View source for Leonard Peltier

{{short description|Native American activist (born 1944)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025|cs1-dates=l}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Leonard Peltier
| nickname          = Tate WiWikuwa, Gwarth-ee-lass<ref>{{cite book |last1=Peltier |first1=Leonard |title=Prison Writing: My Life is My Sundance |date=1999 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |page=61 |isbn=0-312-20354-3}}</ref>
| image             = Leonard Peltier mug shot (cropped).jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Peltier in 1972
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1944|9|12}}
| birth_place       = [[Belcourt, North Dakota]], U.S.
| death_date        = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| death_place       = 
| nationality       = 
| movement          = [[American Indian Movement]]
| conviction        = [[Murder|First degree murder of a federal employee (18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 and 1114)]] (2 counts)
| criminal_penalty  = [[Life imprisonment in the United States|2 consecutive life sentences]]; commuted to indefinite [[house arrest]]
| criminal_status   = 
| spouse            = 
| children          = 9
}}
'''Leonard Peltier''' (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist and member of the [[American Indian Movement]] (AIM) who was convicted of murdering two [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) agents in a June 26, 1975, shooting on the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] in South Dakota. He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of [[Life imprisonment in the United States|life imprisonment]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=United States v. Peltier, 189 F. Supp. 2d 970 (D.N.D. 2002) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/189/970/2433930/ |access-date=July 2, 2020 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leonard-Peltier Leonard-Peltier], ''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref><ref>Lewis, Hugh M. [https://books.google.com/books?id=cZ37c8yeCjEC&pg=PA195& ''Robidoux Chronicles'']. Trafford Publishing, 2004, p. 195.</ref> Peltier became eligible for [[parole]] in 1993.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Doctorow |first1=E. L. |last2=Styron |first2=Rose |last3=Styron |first3=William |last4=Vonnegut |first4=Kurt Jr. |last5=Matthiessen |first5=Peter |title=United States v. Leonard Peltier &#124; by Peter Matthiessen |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2000/07/20/united-states-v-leonard-peltier |website=The New York Review of Books |access-date=November 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.newsday.com/american-indian-activist-denied-parole-1.1385273 "American Indian activist denied parole"], ''Newsday'', August 21, 2009</ref> 

On January 19, 2025, Peltier's sentence was [[List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States|commuted]] to indefinite [[house arrest]] by President [[Joe Biden]] shortly before he left office. On February 18, the date specified by the grant of clemency, Peltier was released and transferred to the [[Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation]] in [[Belcourt, North Dakota]].<ref name="releasedfromprison" /><ref name="northdakotatransfer" /><ref>Joseph R. Biden Jr., Executive Grant of Clemency of Leonard Peltier, dated January 19, 2025</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Arkin |first1=Daniel |last2=Ortiz |first2=Erik |date=20 January 2025 |title=Biden commutes life sentence of Leonard Peltier, Native American activist imprisoned for almost 50 years |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biden-commutes-sentence-leonard-peltier-native-american-activist-impri-rcna188331 |access-date=January 20, 2025 |publisher=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> 

In his 1999 memoir ''Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance'', Peltier admitted to participating in the shootout but said he did not kill the FBI agents.<ref name="Ezzo 2013 35–99">{{Cite journal |last=Ezzo |first=Joseph |year=2013 |title=The Leonard Peltier Case: An Argument in Support of Executive Clemency Based on Norms of International Human Rights |url=https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=ailr |journal=American Indian Law Review |volume=38 |pages=35–99}}</ref><ref name="book71" /> However, witnesses say he confessed, including [[Darlene Ka-Mook Nichols]], who testified against him at trial. Human rights watchdogs, such as [[Amnesty International]], and political figures including [[Nelson Mandela]], [[Mother Teresa]], and the [[14th Dalai Lama]], campaigned for clemency for Peltier.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annual Report: USA 2010 |url=https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/annual-report-usa-2010/ |access-date=July 2, 2020 |website=Amnesty International USA |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 4, 2017 |title=Top prosecutor in Leonard Peltier case urges clemency in 'extraordinary' move |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/04/free-leonard-peltier-obama-open-letter-james-reynolds |access-date=July 2, 2020 |work=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

At the time of the shootout, Peltier was an active member of AIM, an Indigenous rights advocacy group that worked to combat the racism and [[police brutality]] experienced by Native Americans.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Leonard Peltier {{!}} American Indian activist |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leonard-Peltier |access-date=July 2, 2020 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Peltier was born on September 12, 1944,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=li1ZCwAAQBAJ&q=Leonard+Peltier+1944&pg=PA610 |author1=Steven Chermak Ph.D. |author2=Frankie Y. Bailey Ph.D. |title=Crimes of the Centuries: Notorious Crimes, Criminals, and Criminal Trials in American History |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-593-0 |date=January 25, 2016 |page=1060}}</ref> at the [[Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation]] of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa near [[Belcourt, North Dakota]]. He is of [[Lakota people|Lakota]], [[Dakota people|Dakota]], and [[Anishinaabe]] descent, and was raised among the [[Turtle Mountain Chippewa]] and [[Sioux|Fort Totten Sioux Nations of North Dakota]].<ref name="obama">{{cite news |date=January 18, 2017 |title=Obama won't commute Native American activist Leonard Peltier |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-won-commute-native-american-activist-leonard-peltier-article-1.2949762 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230917182601/https://www.nydailynews.com/2017/01/18/president-obama-wont-commute-native-american-activist-who-killed-fbi-agents-despite-plea-from-pope-francis/ |archive-date=September 17, 2023 |access-date=March 27, 2018 |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York}}</ref> He was one of 13 children.<ref name="ELPSN">[https://web.archive.org/web/20100302154245/http://www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk/profiles/peltier.html Leonard Peltier biography] at [[ELPSN]].com (archived at the [[Wayback Machine]], March 2, 2010)</ref> His parents divorced when he was four years old,<ref name=":2">Sandage, Diane, and Richard T. Schaefer. "Peltier, Leonard (1944–)." ''Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society.'' Thousand Oaks, California, USA: Sage Publications, 2008. Web.</ref> with Leonard and his sister Betty Ann living with their paternal grandparents Alex and Mary Dubois-Peltier in the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.<ref name="book71">{{cite book |title=Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance |last=Peltier |first=Leonard |year=1999 |publisher=St. Martins Griffin |location=New York |isbn=0-312-26380-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/prisonwritings00leon/page/71 71] |url=https://archive.org/details/prisonwritings00leon/page/71}}</ref>

