that you can to help others), and a clean soul ( don't sell it for any amount of greed).
You gave your word Mr..President, to be just and fair, now just live up to it.
Always in peace,
Uhenh onhwa' Awayaton (We are One Spirit)
Please allow immediate medical treatment for Leonard Peltier
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
In the Spirit of Humanity
...Don't allow Leonard Peltier to Die !
Day 10th of the Hunger Strike
Quwahia Whisperingfire / 'First Nations People'
from Cathie Dever:
First may I say hang on everybody.We are going to get Leonard to the Mayo Clinic.The feeling is as strong as ever.
The minute I heard about the fast,I knew I was in.After years of writing letters to Washington,and seeing nothing happen,I decided it was time to contact the L.P.D.C.After being in contact with them for a while now and countless more letters sent to D.C.without any results,I figured I would become more vocal.After being labled all kinds of things from family and friends(lunitic,tree hugger,jerk,Crazy Indian)I realized if I didn't take this opportunity to truly show my support,I may as well add hypocrit to the list.I have always told my children that if you do nothing else,make sure you never back away from what you believe in.Many people thought it was okay to tell people about Leonard as long as I didn't get involved.I couldn't live with myself if I made that choice.I will continue to stand up and do what I can as long as I am able.
I have shed many tears for this silent warrior,and I'm sure I will cry many more.Sometimes,when I'm eating and I realize I'm chewing,the tears run down my face because we all take it for granted.Leonard should be able to take it for granted too,I will gladly go without food and deal with the consequences when necessary.
To all of you who have sent me wonderful messages of love,solidarity and support,I say meegwich.I couldn't have done it without you and I truly mean that.
Strength and prayers to all
United we stand,
Cathie Cathie Dever [ahpayne@hotmail.com]
To all Hunger Strikers, Fasters and Supporters from Shari White:
Just sending you a message of hope, prayer, love and strength to continue your fight-- OUR fight. Don't give up!!!We must stick together and gather momentum. We must find ways to make our campaign grow and grow. This is only the beginning. To anyone who thought this would be an easy fight... look at those who haven't eaten for (how many days???) SO MANY DAYS! We are doing this to gain a small but significant victory in the war of justice. We are doing this to gain attention: media attention, the politicians' attention; students; human rights activists; actors; musicians; writers... who else can we get to join our fight? what more can we do? we must find ways. we need to strive to make our voice heard throughout the world. Leonard is depending on us. Don't lose focus. this is why we're here and this is why we're doing this.
again -- to everyone who is involved in this, your heart and my heart must feel the same pains and the same desires to see justice done for Leonard, and ultimately for all Native Americans. i have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for you all and i send you my best and most sincerest wishes of love and health.
stay strong!
in solidarity--
shari Shari White [shari@iol.ie]
from Cliff Alles-Curie:
Recently college students saved a man on Death Row in Illinois by taking on his case and thus pointed out the glaring inhumanity of the capital punishment system in America. The system can and has allowed the death penalty to be perpetrated against the African-American and other races in an unjust proportion. The system has allowed the art of winning an argument to overrun any semblance of justice served. And the system has demonstrated time and time again that the institutions are designed for a weak attempt at societal restitution. All we end up with are "blame-who-you-can" and "disposable human" attitudes. The case of Leonard Peltier is no different.Leonard Peltier's unjust imprisonment and torture is an example of all-out war in the field of jurisprudence in America. Jurisprudence does not mean justice, rather it means a system of protecting "good ol' boys", maintaining a patronizing and ethnocidal structure of social control and allowing genocide to continue. In Leonard's case we have all these things but recently he has been subject to ongoing and excruciating pain because the corrections system won't allow Leonard access to free and professional medical care. We demand that Leonard be allowed to heal his body. For this we fast!
Cliff Alles-Curie, A-shig-a-ning [Michigan] - 7063 Brewer, NE, Rockford, MI 49341
acjazz@iserv.net
from Shari White:
To Ms. Hawk:As an American citizen, I have a constitutionally-protected right of free speech, and a constitutionally-protected right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Therefore, I am voicing my grave concern that your prison system is inflicting unjust and inhumane punishment on your inmates. Innocent or guilty, the inmates in your prison have basic human rights which are being consistently violated by your negligance. Innocent or guilty, these inmates are still people, people with a voice and a right to speak. But their voices are small in the bureaucracy of the federal system, and sometimes you don't hear them.
