FOR INFORMATION: Oglala Commemoration Committee
Ph: 785.608.9888 or 605.867.1507
Email: aimkc@hotmail.com
http://www.oocities.org/oglala_commemoration/index.html
3RD ANNUAL OGLALA COMMEMORATION EVENTS FOCUS ON NATIVE AMERICAN
POLITICAL PRISONER'S CLEMENCY -- JUNE 26, 2002
Porcupine, SD--The Third Annual Concert and commemoration event for awareness of American Indian political prisoner Leonard Peltier's unjust incarceration, will commence this coming June 2002 on the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The event is scheduled for June 26, 2002 and is organized to bring awareness toward a "Clemency for Peltier" campaign launched by national support groups and organizations. Peltier clemency supporters, including leaders of the American Indian Movement, have also been requesting Congressional Hearings into the conduct of Federal police participating in the violence of the 1970s on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
The congressional hearings requests have accumulated since the 1976 Shootout near Oglala, resulting in the imprisonment of AIM member Leonard Peltier. Numerous unresolved deaths had occurred on Pine Ridge, which were compiled by Wounded Knee Legal Defense Offense Committee Volunteers following the 1976 acquittals of Dino Butler and Bob Robideau on grounds of Self Defense for the deaths of two FBI agents near Oglala SD.
Leonard Peltier is almost reaching his 25th year of political imprisonment in the United States Federal Corrections Facility in Leavenworth Kansas. Peltier was convicted in April 1977 for the deaths of the agents. Peltier supporters claim that 25 years is too long for false imprisonment. Federal Prosecutors themselves say they don't know who shot the agents, yet Peltier is suffering in jail with ailments ranging from Heart conditions, Diabetes, near blindness in one eye, and Hypertension.
In previous public statements, AIM National representative Vernon Bellecourt stated, "We feel that if there would be hearings, [then] that would revisit the early 1970s. It would help in healing and reconciliation." We emphatically agree. American Indians have always taken a back seat in the national judicial arena. We say it is time for United States Justice system to be judicious and expedite
fairness for Peltier. This would allow for the healing of the various unresolved historical grief ailments, which plagued our Lakota people since the Indian Wars of the 19th century.
The itinerary for the Commemoration is as follows:
12 Noon: Ceremony at the grave sites of Joseph Stuntz, Anna Mae Pictou Aquash and Jun Little. (Little Family cemetary, 2 miles south of the Jumping Bull property on highway 18.
1 P.M.: Memorial Walk from Little Family Cemetary to the Jumping Bull property, where the shoot-out occured in 1975.
4 P.M.: Press Conference at Loneman School, in Oglala. Traditional supper to follow. (Please bring your own utensils)
6 P.M.: Concert for Youth Awareness, and special guest speakers at Loneman School Gymnasium.
Among the special guests include: Former National Geographic Editor Harvey Arden; AIM cofounders tentatively to appear are Clyde Bellecourt and Dennis Banks, AIM spokesman Vernon Bellecourt. Other guests: Lakota Student Alliance motivational speaker Russell Blacksmith; Sicangu Treaty Organizer Leland Little Dog; and Leonard Peltier's immediate family members as well.
Noted Concert performances will include: Jackie Bird-Hoopdancer and musician (SD); award winner Wayquay (NYC) and Apache hip hop star Redsoul (Los Angeles) return to the event; Lakota drum Pass Creek (SD); acoustic performances by J.D. Nash (KS); Eddy Lawrence (NY); Jack Black (MO); and Lakota Blues by Steel River (SD).
This event is free for the public to share and is sponsored by the Oglala Commemoration Committee, Lakota Student Alliance, and AIM Kansas Support Group. All proceeds derived from this event will
benefit projects on Pine Ridge under the guidance of political prisoner Leonard Peltier.
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PO Box 225
Kyle, SD 57752
Phone: 605.867.1507
Email: lakotastudentalliance@yahoo.com