In September 1953, Leonard was enrolled at the Wahpeton Indian School in [[Wahpeton, North Dakota]], an [[American Indian boarding schools|Indian boarding school]] run by the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] (BIA).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Goodman |first=Amy |author-link=Amy Goodman |date=September 19, 2025 |title=“Not Going to Give Up”: Leonard Peltier on Indigenous Rights, 5 Decades in Prison & Coming Home |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2025/9/19/leonard_peltier_interview_democracy_now_exclusive |access-date=2025-09-24 |website=Democracy Now! |language=en}}</ref> The school, which was located {{convert|150|mi}} away from his home in the Turtle Mountain Reservation, practiced forced cultural assimilation of Indigenous children into white American culture by requiring the children to use English and forbidding the inclusion of Native American culture.<ref name=":1">"[https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galegbpp/peltier_leonard/0 Peltier, Leonard.]" ''Gale Biographies: Popular People.'' Ed. Gale Cengage Learning,. Farmington, Michigan, USA: Gale, 2018. Web.</ref> He graduated from Wahpeton in May 1957 and then attended the [[Flandreau Indian School]] in [[Flandreau, South Dakota]].<ref name=":4">Glisson, Susan M. ''The Human Tradition in the Civil Rights Movement''. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006. Web.</ref> After finishing the ninth grade, he returned to the Turtle Mountain Reservation to live with his father.<ref name=":4" /> Peltier later obtained a general equivalency degree (GED).<ref name=":1" />

==Career and activism==
In 1965, Peltier relocated to [[Seattle, Washington]].<ref name=":1" /> Peltier worked as a welder, a construction worker, and as the co-owner of an auto shop in Seattle in his twenties.<ref name=":1" /> The co-owners used the upper level of the building as a stopping place, or halfway house, for American Indians who had alcohol addiction issues or had recently finished their prison sentences and were re-entering society.<ref name=":1" /> The halfway house took a financial toll on the shop, so they closed it.<ref name=":1" />

In Seattle, Peltier became involved in a variety of causes championing Native American civil rights.<ref name=":1" /> In the early 1970s, he learned about the factional tensions at the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] in South Dakota between supporters of [[Dick Wilson (tribal chairman)|Richard Wilson]], elected tribal chairman in 1972, and traditionalist members of the Lakota tribe.<ref name=":1" /> It was [[Dennis Banks]] who first invited Leonard Peltier to join AIM.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Matthiessen |first1=Peter |date=1992 |title=In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI's War on the American Indian Movement |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=34–35,37,39,50–51,61–63,65,106–9,111–14,116,118,120,121–125,130,135–36,141,142,144,148,155,192,197,220,222,223,232,234,248,252,253,263,288,299,403,419,480,507,535,574,575 |isbn=978-0140144567}}</ref> Consequently, Peltier became an official member of the [[American Indian Movement]] (AIM) in 1972, which was founded by urban Indians in Minneapolis in 1968, at a time of rising Indian activism for civil rights.<ref name=":2" />

Wilson had created a private militia, known as the [[Guardians of the Oglala Nation]] (GOON), whose members were reputed to have attacked political opponents.<ref name=":1" /> Protests over a failed impeachment hearing of Wilson contributed to the AIM and Lakota armed takeover of [[Wounded Knee National Historic Landmark|Wounded Knee]] at the reservation in February 1973. Federal forces reacted, conducting a 71-day siege, which became known as the [[Wounded Knee Occupation]].<ref name=":1" /> Protestors demanded the resignation of Wilson.<ref name="Peltier1999p125">{{cite book |last=Peltier |first=Leonard |url=https://archive.org/details/prisonwritings00leon/page/125 |title=Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sundance |publisher=St. Martins Griffin |year=1999 |isbn=0-312-26380-5 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/prisonwritings00leon/page/125 125]}}</ref> Peltier, however, spent most of the occupation in a [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin jail charged with attempted murder related to a different protest.<ref name="Peltier1999p125" /> When Peltier secured bail at the end of April, he took part in an AIM protest outside the federal building in Milwaukee and was on his way to Wounded Knee with the group to deliver supplies when the incident ended.<ref name="Peltier1999p125" />

In 1975, Peltier traveled as a member of AIM to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to help reduce violence among political opponents.<ref>Privitera, John J. "Toward a Remedy for International Extradition by Fraud: The Case of Leonard Peltier", ''Yale Law & Policy Review'' 2.1 (1983): 49–61. Web.</ref> At the time, he was a fugitive, with an arrest warrant having been issued in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.<ref name=":5" /> It charged him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for the attempted murder of an off-duty Milwaukee police officer. (He was acquitted of the attempted murder charge in February 1978.)<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |url=http://www.famous-trials.com/leonardpeltier/747-chronology |title=Leonard Peltier Trial: A Chronology |last=Strathman |first=Jeremy |website=Famous Trials |access-date=October 3, 2018}}</ref>