I and many others are today the voice of Leonard Peltier. We are peacefully joining together, so that you may hear us. Because you continue to ignore the issue of allowing him to be temporarily transported to the Mayo Clinic for a life-saving treatment, we exercise our right to assembly, our right to protest this inhumanity.
The protest is only beginning.
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!!!
Shari White shari@euristix.ie
from Rachel Carey-Harper:
Dear Friends,
i thought your might be interested that I seemed to generate a little local press coverage (article attached). Unfortuanately, after I sent my statement and all the relevant info. the reporter asked for some personal background so I sent him the letter I had written to people who have said they would support this work. That's what he chose to print. (sigh) Guess we need to be grateful for any positive response and hopefully this will lead to opportunities to share the more relavant details.Keep up the Struggle and take Time to Smell the Flowers, Rachel
THE REGISTER THURSDAY FEBRUARY 18, 1999 PAGE 15Local hunger strike for Leonard Peltier begins Feb. 20
Rachel Carey-Harper will drink one or two cups of juice a day.
That's it. Other than some water or tea, that will be what keeps body and soul together starting this Saturday and going to March 6, when the Dennis woman says she will "evaluate the situation" and decide whether to continue as a ”relay" participant in the International Leonard Peltier Solidarity Fast/Hunger Strike, which started Feb. 6.
According to Carey-Harper. many people are fasting in shifts and several have committed to continue their hunger strike until Peltier is assured medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic.
The Leonard Peltier Support Group from Mashpee, along with the David C. Hendricks Committee for Human Rights. conducted a prayer vigil in Hyannis observing Peltier's 23rd years in prison.
The vigil, held Feb. 6 at the statue of Iyannough on the town green, was to protest the continuing imprisonment of the American Indian leader, who, according to a press release, was never convicted of a felony but was sentenced to two consecutive life terms for his role in a gunfight on the Lakota Sioux reservation in South Dakota in 1975.
Carey-Harper is due to pick up for one of the national organizers when he completes his fast on Feb. 20.
"I will be living on one to two cups of juice a day until Leonard gets treatment. If this doesn´t happen by March 6th. I will re-evaluate the situation she said. Carey-Harper has been a member of the Friends (Quakers) for almost 40 years, active with Yarmouth Friends Meeting.
"I and Mother Bear founded a group of Quaker and Wampanoag women called "Sisters of the Light" in 1992. 1 have volunteered with the 'Mashpee Wampanoag Women's Medicine Society' and 'Homes for Seven Generations.' she said in a press release.
Carey-Harper composed a letter explaining why she is fasting, an edited version of which follows:
"Dear Friends.This letter is to explain why I am fasting and how I came to this decision, what I hope to accomplish, what it entails and where people could help. What will come out, among other things, will be some of my spiritual faith and practice. I realize that most of us me different in this regard. I respect this and do not ask that you believe what I say rather that you try to understand and know that what I am expressing is what I believe.
I am on a hunger strike to ensure that Leonard Peltier gets treatment at the Mayo Clinic... While for years I have been aware of Leonard's plight. written a few letters, signed countless petitions, something happened that has made me feel called to take this extreme action.
I go on prayer walks which last about two hours three to four times a week. There are times that it is a very intense experience. A few months ago, during one of those times, images of Leonard came and I (as others have) saw him free. However it cam most strongly upon me that this would only be possible with a massive, prolonged hunger strike. I felt something ask/urge me to participate.
So when I read about the organization that was taking place for this action. a familiar sensation that I get when in Quaker Meeting for Worship when I have a message I am suppose to speak (like a lead weight in my stomach) came over me. Although I tried to ignore it. the feeling stayed with me for a couple of days until I acted.
Furthermore, I was moved by the phrase from Northwest Leonard Peltier Support Network: “there comes a time when people who believe in social justice need to pull together. This is just such a time.”
My experience with fasting is a few four-day fasts as part of spiritual exercise/experiences. Also for the last two years I have once a month fasted from the night before the new moon to the day after, I have found each time unique and different. Unfortunately, I do not have any anorexic tendencies, so it is never easy. However I do find it worthwhile. I have some apprehension about two weeks but feel that this is the time to take such an action.
