BELCOURT, NORTH DAKOTA — Native American activist Leonard Peltier was defiant toward the government but expressed gratitude for his supporters as they welcomed him home to North Dakota on Wednesday, a day after his release from a Florida prison where he had been serving a life sentence for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.
Peltier, now 80 years old, became emotional as he addressed approximately 500 people gathered at a festive event that featured food, a drum circle, and dancers at a center in Belcourt. This small town lies just south of the Canadian border on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians’ reservation.
“I’m so proud of the support you’ve shown me,” Peltier said. “I’ve got a hard time keeping myself from crying. A strong warrior can’t be up crying in front of his people.”
Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden commuted Peltier’s life sentence to home confinement, leading to his release on Tuesday from the Coleman penitentiary. Peltier was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and given two consecutive life sentences stemming from a 1975 confrontation on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were killed during this incident. While Peltier admitted to firing shots during the confrontation, he denied being the person responsible for the deaths. Many Native Americans believe he was a political prisoner who was wrongfully convicted due to his fight for Indigenous rights as a member of the American Indian Movement.
For years, numerous law enforcement officials opposed Peltier’s release. Current and former FBI agents disputed his claims of innocence. As Biden weighed his options towards the end of his term, former FBI Director Christopher Wray sent the president a letter labeling Peltier “a remorseless killer” who should remain incarcerated.
In a statement regarding the commutation, Biden mentioned that numerous individuals and groups supported Peltier’s release due to the time he had spent in prison, his age, and his leadership role among Native Americans.
For decades, Peltier has maintained his innocence regarding the murder charges, stating on Wednesday, “I spent 49 years straight in prison for something I didn’t do.” Peltier noted that he entered prison as a young man and emerged at the age of 80. Throughout his incarceration, he aimed to keep Native American issues at the forefront of his activism and thanked tribes across the nation for their enduring support.
“From day one, from the first hour I was arrested, Indian people came to my rescue, from all over the country,” Peltier said.
Tribal leaders honored Peltier with an eagle feather staff that supporters had carried to Washington and various locations during their campaign for his release, along with a traditional star quilt that Peltier draped over his shoulder.
Nick Tilsen, an Oglala Lakota and founder of the NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy group, paid tribute to Peltier and his generation of American Indian Movement leaders for standing up “against the most powerful government in the world. And they instilled that pride back into our people. They instilled that fight back into our people.”
“All around the world, Leonard Peltier’s name will be remembered as a warrior, as a warrior who outlasted one of the strongest governments in the world and came out victorious,” he added.
Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Tribal Chair Jamie Azure stated that the warm welcome shown by hundreds at the event demonstrated Peltier’s significance to the tribe and other Native Americans. “What I think you can see from the turnout here today, it means a lot to a lot of people on a lot of different levels to see Mr. Peltier come back to his homeland, to just be home,” Azure said.
As tribal member Denise Lajimodiere remarked, “It’s a big day. A day of celebration.”
