FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2004
For More Information:
LSA Coordinator
lakotastudentalliance@yahoo.com
(605) 441-9453 (phone)
OGLALA COMMEMORATION ANNOUNCES “LEONARD PELTIER HONORARY” SCHOLARSHIP FOR 2004 FALL SEMESTER AT OGLALA LAKOTA COLLEGE.
THREE-MILE CREEK SD – The Oglala Commemoration Committee and Lakota Student Alliance is pleased to introduce the Leonard Peltier Honorary Scholarship for incoming freshmen at Oglala Lakota College. This scholarship will be awarded to one student each year that has finished their General Equivalency Diploma (GED) in good standing and plans to attend Oglala Lakota College (OLC) to further their education. The Award, in the amount of $250, is created in the name of Leonard Peltier, Anishnabe activist and acclaimed author of “Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance.”
Only GED Graduates at Oglala Lakota College shall be eligible to receive this scholarship. The applicant (GED Graduate) must submit an application and Essay to be considered by the Oglala Lakota College Scholarship Committee. The Oglala Lakota College Scholarship Committee is authorized to select the award recipient each year. The Oglala Commemoration Committee will announce the Leonard Peltier Honorary Scholarship recipient following the annual Oglala Commemoration Event held each year in Oglala SD.
The Lakota Student Alliance and Oglala Commemoration Committee jointly sponsor the Scholarship to honor and remember the lives lost during the 1970s civil conflict on the reservation and to also raise awareness toward the unjust imprisonment of AIM member Leonard Peltier, currently jailed in Leavenworth Kansas. Peltier’s imprisonment resulted from answering a distress call by Oglala Lakota elders and victims of a "Reign of Terror" ultimately resulting in a shooting battle between AIM members and Federal Agents at the Jumping Bull property. The Elders called AIM for protection during the historic 1970s era on Pine Ridge Reservation.
Lakota Student Alliance members hope this scholarship will encourage GED graduates to further their education and gain powerful knowledge for the common good of the Lakota Nation. The LSA realizes the tremendous barriers that often lead to painful choices by many Lakota Tribal students. The GED graduates of the Oglala Lakota Nation are mostly Single Parents with little income. These parents took the initiative to better themselves for their homes, and their communities.
Applications for the Leonard Peltier Honorary Scholarship will be made available at the Oglala Lakota College Registrars office as well as the local College Center Branches. The scholarship application will also be posted online at the Lakota Student Alliance and the Oglala Commemoration Websites. We wish future scholarship recipients good luck in their educational endeavors.
The Leonard Peltier Honorary Scholarship is a result of fundraising efforts conducted by the Oglala Commemoration Committee and the Lakota Student Alliance in conjunction with the annual Oglala Commemoration Event. We intend to continue this scholarship annually with the help of considerate donors and individuals. The Lakota Student Alliance website is www.oocities.org/lakotastudentalliance/index.html For more information on the Oglala Commemoration event you can visit the website at www.oglalacommemoration.com
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