Two of my heroes are Gandhi and Alice Paul (suffragist). who both successfully used hunger strikes to win their cause. I believe that this is possible for Leonard Peltier.
A heart felt thank-you for joining in this endeavor.
In Love and Light.
Rachel"
D.H.
from:
NORTHWEST LEONARD PELTIER SUPPORT NETWORK
TACOMA OFFICE
P.O. BOX 5464
TACOMA, WA 98415-0464 USA
e-mail; bayou@blarg.net
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!
ON THIS DAY, THE 14TH DAY OF THE FAST/HUNGER STRIKE
In our world today, we are faced with many different struggles. The children toiling their days away in swestshops. The continuing policies of genocide against the indigenous people of the world. The madness of industrialization for power and greed that is overwheming our world. Racism, classism, environmental rape, cultural and ethnic genocide, religious imperialism, senseless exploitation of the people and Mother Earth, the list of the suffering is almost endless. Each wrong should be addressed and a voice given to all that suffer so much in our world. There comes a time when the voices of the suffering must speak as one. A time when we all let the forces that seek to dominate us know that we can join together in a bond of solidarity and speak as one. Such a time is upon us in the case of Leonard Peltier. The reason is that, in the case of Leonard Peltier, the government is blatanting saying that the U.S. Constitution, all human rights, fair play and justice does not apply to Leonard. And because Leonard has been victimized in the iron house, now for 23 years, and his spirit will not break they government is now outright torturing him. The government is making their own statement that there are no limits to what they are willing to do to break the spirit of resistance. For that reason we need to speak out on Leonard's behalf, and in doing so we are speaking out for all those who suffer and resist. For Leonard's spirit of resistance does not stand alone, but rather is connected to the spirit of resistance of all people. What they are willing to do to Leonard is what they are willing to do anyone who will not allow their spirit to be broken.Leonard's situation is desperate and because few would listen it was felt that a desperate act was needed to motivate and mobilize people to act. For this reason the Leonard Peltier Solidarity Fast/Hunger Strike was organized. Many people from different parts of the world have joined together in this action. I am honored to be among these people. In our sacrifice we hope that we are able to move enough people to continuous action that the Bureau Of Prisons will come to understand that a unitied voice of struggling people will speak out against the torture of Leonard, and that, not only will this voice not fade away, but it will continue to get stronger until Leonard is at the Mayo Clinic under treatment.
For 14 days now others and myself have gone without any food. To me this seems but a small sacrifice next to the 23 years of suffering Leonard has been forced to endure. Still, we are commited to continuing this action for as long as it takes. We ask in great respect for your support. Please every day send an e-mail message to: Ms. Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, Director, Bureau Of Prisons at: khawk@bop.gov and swolfson@bop.gov and ask that Leonard Peltier be allowed treatment by Dr. Keller at the Mayo Clinic. Also, We also have going a FOUR DAYS OF PHONE CALLS FOR LEONARD PELTIER, Feb. 19, 22, 23 and 24. Please call the BOP at: (202) 307-3198. Thank you.
In The Spirit Of Unity And Action
Arthur J. Miller
NWLPSN
HUNGER STRIKE STATEMENT
From: White Feather Siouxsun
FEBRUARY 19,1999, Evening
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER
NOW!
My name is White Feather. I am Oglala and I am fasting and striking because it is what I must do as one more way of showing to the world my support for Leonard Peltier. Our Brother is suffering and has for far too long now. He needs medical attention and he is being denied it because the government of the United States has always tried to silence American Indians when they stand up for their beliefs and rights. I do not accept this and I will not tolerate it! NEVER! This innocent MAN has been wronged!When I was a child my Grandfather told me of Wounded Knee and what had been done there. He told me of how his own Grandmother was slaughtered there. I will never forget the tears in his eyes. As I grew up I knew what I would have to do. I did not think of it or even choose it, it is in my blood to fight for what is right. Fighting for Leonard Peltier is right and something I have done since the beginning of one more atrosity that was committed on Oglala land. I will never give up! I will fight for Leonard and all political prisoners for as long as I walk this Earth.