During this period,<!-- of several years,--> Peltier had seven children from two marriages <!-- successive? -->and adopted two children.<!-- with one wife or one with each? --><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title='Buried alive': Leonard Peltier, Native American activist imprisoned for nearly half a century over FBI killings, awaits last chance parole hearing {{!}} Navajo Times |url=https://navajotimes.com/reznews/buried-alive-leonard-peltier-native-american-activist-imprisoned-for-nearly-half-a-century-over-fbi-killings-awaits-last-chance-parole-hearing/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=navajotimes.com |date=June 27, 2024 |quote=Peltier has several children with different women. Lisa, his oldest, was born in 1965 to Peltier and Sandra Martinez, his wife for a short time. Chauncey, 58, and a younger sister, Cheryl, were born to Peltier and Joanne Lohnes. Marquetta Shields-Peltier, 50, and Wahacanka Paul Shields-Peltier, who passed away at 41 in 2016, were the product of Peltier’s union with Audrey Shields. Kathy Peltier, 48, is Peltier’s youngest daughter whose mother is Ann Begay. Born after her father had already been detained, she continues to be outspoken about her father’s release.}}</ref>

== Shootout at Pine Ridge ==
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Special Agent Ronald Williams.jpg
 | width1 = 120
 | caption1 = Ronald Arthur Williams
 | image2 = Special Agent Jack Ross Coler.jpg
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On June 26, 1975, FBI Special Agents Ronald Arthur Williams<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ronald A. Williams |url=https://www.fbi.gov/history/wall-of-honor/ronald-a-williams |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation |language=en-us}}</ref> and Jack Ross Coler<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jack R. Coler |url=https://www.fbi.gov/history/wall-of-honor/jack-r-coler |access-date=June 1, 2022 |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation |language=en-us}}</ref> returned to Pine Ridge to continue searching for a young man named Jimmy Eagle. According to FBI publications, he was wanted for questioning in connection with the recent assault of two local ranch hands and theft of a pair of cowboy boots.<ref name=":02">{{cite web |date=September 25, 2012 |title=The RESMURS Case |publisher=[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] |url=http://www.fbi.gov/minneas/about-us/history-1/the-resmurs-case |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925163029/http://www.fbi.gov/minneapolis/about-us/history-1/the-resmurs-case |archive-date=September 25, 2012 |access-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref>

Around 11:50 a.m., Williams and Coler, driving two separate unmarked cars, radioed that they were following a white and red [[Chevrolet Suburban#Fifth generation (1960)|Chevrolet Suburban Carryall]], reportedly carrying Peltier, Norman Charles, and Joe Stuntz. Peltier had an outstanding federal warrant for the attempted murder of a Milwaukee police officer, although Williams and Coler were not aware of this. Charles had met with Williams and Coler the evening before, when the agents explained to Charles they were looking for Eagle. After turning off [[U.S. Route 18 in South Dakota|US 18]] into the Jumping Bull Ranch, where the Jumping Bull family had allowed AIM to camp, the occupants of the Suburban stopped and exited the vehicle. A firefight ensued.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":02" />

According to other FBI agents' recollection (of unrecorded radio transmissions),<ref name=":02" /> Williams radioed to a local dispatch that he and Coler had come under fire from the vehicle's occupants and would be killed if reinforcements did not arrive. He next radioed that they both had been shot. FBI Special Agent Gary Adams was the first to respond to Williams' call for assistance from {{convert|12|mi|km|spell=in}} away. But he and the other responding BIA officers also came under gunfire. They were unable to reach Coler and Williams in time, as both agents died within the first ten minutes of gunfire. It was not until about 4:25&nbsp;p.m. that authorities recovered the bodies of Williams and Coler from Coler's vehicle. The FBI has stated that Norman Charles fired at the agents with a stolen British [[.308 Winchester|.308]] rifle, and Peltier from an [[AR-15–style rifle|AR-15]] rifle. The two agents had fired a total of five shots: two from Williams' handgun, one from Coler's handgun, one from Coler's rifle, and one from Coler's shotgun. In total, 125 bullet holes were found in the agents' vehicles, many from a [[.223 Remington]] AR-15 rifle.<ref name=":02" /> Coler was 28 years old and Williams was 27.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://time.com/archive/6846958/indians-the-pine-ridge-shootout/ |title=INDIANS: The Pine Ridge Shootout |date=July 7, 1975 |magazine=Time}}</ref>

The FBI reported that Williams received a [[defense wound|defensive wound]] to his right hand (as he attempted to shield his face) from a bullet that passed through his hand into his head. Williams was shot in the body and foot, before the lethal contact shot to the head. Coler, incapacitated from earlier bullet wounds, was shot twice in the head.<ref name=":02" />

Williams's car was driven into the AIM camp farther south on the Jumping Bull property and stripped.  The agents' guns were stolen. Allegedly, Darrelle Butler took Williams' handgun, Peltier took Coler's, and [[Robert Robideau]] took Coler's .308 and shotgun.<ref name=":02" /> Stuntz was found wearing Coler's FBI jacket after he was shot and killed by a [[Bureau of Indian Affairs|BIA]] agent later that day.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 19, 2023 |title=The Leonard Peltier Trial: An Account |url=https://www.famous-trials.com/leonardpeltier/748-home |access-date=September 19, 2023}}</ref>

=== Aftermath ===
At least three men were arrested in connection with the shooting: Peltier, Robert Robideau, and Darrelle "Dino" Butler, all AIM members who were present at the Jumping Bull compound at the time of the shootings.

