DC: 11/05 Demonstrate for Leonard Peltier’s Freedom!

Thursday, November 5, 2009 • 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Lafayette Park, Washington, DC

President Obama will host his first annual White House Tribal Summit on 05 November
2009. The Nations will be given the opportunity to interact directly with the
president and other top administration officials. All of the 564 federally
recognized tribes are invited to send a representative. This is a prime opportunity
to be seen and heard on the issue of Leonard Peltier’s wrongful conviction and
imprisonment. Please plan to attend.

Supporters will gather in Lafayette Park on Pennsylvania Avenue (across from the
White House) at 6:00 a.m. Bring signs and banners, wear Peltier T-Shirts, etc. From
Lafayette Park , supporters will walk to the Department of the Interior, 1849 C
Street, NW, where tribal leaders will assemble for their meeting with President
Obama.

In support of this action, tribal members are asked to (1) urge your Tribal
Chairpersons to speak to Obama on Mr. Peltier’s behalf — Free Peltier NOW; and (2)
lobby your Tribal Councils to pass resolutions calling for freedom for Peltier, the
release of all case-related documents still withheld by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), and a congressional hearing on the government’s role in the
turmoil on Pine Ridge Reservation during the 1970s.

Clemency is one path to freedom for Leonard Peltier. However, there are other issues
that deserve as much attention — an Executive Review by Attorney General Eric
Holder, for example. We’ve pushed for a review recently, as you know. But there are
other important initiatives that we all need to work on:

Congressional Hearing: In the early 70s, the Select Committee to Study Governmental
Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, or the Church Committee,
investigated the counterintelligence activities of the FBI. The FBI conducted more
than 2,000 COINTELPRO operations before the programs were officially discontinued in
April of 1971. (While the programs themselves were discontinued, the FBI’s practices
that the Church Committee found so objectionable were not.) The Church Committee had
intended to investigate the American Indian Movement as another dissident group
targeted by the Bureau. Witnesses had been investigated by congressional staff and
called to provide testimony. However, one day after the firefight at Oglala, the
Church Committee cancelled the hearings. We need to work hard to see that official
misconduct in Indian Country — past and present — is finally addressed.

FOIA Documents: The FBI continues to withhold tens of thousands of documents related
to the RESMURS investigation. These documents are over 25 years old and, at minimum,
should be turned over to the National Archives. Why are the documents important? You
have all heard about information uncovered after Mr. Peltier’s trial. Given the
nature of that evidence — the withheld ballistics report, for example — there is
every reason to expect that other evidence is contained in the documents that may
allow Mr. Peltier to appeal his conviction.

On his first full day in office, President Obama signed an Executive Order with
regard to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He encouraged accountability
through transparency, and said FOIA should be administered with a presumption of
openness. Due to subsequent guidelines established by AG Holder, the Peltier Legal
Team may succeed at getting Peltier documents released. But the attorneys need your
help to make that happen.

We need people to continue calling the White House Comment Line and the Attorney
General every Friday to keep the pressure on: You can find the details here.

www.whoisleonardpeltier.info • www.FreePeltierNow.org
“I would like to ask you why when we speak you do not listen, and when you listen,
you do not hear, and when you hear us, you do not choose to understand what we say.
This is one time that I ask you to listen carefully and understand what we have to
say.” — Frank Fools Crow