Why has Leonard been denied medical treatment? He almost died once after a botched surgery. He had an assasination attempt made on his life. They want to silence him but it will not work! Enough is enough!!
He was sent to prision for a crime he did not committ. The FBI has admitted they can not say that Leonard Peltier killed anyone. Yet he suffers and we know why. The government needed someone to pay the price. They decided Leonard should be the one to pay that price because they did and do not like that he resists their policy of genocide of American Indians and all Indigenous peoples. They are afraid of Leonard because he speaks the truth. The government does not like to hear the real truth. They thought they could silence Leonard by locking him up. We have news for them. They are wrong! We are many and we are growing and we will not stop. We will continue our work to make sure that Leonard is given medical treatment. We shall be heard. We will not be silenced. We will see to it that you hear us. I and many others will NOT tolerate or allow this to continue any longer!
It is Leonard's right to have medical treatment and you who are denying him of this are guilty of breaking the laws. Who are you to decide his rights should be taken away. Has nothing been learned by this government from all the injustices that has been done to American Indians and all other Indigenous peoples?
I do not just ask that Leonard Peltier be given his right of medical treatment at the Mayo Clinic, I demand it! We, all the people who love and respect and support him demand it!
"The only thing I'm guilty of, and which I was convicted for, was being Chippewa and Sioux blood and for believing in our sacred religion." Statement of Leonard Peltier at his sentencing.
"You know we have a million stories to tell. I'm just one of a million or more stories that could be told." Leonard Peltier speaking on the song Sacrifice on Robbie Robertson's CD "Underworld of Redboy"
Free Leonard Peltier
In Solidarity
White Feather Siouxsun
from: John Moss"Crow Wolf" fast/hunger strike statement...Feb.20 am
Hello brothers and sisters,hunger strikers,fasters and supporters, I, like all the rest of you am fasting for Leonards health and freedom. First let me explain a few things.I have been employed by the department of corrections in the state of Alabama for over nine years. I know a great deal about how these people operate, while they are not all bad people, most of them tend to be Power Hungry, manipulative, insecure and very small minded.I'm speaking of the administrators such as Wardons,directors and supervisors.
I am not trying to be negative but we should all be prepared for a long hard fight. People in authority in any kind of prison setting do not like to have their authority challenged. As a matter of fact,most administrators treat the officers under their command almost as poorly as they do the inmates.I have met very few who have any concern whatsoever for anyone other than themselves. The department of corrections has a tendency to draw certain personality types ( Hitler etc).
I'm not trying dampen anyone's spirits but I think everyone should know what we are up against. It is not going to be easy but then no one ever said it would be.
I have been fasting four days on and three days off. I will continue this cycle until Leonard has received the medical treatment he so desperately needs. I will smudge and pray every morning and evening for Leonard and all the wonderful souls who are participating in this show of unity.Keep the Circle strong. Pray for one another and never give up because there is a better day comming.
Always remember that there was a time when Indian religious practices were against the law. We have overcome many of these things but just because we have won the few battles, does not mean we have won the war!! So I urge you to keep your faith and take coverage. Keep in mind that it is not only justice in our lifetime that we seek, it is also for the generations to come.
Follow your heart and stay strong
Your Brother John"CrowWolf"Moss
madedirt@aol.com
SOLIDARITY FAST STATEMENT of Jim Lawler
For release 2-22-99, A.M.
The injustice of the imprisonment of Leonard Peltier pales compared to the inhumanity of not allowing him to get his jaw fixed by a doctor he has confidence in.My involvement in this hunger strike is my small way of supporting his right to eat like a human being, free of pain and discomfort.
Jim Lawler
SOLIDARITY FAST STATEMENT of Fulton L. Arrington
For release 2-23-99, A.M.
It is an ancient tenet of our culture that when one of ours is afflicted the whole of the people suffers with him. We therefore stand with our brother Leonard Peltier, with our fasting, our prayers, our faith, our material possessions and our sacred honor, steadfast in the knowledge that there is no power of men, not even the unjust force of the world's last super-power that can withstand the spirit and faith of an entire people. We have proven this by rendering 400 years of genocide impotent. We are still here today and will be here tomorrow, fully prepared to pray, to struggle and to triumph.Free Leonard Peltier -- Fulton L. Arrington
Hunger strike statement
from J.J. Bermudez
I knew about Leonard's Peltier's case through a newspaper and later through TV. It called my attention because of the injustice that had been commited. I begun then to work in a support group. The information we received often made our frustration bigger. Personally, I've always felt attracted by other cultures, specially the Native American People. I was very surprised that after the arrival of the white men in America, even now, those First Nations are still being opressed, in a country, the US, which wants to be the symbol of freedom, but which is in reality, a synonym of injustice.Id' like to quote a famous sentence said by a famous writer, called Quevedo: "Where there is injustice, it is dangerouse to be right, to have the reason"...