Peltier provided numerous alibis to several people about his activities on the morning of the attacks.<ref name=":62">"[http://www.indiancountrynews.com/index.php/news/investigations/leonard-peltier/20-demain-editorial Leonard Peltier's Different Views of June 26, 1975] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210224210420/https://www.indiancountrynews.com/index.php/news/investigations/leonard-peltier/20-demain-editorial |date=February 24, 2021 }}", ''News from Indian Country''</ref> In an interview for [[Peter Matthiessen]]'s  1983 book ''[[In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (book)|In the Spirit of Crazy Horse]]'', Peltier described working on a car in Oglala, claiming he had driven back to the Jumping Bull Compound about an hour before the shooting started.<ref name=":62" /> In an interview with Lee Hill, though, he described being awakened in his tent at the ranch encampment by the sound of gunshots;<ref name=":62" /> but to Harvey Arden, for ''Prison Writings'', he described enjoying the beautiful morning before he heard the firing.<ref name=":62" /> In his 1999 memoir ''Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance'', Peltier admitted to participating in the shootout but said he did not kill the FBI agents.<ref name="Ezzo 2013 35–99"/><ref name="book71" />

On September 5, Butler was arrested; Agent Williams' handgun and ammunition were recovered from an automobile in the vicinity. Four days later, Peltier bought a station wagon.<ref name=":02" /> The following day, AIM member Robideau,{{efn|Robideau died February 17, 2009, in Spain from seizures related to brain injuries from the car explosion.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}}} Charles and Anderson were injured in the accidental explosion of ammunition from Peltier's station wagon on the [[Kansas Turnpike]] close to [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]]. Coler's .308 and an [[ArmaLite AR-15|AR-15]] were found in the burned vehicle. The FBI forwarded a description of a recreational vehicle (RV) and Peltier's Plymouth station wagon to law enforcement during the hunt for the suspects. The RV was stopped by an [[Oregon State Police|Oregon state trooper]], but the driver, later discovered to be Peltier, fled on foot after a small shootout. Peltier's thumbprint and Coler's handgun were discovered under the RV's front seat.<ref name=":02" />

== Trial ==
[[File:Leonard Peltier FBI Poster.gif | thumb | right | 260px | FBI [[wanted poster]] for Leonard Peltier<ref>{{cite web |title=The Hunt for Leonard Peltier FBI Wanted Poster (Dec. 3, 1975) |date=January 26, 2012 |url=http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/peltier/peltierwanted.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603131355/http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/peltier/peltierwanted.html |archive-date=June 3, 2012}}</ref>]]

On December 22, 1975, Peltier was named to the [[FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, 1970s|FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives]] list.<ref>{{Cite web |title=335. Leonard Peltier |url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/topten-history/hires_images/FBI-335-LeonardPeltier.jpg/view |access-date=December 7, 2018 |website=Most Wanted}}</ref> On February 6, 1976, Peltier was arrested along with [[Frank Blackhorse]] by the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] in [[Hinton, Alberta|Hinton]], [[Alberta]], [[Canada]]<ref name="Indian Country News">{{cite web |url=http://www.indiancountrynews.com/index.php/investigations/286-aquash-peltier/aquash-peltier-timeline-1975-2010/31-annie-mae-timeline-iv-peltier-arrested-jane-doe-is-found-feb-24-1976 |title=Annie Mae Timeline IV – Peltier arrested: Jane Doe is found Feb. 24, 1976 |work=Indian Country News |date=April 6, 2007 |access-date=January 25, 2016 |archive-date=August 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805050344/https://www.indiancountrynews.com/index.php/investigations/286-aquash-peltier/aquash-peltier-timeline-1975-2010/31-annie-mae-timeline-iv-peltier-arrested-jane-doe-is-found-feb-24-1976 |url-status=dead}}</ref> at the Smallboy Camp, transported to [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]] and taken to the [[Oakalla Prison]] Farm in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]].<ref name=":02" /><ref name="echoes">{{cite news |last1=Hume |first1=Mark |title=Ex-officer hears echoes of Peltier in B.C. case |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ex-officer-hears-echoes-of-peltier-in-bc-case/article1008114/ |work=The Globe and Mail |date=December 8, 2004 |language=en-CA}}</ref><ref name="The People's Path Home">{{cite web |url=http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/LeonardPeltier/PeltierChronology.htm |title=Chronology of Leonard Peltier "Birth, 1994 to Leavenworth, present" |work=The People's Path Home |year=1997 |access-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910233424/http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/LeonardPeltier/PeltierChronology.htm |archive-date=September 10, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ECODefenseRadio">{{cite web |url=http://www.ecodefenseradio.org/2015/02/03/2015-02-03-eco-defense-radio-news/ |title=2015-02-03 – Eco-Defense Radio News |work=ECO Defense Radio |date=February 3, 2015 |access-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-date=June 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190613062104/http://www.ecodefenseradio.org/2015/02/03/2015-02-03-eco-defense-radio-news/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In December 1976, Peltier was [[extradited]] from Canada based on documents submitted by the FBI. [[Warren Allmand]], Canada's [[Solicitor General of Canada|Solicitor General]] at the time, later stated that these documents contained false information.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 9, 2016 |title=Bellegarde apologizes to Anna Mae Aquash's daughter over statement about Leonard Peltier |work=[[Aboriginal Peoples Television Network]] |url=http://aptn.ca/news/2016/03/09/bellegarde-apologizes-to-anna-mae-aquashs-daughter-over-hurt-caused-by-peltier-statement/ |access-date=December 9, 2016 |archive-date=February 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211194848/https://www.aptn.ca/news/2016/03/09/bellegarde-apologizes-to-anna-mae-aquashs-daughter-over-hurt-caused-by-peltier-statement/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> (Blackhorse was also extradited to the United States, but charges against him related to the reservation shootout were dropped.)<ref name="Counter Current News">{{cite web |url=http://countercurrentnews.com/2014/07/statement-from-american-indian-activist-leonard-peltier-39-years-in-prison/ |title=The Leonard Peltier Case: An Argument in Support of Executive Clemency Based on Norms of International Human Rights |work=The University of Oklahoma School of Law |first=Joseph |last=Ezzo |access-date=January 25, 2016}}</ref> One of the documents relied on in Peltier's extradition was an [[affidavit]] signed by Myrtle Poor Bear, a Native American woman local to the area near Pine Ridge Reservation.<ref name="democracynow.org2">{{cite web |title=Leonard Peltier Speaks from Prison |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2000/6/12/leonard_peltier_speaks_from_prison |access-date=November 27, 2016 |publisher=Democracy Now!}}</ref> While Poor Bear stated that she was Peltier's girlfriend during that time and had watched the killings, Peltier and others at the scene said that Poor Bear did not know Peltier and was not present during the murders.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> Poor Bear later admitted to lying to the FBI, but said the agents interviewing her had coerced her into making the claims.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> When Poor Bear tried to testify against the FBI, the judge barred her testimony because of mental incompetence.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> However, the Canadian government later reviewed the extradition and concluded it had been lawful since "the circumstantial evidence presented at the extradition hearing, taken alone, constituted sufficient evidence to justify Mr. Peltier's committal on two murder charges."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.noparolepeltier.com/canadaletter.html |title=A. Anne McLellan Letter Approving Canadian Extradition for Peltier |website=noparolepeltier.com}}</ref>