I want to urge the US government to start the countdown. Give Leonard Peltier the treatment he needs.
J.J Bermudez
Pamplona
Basque Country
Hunger Strike Statement
from Fermin Martin:
Hi:First of all I wand give my congratulations, support, prayers and recognition for all people that are making hunger strike. I´m a fast striker. Ifyou are reading this, it would mean that Kathleen Hawk hasn't listened to our petitions yet.
Since i´m member of a LPSG, we have work in Leonard Peltier behalf, holding conferences, collecting signatures, or things like that. This is the first time i'm making something that it means a little real personal sacrifice, and i'm happy about it. There must be people which think this fast/hunger strike is getting us nowhere. I don't think so, i think we can get our objective. Now, we can't stop, becouse if we stop this campaing we couldn't make another one in the future, nobody will take us seriously. Is not too much to make one day of fast strike per week for Leonard Peltier when he can't eat. Is not too much to send a fax per day when Leonard Peltier has in prision for 23 years, only for being defending his People.
We are not fighting for something strange, we are fighting in order that the self-confessed country of democracy, freedom and opportunities (USA), fulfill something so simple asHuman Rights. We have to remember to the US Bureau of Prisons that an inmate is a person and as such, has the same rights that the non-inmate people, Leonard Peltier has the right to receive medical tretament. We have to keep pressing the US Bureau of Prisons until Leonard Peltier is transfered to the Mayo Clinic. We have the possibility to win this round. If everybody continue sending faxes and making fast/hunger strike, there will be a moment in which Mrs Katleen Hawk will see clearly that to torture an innocent is not part of their work, .............or maybe yes?.
"Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere"
IN THE SPIRIT OF CRAZY HORSE-NEVER SURRENDER
Fermin Martin, member of Seven Sioux, Basque Contry
Hunger strike statement from Rob Ervin:
Feb. 23, 1999
O'siyo,Too much talk & Too much technology make us weak. Only action can
help our brother. Get off your computers and get into the streets!
Mitakuye Oyasin
Golanuh nuhwat
Rob Flies With Raven [flieswithraven@hotmail.com]
from Gorka Ramos Hervella: (from Barcelona - Catalunya Country).
Dear Friends, Sisters & Brothers,I write you from one of the most cosmopolitan cities of a little country which is whithin the Spanish State: Barcelona.
Mi name is Gorka. It's a name of very old sound and warrior passion, which belongs to a language the Spanish dictatorship tried to eliminate, forbidding its very existence. This is a story which Native Peoples of North America know very well, the depraved effects of this story are still creating suffering between many people around the world. Our brother Leonard is one of this people. I'd like to have the words from languages today unknown, Old words from the Kiowas, the Lakotas, Ojibwe words that would burst with the thunder strength, that would be quickly spreaded by the wind, that would carry the sound of the water to the dessert lands, and the roar of the sea and the open sky; But in our worlds we don't call anymore the fury and the happiness of the elements, we just produce sleepiness, build jails and put gags and straps in the faces and bodies of the worthy and smart people.
Since Occident became in the chasing shadow of the "dazzling" and mistaken north american society, politicians from all of these countries within the Occidental order, have become theirselves in the most skilled magicians, able to manipulate with thier tricks the big genocides of human beings. Only the awaked consciousnesses of the armyless warriors are able to avoid being amazed by the magic of the showy semblances of a new world. That's why the struggle is a constant state of steady awareness against the deceit. The tricksters pretend to change the history of the Peoples, to change it into the history of the great powers, or the great nations, or the great multinational corporations. The North becomes the universe with a shining totalitarism of apparent democracy. But its blaze can't keep hidding anymore the shadows that grow and flood, threatening with gobbling up the humiliating shine of its light. The justice and dignity are part of that threat, because as shadows, their shine is more powerful and boundless than the veil with which the apparent reality try to get surrounded by.