Peltier fought extradition to the United States. Robideau and Butler were acquitted on grounds of self-defense by a federal jury in [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]] since the forensic evidence showed they had not been the ones to execute the agents and the government had no witnesses at the time who could prove they knew they were attacking FBI officers.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> This was not the case in Peltier's trial, where the FBI had forensic evidence and eyewitnesses that together linked Peltier directly to the killings of the officers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/resmurs-case-reservation-murders |title=RESMURS Case (Reservation Murders) |website=Federal Bureau of Investigation}}</ref>

Peltier's trial was held in [[Fargo, North Dakota]], where a jury convicted him of the murders of Coler and Williams.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /> Unlike in the trial for Butler and Robideau, the FBI produced forensic evidence that the two FBI agents were killed by close-range shots to their heads, when they were already defenseless because of previous gunshot wounds.<ref name=":72">Peter Mattheissen, ''In the Spirit of Crazy Horse''</ref> Consequently, Peltier could not submit a self-defense testimony like the other activists had.<ref>{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|294789062}} |title=Decision at Oglala |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=1993 |page=10}}</ref> The jury was also shown autopsy and crime scene photographs of the two agents, which had not been shown to the jury at Cedar Rapids.<ref name=":72" /> In April 1977, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.<ref>Lappas, Thomas, and Gary L. Anderson. "Oglala, Incident At." ''Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice.'' Thousand Oaks, California, USA: Sage Publications, 2007. Web.</ref>

Some organizations have raised doubts about Peltier's guilt and the fairness of his trial, based on alleged inconsistencies in the FBI and prosecution's handling of the case. Two witnesses in the initial trial recanted their statements and stated they were made under duress at the hands of the FBI. At least one witness was given immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony against Peltier.

During a June 8, 2024, interview by Native News Online, Peltier's serving attorney [[Kevin H. Sharp|Kevin Sharp]] – who has also served as U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee from 2011 to 2017, including as Chief Judge from 2014 to 2017 – stated the following:

{{blockquote|"Pine Ridge was a powder keg with the Goon Squad operating there with the government's help. AIM was there to protect those who were not part of the Goon Squad. There were many murders and assaults in a three-year timeframe. When plain-clothed agents in unmarked cars arrived, a firefight ensued. Leonard did not shoot the agents, and the FBI knew this but withheld evidence. The court of appeals acknowledged this but couldn't overturn the conviction due to legal standards. Judge Heaney, who wrote the opinion, later supported clemency for Leonard. Now, 38 of Judge Heaney's former clerks support parole for Leonard, including three who worked on his case. The government admits they don't know who killed the agents, but it wasn't Leonard. It's time to release Leonard and start the healing process."<ref>{{cite web |title=Q&A: Former Federal Judge Kevin Sharp on Leonard Peltier's June 10 Parole Hearing |url=https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/q-a-former-federal-judge-kevin-sharp-on-leonard-peltier-s-june-10-parole-hearing |website=Native News Online |access-date=July 3, 2024 |date=June 7, 2024}}</ref>}}

{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Norman Patrick Brown FBI affidavit Leonard Peltier.jpg
| width1 = 120
| caption1 = [[FBI]] [[affidavit]] of Norman Patrick Brown
| image2 = Norman Patrick Brown Immunity from prosecution Order-Peltier case 1977.jpg
| width2 = 120
| caption2 = Order granting [[Immunity from prosecution (international law)|immunity from prosecution]] to Norman Patrick Brown, in exchange for his testimony in Leonard Peltier's criminal trial
}}

=== Alleged discrepancies in material evidence ===

FBI radio intercepts indicated that the two FBI agents Williams and Coler had entered the Pine Ridge Reservation in pursuit of a suspected thief in a red pickup truck. The FBI confirmed this claim the day after the shootout,<ref name="ReferenceA2">{{Cite web |title=As Clinton Contemplates Clemency for Leonard Peltier, a Debate Between the FBI and Defense Attorneys |publisher=[[Democracy Now!]] |date=December 11, 2000 |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2000/12/11/as_clinton_contemplates_clemency_for_leonard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071211233053/https://www.democracynow.org/2000/12/11/as_clinton_contemplates_clemency_for_leonard |archive-date=December 11, 2007}}</ref> but red pickup trucks near the reservation had been stopped for weeks, and Leonard Peltier did not drive a red pickup truck.<ref name="ReferenceA2" /> Evidence was given that Peltier was driving a [[Chevrolet Suburban]]; a large [[sport utility vehicle]] built on a pickup truck chassis, with an enclosed rear section.<ref name="ReferenceA2" /> Peltier's vehicle was orange with a white roof – not a red  open-bed pickup truck with no white paint.<ref name="ReferenceA2" />

At Peltier's trial, FBI agents changed their previous statements that they had been in search of a red pickup truck and instead said  they were looking for an orange and white van, similar to the one Peltier drove. This contradictory statement by the FBI was a highly contentious matter of evidence in the trials.<ref name="ReferenceA2" />