A few days ago I fasted to try to be a tiny spot of light which claims for attention and which serves as a reference in this forgotten world of shadows. Many lighthouses all around the world are beginning to reflect the shine of a justice for many years forgotten in the humid darkness of the cruel prisons of Amerikkka. Inside one of those cells, a man who become a myth against his willing, mantains since 23 years the pulse of the struggle for the justice and dignity, against the pathetic mausoleums of arrogance and money.This man has a name. He's our brother Leonard Peltier. And his struggle has joined to the struggle of so many other men and women who are in a vil prison, like Mumia Abu-Jamal (our beloved brother in the death row), the Move, Sundiata Acoli, Ashata Shakur (in the shutting up of the exile), Carmen Valentin, Silvia Baraldini, Xose Tarrio, ...and all those names that so many emotions and memories are able to call forth, and in the opened wound of our heart they are the inspiration of our fight for freedom.
I don't know how to pray, since being a kid I fought against the religion which wanted my death to save me. I am a warrior for freedom, for life, nothing special, cause neither I have the courage of the audacious, nor the leadership of the winner, nor the destructive power of the armies of killers of this world. The only thing worthy in me is what people has taught me, that the only sense of this life is the freedom and the relationships that the human beings learn to build with it. When I was young, when I was only 16 and although the humiliating misinformation during the spanish dictatorship, the world could'n stop the yell of the Wounded Knee siege, and the long walk to Washington, and it was between those years when I become aware of that atraction that, from my very childhood, had felt for those strange beings that always appeared as the image of a wounded beast. It was then when I suddenly realized that were they who really had discovered the human being, that in the deepest oblivion, dwelt in me. This worry led me to Leonard Peltier, pursued and tortured by the descendants of those who hushed up the trot of the buffalos in the prairie, the same who bury any trace of the origin of life in America under the lapidary shine of their money, to put later their history, so bastard and haughty. And here I am, trying to help to mend the circle with other brothers and sisters, trying to help Leonard to recover the health that vil and criminal shutting up has stolen him. And meanwhile, these days, between fasting, faxing and e-mailing, the remembrance brought me the words of struggle said by another man, made myth too against his willing, "Che" Guevara, who said: "the true revolutionary is guided by deep feelings of love" and this is th only crime comited by Leonard: to be a revolutionary who felt a deep LOVE for his people.
Mitakuye Oyasin
Gorka
P.S: I have a little Lacandona forest in an unknown place of my heart. Where sometimes I heard, between voices and laughs, the zapatista children playing. Their faces made of maize, hidden by the mask of a big smile, are the main happiness of their heart-beat, because the 1st World, who thought was the owner of the rest of the world, saw how a tiny but revolutionary peninsula scaped and the world became a little more indigenous.
VIVA ZAPATA!!!! TIERRA Y LIBERTAD!!!!
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!!!!