Though the FBI's investigation indicated that an [[AR-15]] was used to kill the agents, several different AR-15s were in the area at the time of the shootout. Also, no other cartridge cases or evidence about them was offered by the prosecutor's office, though other bullets were fired at the crime scene.<ref name="democracynow.org2" /><ref name="ReferenceA2" /> However, the appeals court confirmed his conviction in 1986, noting that even though later evidence suggested there were multiple AR-15s in the area, the government's expert witness had testified during the trial that he could not match 14 shell casings to the AR-15 that killed the agents.<ref name="noparolepeltier.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.noparolepeltier.com/800.html |title=CIR8_Cases |website=noparolepeltier.com}}</ref> The appeals court stated further that the fact was ultimately irrelevant given these shells were ejected in locations such that "it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to have fired at Coler and Williams from these points," instead concluding that "it is more likely that these casings were ejected from an AR-15 in the firefight that occurred after Coler and Williams were killed and other agents had joined in the shooting."<ref name="noparolepeltier.com"/>

During the trial, all the bullets and bullet fragments found at the scene were provided as evidence and detailed by Cortland Cunningham, FBI firearms expert, in testimony (Ref ''US v. Leonard Peltier'', Vol 9). Years later, in 2004, a request under the [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] prompted another examination of the FBI ballistics report used to convict Peltier. An impartial expert evaluated the firing pin linked to the gun that shot Williams and Coler and concluded that some cartridge cases from the scene of the crime did not come from the rifle tied to Peltier.<ref name="ReferenceA2" /><ref>FOIA released documents, from International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, available at http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/LEGAL/FOIA.htm (accessed September 10, 2023).</ref> Again, the appeals court rejected the defense's argument, because the information included in the FOIA request "did not refer to the .223 casing found in the agents’ car, but to other casings found at the scene." The court concluded that given the immaterial nature of this new evidence, it was not probable that the jury would have reached a different verdict had that information been available.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.noparolepeltier.com/997.html |title=CIR8_Cases |website=noparolepeltier.com}}</ref>

=== 1979 prison escape ===
Peltier began serving his sentences in 1977. On July 20, 1979, he and two other inmates escaped from [[Federal Correctional Institution, Lompoc]]. One inmate was shot dead by a guard outside the prison and another was captured 90 minutes later, approximately {{convert|1|mi}} away. Peltier remained at large until he was captured by a search party three days later near [[Santa Maria, California]], after a farmer alerted authorities that Peltier, armed with a [[Ruger Mini-14]] rifle, had consumed some of his crops and stolen his shoes, wallet, and pickup truck key. Peltier attempted to drive the truck away at high speed down the rough gravel road, resulting in a broken transmission, after which he again fled on foot. Peltier was later apprehended without incident. After a six-week trial held in Los Angeles before Judge [[Lawrence Tupper Lydick|Lawrence T. Lydick]], Peltier was convicted and sentenced to serve a five-year sentence for escape and a two-year sentence for a felon in possession of a firearm, in addition to his preexisting two life sentences.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ladd |first=Robert J. |date=June 1, 2016 |title=Leonard Peltier's Prison Escape |work=[[Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation]] |url=http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.socxfbi.org/resource/resmgr/history_committee_articles/LeonardPeltierPrisonEscape.pdf |access-date=January 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109184222/http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.socxfbi.org/resource/resmgr/history_committee_articles/LeonardPeltierPrisonEscape.pdf |archive-date=January 9, 2017}}</ref>

==Clemency and commutation of sentence==

=== Support for clemency ===
Peltier's conviction sparked great controversy and drew criticism from a number of prominent figures across a wide range of disciplines. In 1999, Peltier asserted on CNN that he did not commit the murders and does not know who did. Peltier has described himself as a [[political prisoner]].<ref>{{cite web |title=AIM – American Indian Movement Store |url=http://www.aimovement.org/peltier/index.html |access-date=November 12, 2012 |publisher=Aimovement.org}}</ref> Numerous public and legal appeals were filed on his behalf; however, because of the consistent objection of the FBI, none of the resulting rulings were made in his favor. His appeals for clemency received support from world-famous civil rights advocates, including [[Nelson Mandela]], Archbishop [[Desmond Tutu]], Rev. [[Jesse Jackson]], [[14th Dalai Lama|Tenzin Gyatso]] (the 14th [[Dalai Lama]]), Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and activist [[Rigoberta Menchú]], and [[Mother Teresa]]. International and national government entities such as the Office of the [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights]], the [[Working Group on Indigenous Populations|United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations]], the [[European Parliament]],<ref name="eu_parlm2">{{cite web |date=February 11, 1999 |title=Resolution on the case of Leonard Peltier |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A51999IP0169&qid=1678664600560 |url-status=live |publisher=European Parliament |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230312234359/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A51999IP0169&qid=1678664600560 |archive-date=March 12, 2023}}</ref> and the [[Belgian Parliament]],<ref name="bel_parlm2">{{cite web |author=Lode Vanoost |date=June 29, 2000 |title=Voorstel van resolutie betreffende Leonard Peltier |url=http://www.dekamer.be/kvvcr/showpage.cfm?section%3Dflwb%26language%3Dnl%26rightmenu%3Dright%26cfm%3D/site/wwwcfm/flwb/flwbn.cfm?lang%3DN%26legislat%3D50%26dossierID%3D0483 |url-status=dead |publisher=Belgische Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025111112/http://www.dekamer.be/kvvcr/showpage.cfm?section=flwb&language=nl&rightmenu=right&cfm=%2Fsite%2Fwwwcfm%2Fflwb%2Fflwbn.cfm%3Flang%3DN&legislat=50&dossierID=0483 |archive-date=October 25, 2016}}</ref> have all passed resolutions in favor of Peltier's clemency. Several human rights groups, including the [[International Federation for Human Rights]] and [[Amnesty International]] launched campaigns advocating for Peltier's clemency. In the United States, the [[Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights]], the [[Committee of Concerned Scientists|Committee of Concerned Scientists, Inc.]], the [[National Lawyers Guild]], and the [[American Association for Justice|American Association of Jurists]] are all supporters of clemency for Peltier.