(Sorry friends, sisters & brothers, I am not speak english. Thanks to my wonderful friend Pilar for this translation, she alwais is helping me from Basque Country, and thanks for all for your patience and your encouraging words. Specials thanks to my beautiful wife Sonia, she is an whole-hearted)
Apreciad@s amig@s, herman@s;
Os escribo desde una de las ciudades más cosmopolitas, de un pequeño país que está dentro del estado español; Barcelona. Mi nombre es Gorka. Es un nombre de sonido muy antiguo y de pasión guerrera, que pertenece a un idioma que la dictadura española pretendió eliminar, prohibiendo su existencia. Esta es una historia que los pueblos nativos de norteamérica conocen muy bien y cuyos perversos efectos, aún hoy en día están sufriendo muchas personas y pueblos de los seres humanos. Nuestro hermano Leonard Peltier es una de ellas. Quisiera tener palabras de lenguas hoy desconocidas, antiguas palabras de los Kiowas, los Lakotas, palabras Ojibwee que estallaran con la fuerza del trueno, que llegasen rápidamente transportadas por el viento, que llevasen el sonido del agua a los parajes desérticos, y el rugir de los mares y los cielos abiertos; pero en nuestros mundos ya no convocamos la furia y las alegrías de los elementos, sólo producimos sueño, construímos cárceles y colocamos mordazas y correas en los rostros y en los cuerpos de los seres dignos y despiertos. Desde que Occidente se transformó en sombra persecutoria de la "deslumbrante" y falsa realidad de la sociedad norteamericana de los Estados Unidos, los políticos de todos estos países del orden occidental, se han convertido en hábiles prestidigitadores, capaces de manipular con sus artimañas los más grandes exterminios de la humanidad. Sólo la conciencia despierta de l@s guerrer@s sin ejército, son capaces de no dejarse fascinar por la magia de los ostentosos simulacros de un mundo nuevo. Es por eso que la lucha es un constante estado de permanente alerta contra el engaño. Los embaucadores, pretenden cambiar la historia de los pueblos, para convertirla en historia de las potencias o de las naciones o de las grandes multinacionales. El Norte se universaliza con un resplandeciente totalitarismo de aparente democracia, pero su resplandor, no puede por más tiempo seguir ocultando tras de sí unas sombras que crecen y le desbordan, amenazando con devorar el humillante brillo de su luz. La justicia y la dignidad forman parte de esa amenaza, porque como sombras, su resplandor es mucho más poderoso e infinito que los velos de los que se rodea la aparente realidad. Hace unos pocos días hice un ayuno para intentar ser un diminuto punto de luz que reclama la atención y sirve de referencia en este olvidado mundo de las sombras. Muchos faros en todo el mundo empezamos a irradiar el brillo de una justicia olvidada en la húmeda oscuridad de las crueles cárceles de Amerikkkka. Ahí adentro, un hombre, convertido en mito en contra de su voluntad, mantiene desde hace más de 23 años el pulso de una lucha por la justicia y la dignidad y contra los patéticos mausoléos de la soberbia y el dinero. Este hombre tiene un nombre, el de nuestro hermano Leonard Peltier. Y su lucha se une a la de tantos otros hombres y mujeres que están en un vil encierro, como Mumia Abu-Jamal (nuestro querido hermano encerrado en las mazmorras de la muerte), L@s MOVE, Sundiata Acoli, Ashata Shakur (en el encierro del exilio), Carmen Valentín, Silvia Baraldini, Xosé Tarrío, ... y todos aquellos nombres que tantas emociones y recuerdos son capaces de despertar, y que en la herida abierta de nuestros corazones, son la inspiración de nuestra lucha por la libertad. No se rezar, porque desde muy pequeño luche contra la religión que deseaba mi muerte para salvarme. Soy un guerrero por la libertad, por la vida, nada especial, pues ni tengo el valor de los audaces, ni la iniciativa de los triunfadores, ni el poder destructor de los ejércitos de asesinos de este mundo. Lo único importante en mi, son las personas que han sabido enseñarme que el único sentido de esta nuestra vida, es la libertad y las relaciones que los seres humanos aprendemos a construir con ella. Cuando era muy joven, tenía aún 16 años, y pese a la humillante desinformación de la dictadura española, el mundo no pudo callar el grito de la okupación de Wounded Knee, ni unos años después, la marcha a Washington y fue entre esos años cuando empezó a despertar conscientemente el sentimiento de atracción que desde mi primera infancia sentía hacia unos extraños seres, que siempre aparecían como la imagen de la bestia herida. Fue entonces cuando, sorprendentemente me dí de que eran ellos los que realmente habían descubierto el ser humano, que en el ignorado olvido, habitaba en mí. Esta inquietud me llevó hasta Peltier, perseguido y torturado por los descendientes de los que silenciaron el estruendo del trote de los búfalos por las praderas, esos mismos que entierran todo vestigio del origen de la vida de América bajo el lapidario brillo del dinero de sus rascacielos, para después poner el suyo, su historia, tan bastarda y soberbia. Y aquí sigo y aquí me encuentro, intentando ayudar a construir el círculo con otros hermanos y hermanas para que Leonard pueda recuperar esa salud que le han arrebatado en ese vil y criminal encierro. Y mientras tanto, estos días, entre ayunos, faxes y e-mails, el recuerdo me traía las palabras de lucha de otro hombre y mito a la fuerza ("Che" Guevara), y que dijo; "... el revolucionario verdadero está guiado por profundos sentimientos de amor...", y este es el único "crimen" que cometió Peltier; ser un revolucionario que sintió un profundo AMOR por su pueblo.