[[File:FreeLeonardPeltierSign.jpg | thumb|right | Free Leonard Peltier sign, March 2009]]

The police officer who arrested Peltier, Bob Newbrook, is convinced that he "was extradited illegally and that he didn't get a fair trial in the United States".<ref name="echoes" />

On June 7, 2022, the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]]'s [[Working Group on Arbitrary Detention]] released a seventeen-page analysis of Peltier's detention, rendering the opinion that it contravenes "articles 2, 7, and 9 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] and articles 2 (1), 9 and 26 of the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]], is arbitrary and falls within categories III and V." The Working Group urged a "full and independent investigation" surrounding his detention and requested that the US government remedy his situation "without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms".<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/A-HRC-WGAD-7-2022-USA-AEV.pdf |title=Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its ninety-third session, 30 March–8 April 2022 |author=[[Working Group on Arbitrary Detention]] |publisher=[[United Nations Human Rights Council]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006175033/https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/A-HRC-WGAD-7-2022-USA-AEV.pdf |archive-date=October 6, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Clemency denial and commutation===
In 1999, Peltier filed a ''[[habeas corpus]]'' petition, but it was rejected by the 10th Circuit Court on November 4, 2003.<ref>Meister, Mark, and Ann Burnett. "Rhetorical Exclusion in the Trial of Leonard Peltier." ''American Indian Quarterly'' 28.3/4 (2004): 719–42. ''ProQuest Central, Research Library.'' Web.</ref> Near the end of the [[Clinton administration]] in 2001, rumors began circulating that [[Bill Clinton]] was considering granting Peltier [[clemency]]. Opponents of Peltier campaigned against his possible clemency; about 500 FBI agents and families protested outside the [[White House]], and FBI director [[Louis Freeh]] sent a letter opposing Peltier's clemency to the White House. Clinton did not grant Peltier clemency. In 2002, Peltier filed a [[civil rights]] lawsuit in the [[U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia]] against the FBI, Louis Freeh and FBI agents who had participated in the campaign against his clemency petition, alleging that they "engaged in a systematic and officially sanctioned campaign of misinformation and disinformation." On March 22, 2004, the suit was dismissed.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 22, 2004 |title=US District Court, Peltier v. Freeh, et al. |url=http://www.noparolepeltier.com/Order-3-22-04.pdf |publisher=Noparolepeltier.com |access-date=July 29, 2005 |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522163851/http://www.noparolepeltier.com/Order-3-22-04.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In January 2009, President [[George W. Bush]] denied Peltier's clemency petition before leaving office.<ref>{{cite web |title=Clinton refuses to pardon Leonard Peltier – World Socialist Web Site |url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/jan2001/pelt-j25.shtml |access-date=November 27, 2016 |website=Wsws.org |date=January 25, 2001}}</ref><ref>[http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/27/Bush-denies-bevy-of-pardons-commutations/UPI-52591233105751/ "Bush denies bevy of pardons, commutations"]. [[United Press International|UPI.com]], January 27, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.</ref>

In 2016, Peltier's attorneys filed a clemency application with the White House's [[Office of the Pardon Attorney]], and his supporters organized a campaign to convince President [[Barack Obama]] to commute Peltier's sentence, a campaign which included an appeal by [[Pope Francis]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Otis |first=Ginger Adams |title=President Obama won't commute Native American activist who killed FBI agents despite plea from Pope Francis |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York |date=January 18, 2017 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/obama-won-commute-native-american-activist-leonard-peltier-article-1.2949762 |access-date=May 30, 2018}}</ref> as well as James H. Reynolds, a senior attorney and former US Attorney who supervised the prosecution against Peltier in the appeal period following his initial trial. In a letter to the [[United States Department of Justice]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-U.S. Attorney backs Leonard Peltier's bid for clemency |website=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York |date=January 3, 2017 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ex-u-s-attorney-backs-leonard-peltier-bid-clemency-article-1.2933475 |access-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref> Reynolds wrote that clemency was "in the best interest of justice in considering the totality of all matters involved". In a subsequent letter to the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', Reynolds added that the case against Peltier "was a very thin case that likely would not be upheld by courts today. It is a gross overstatement to label Peltier a 'cold-blooded murderer' on the basis of the minimal proof that survived the appeals in his case."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=James |date=January 17, 2017 |title=Leonard Peltier should be released in the interest of justice |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/ct-leonard-peltier-should-be-released-in-the-interest-of-justice-20170117-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005042/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/ct-leonard-peltier-should-be-released-in-the-interest-of-justice-20170117-story.html |archive-date=2018-12-01 |access-date= |website=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> On January 18, 2017, two days before President Obama left office, the Office of the Pardon Attorney announced that Obama had denied Peltier's application for clemency.<ref name="obama" /> On June 8, 2018, KFGO Radio in Fargo, N.D., reported that Peltier filed a formal clemency request with President Trump. KFGO obtained and published a letter that was sent by Peltier's attorney to the White House.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Monk |first=Jim |date=June 8, 2018 |title=Supporters formally ask Trump to pardon Leonard Peltier |language=en-US |publisher=KFGO |url=http://kfgo.com/news/articles/2018/jun/08/supporters-formally-ask-trump-to-pardon-leonard-peltier/ |access-date=June 26, 2018 |archive-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234409/http://kfgo.com/news/articles/2018/jun/08/supporters-formally-ask-trump-to-pardon-leonard-peltier/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hyatt |first=Kim |date=June 25, 2018 |title=Leonard Peltier's family rests clemency hopes on Trump, but North Dakota policymakers oppose pardon |language=en-US |work=St. Paul Pioneer Press |url=https://www.twincities.com/2018/06/25/leonard-peltiers-family-rests-clemency-hopes-on-trump-but-north-dakota-policymakers-oppose-pardon/ |access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>  On July 9, 2021, Reynolds wrote a letter to President Biden in which he stated:  “I have realized that the prosecution and  continued incarceration of Mr. Peltier was and is unjust.  We were not able to prove that Mr. Peltier personally committed any offense on the Pine Ridge Reservation."