Mitakuye Oyasin!
Gorka
P.D. Tengo una pequeña selva lacandona en un ignoto territorio de mi corazón, donde a veces escucho entre voces y risas, jugar a los niños y las niñas indígenas zapatistas. Sus rostros de maíz cubierto por el pasamontañas de una enorme sonrisa, son la principal alegría de sus latidos porque el mundo, que se creía dueño de todo el mundo, vió como se le escapaba una minúscula y revoltosa península y el planeta se volvía un poquito más indígena.
VIVA ZAPATA!!!! TIERRA Y LIBERTAD!!!!
END THE TORTURE OF LEONARD PELTIER NOW!!!!
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
****************************************************** - "La Injusticia en cualquier sitio, es una amenaza para la Justicia en todas partes" - "Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere" ******************************************************
- Libertad LEONARD PELTIER!!! - FREE LEONARD PELTIER!!!
- Libertad STANDING DEER!!! - FREE STANDING DEER!!!
- Stop the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal - Libertad para MUMIA ABU-JAMAL!!! - FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL!!!
- CONTRA LA PENA DE MUERTE - AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY - NI UNA EJECUCION MAS!!! - NOT ONE MORE EXECUTION!!!
- Libertad para tod@s l@s pres@s politic@s - FREEDOM THE MOVE & PUERTO RICAN PRISONERS - FREEDOM FOR POLITICS PRISONERS & P.O.W.
- Stop a la brutalidad policial. - Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation
- Working to end the racist death penalty, to abolish prison slavery, and to extend democracy to all.
February 25, 1999
In recent years, the topic of human rights has become a major focus of public discussion in the United States, and a popular subject for much political rhetoric. It is a welcome development that the media and politicians in this country have begun to champion this cause, but too often they overlook the humanitarian abuses of this government. The many voices that are so critical of China, Cambodia, and Iraq- and justifiably so- are silent when the United States' human rights record is in question . While guarding the rights of international political prisoners is certainly important, a campaign that ignores domestic human rights violations indicates political posturing more than a concern for human welfare.The case of Leonard Peltier, an inmate at Leavenworth Prison, and a recognised political prisoner, clearly illustrates this double standard. According to his supporters, Peltier is suffering great pain following surgery at the Springfield Clinic for recurring tetanus which actually worsened his condition. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has not provided any evidence refuting this accusation, yet it continues to deny him transfer to another clinic for corrective surgery. The BOP's continued refusal of Peltier's treatment is nothing less than torture!
Why, if Dr. Keller of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota has offered to perform the necessary surgery for free, does the BOP refuse to transfer him? The torture he is enduring right now is an attempt to silence and punish a political dissident. For twenty-three years Peltier has languished in Federal Prison for defending the Pine Ridge reservation from wealthy corporations. The U.S. Government's continued torture of Leonard Peltier brings up serious questions about the extent of political freedom in this country and undermines any authority it may have on human rights. Ultimately, "our" Government has proven that its primary interest is upholding the power of a wealthy minority. Unless enough voices are raised in protest, this trend will continue unchecked.
jma35@cornell.edu
Write to Kathleen Hawk at the Bureau of Prisons:
swolfson@bop.gov and also try:
khawk@bop.gov
or by snail-mail: Ms. Kathleen Hawk
Director, Bureau of Prisons
320 First St. NW
Washington, DC 20534
Fax: (202)514-6878
Phone: (202)307-3198
NORTHWEST LEONARD PELTIER SUPPORT NETWORK
P.O. BOX 5464
TACOMA, WA 98415-0464 USA
(253) 383-9108
http://members.aol.com/TurquoisWm/JusticeforLeonardPeltier.html e-mail: bayou@blarg.net
The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee,
P.O. Box 583,
Lawrence, KS 66044
Tel: 785-842-5774, Fax: 5796, e-mail lpdc@idir.net
http://members.xoom.com/freepeltier/index.htmlWrite to Leonard:
USPL Leonard Peltier
#89637-132
PO Box 1000
Leavenworth, KS 66048To The Hunger Strike Art and Poetry Page Explore the rest of our web site