On February 6, 2023, Leonard Peltier again made a plea for clemency.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lakhani |first=Nina |date=February 6, 2023 |title=Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier in plea for clemency after 47 years in jail |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/06/leonard-peltier-interview-prison-48-years |access-date=February 25, 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

On June 10, 2024, Peltier had his first parole hearing since 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/leonard-peltier-what-is-parole-hearing-46091ed791ae39e98c79d4e1c4828bb8 |title=What to know about Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier's first hearing in more than a decade |first1=Heather |last1=Hollingsworth |first2=Jack |last2=Dura |work=Associated Press News |date=June 10, 2024 |access-date=July 1, 2024}}</ref> Ahead of the hearing, his lawyer Kevin Sharp described the hearing as "probably" his "last chance" to make a case for parole.<ref name="paroledenied" />  On July 2, 2024, he was denied parole.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/leonard-peltier-parole-hearing-2d0df4e4997d988ec229b05de9dba648 |title=Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier denied parole for 1975 killings of 2 FBI agents serving warrants |first=Heather |last=Hollingsworth |work=Associated Press News |date=July 2, 2024 |access-date=July 2, 2024}}</ref> An interim hearing to discuss parole was set for 2026, while another full hearing was set for 2039, according to Sharp.<ref name=paroledenied>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/leonard-peltier-native-american-activist-imprisoned-almost-50-years-de-rcna156877 |title=Leonard Peltier, Native American activist imprisoned for almost 50 years, denied parole request |first=Erik |last=Ortiz |publisher=NBC News |date=July 2, 2024 |access-date=July 2, 2024}}</ref> From 2014 until 2025, Peltier was housed at [[United States Penitentiary, Coleman|Coleman I]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140129192714/http://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 29, 2014 |title=Inmate Locator |date=January 29, 2014 |access-date=March 27, 2018}}</ref> the high-security penitentiary wing of the [[Coleman Federal Correctional Complex]] in Coleman, Florida.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-20 |title=Biden commutes life sentence of Leonard Peltier, in last moments in office |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/biden-commutes-sentence-for-indigenous-activist-leonard-peltier-convicted-in-killing-of-fbi-agents/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US |quote=Bureau of Prisons spokesperson… said Peltier remained incarcerated Monday at USP Coleman, a high-security prison in Florida. Peltier’s lawyer said his release date was tentatively set for Feb. 18.}}</ref>

===Presidential commutation and release from prison===
[[File:Commutation-warrant-1-19-jan-2025=Leonard Peltier.pdf|thumb|150px|upright|right|Clemency granted by President Biden on January 19, 2025 which became effective on February 18, 2025]]

On January 19, 2025, the last full day of his presidency, [[Joe Biden]] commuted Peltier's life sentence to [[home confinement]] beginning on February 18, 2025.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bendery |first=Jennifer |date=January 20, 2025 |title=Joe Biden Grants Clemency To Leonard Peltier |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-leonard-peltier-clemency_n_67608b04e4b0d06419ec6367 |access-date=January 20, 2025 |work=[[HuffPost]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release |last=Biden |first=Joe |author-link=Joe Biden |date=January 20, 2025 |title=Statement from President Joe Biden |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/20/statement-from-president-joe-biden-16/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250120165428/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/20/statement-from-president-joe-biden-16/ |archive-date=January 20, 2025 |access-date=January 20, 2025 |publisher=[[White House]]}}</ref> Peltier was released on that date.<ref name=releasedfromprison>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/leonard-peltier-native-american-activist-released-prison-biden-commute-rcna192253 |title=Leonard Peltier, Native American activist, released from prison after Biden commuted his life sentence |first=Erik |last=Ortiz |publisher=NBC News |date=February 18, 2025 |access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref> His son said that the Turtle Mountain Band has a home arranged for him on the reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-21 |title=Leonard Peltier to be no longer in prison |url=https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/leonard-peltier-is-no-longer-in-prison/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=KELOLAND.com |language=en-US |quote=According to his son, Peltier’s tribe, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, has a home ready for him on the Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota |archive-date=January 28, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250128163312/https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/leonard-peltier-is-no-longer-in-prison/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.inforum.com/news/north-dakota/family-plans-homecoming-for-leonard-peltier-at-turtle-mountain-on-tuesday |title=Family plans homecoming for Leonard Peltier at Turtle Mountain on Tuesday |publisher=[[The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead|In Forum]] |date=February 17, 2025|accessdate=February 18, 2025}}</ref> Upon his release, Peltier's younger sister Shelia confirmed to the Minnesota-based newspaper ''[[Star Tribune]]'' that he opted to be transferred to the [[Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation]] in [[Belcourt, North Dakota]], where he could reunite with his family more.<ref name="northdakotatransfer">{{cite news |url=https://www.startribune.com/its-a-historical-day-leonard-peltier-coming-home-tuesday-after-nearly-50-years-in-prison/601224731 |title='It's a historical day': Leonard Peltier coming home Tuesday after nearly 50 years in prison |first=Kim |last=Hyatt |work=Star Tribune |date=February 18, 2025 |access-date=February 18, 2025}}</ref> On February 19, 2025, Peltier spoke publicly at Belcourt's Sky Dance Casino and Resort during an event welcoming him home.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.inforum.com/news/north-dakota/american-indian-activist-leonard-peltier-addresses-lively-crowd-after-prison-release |title=American Indian activist Leonard Peltier addresses lively crowd after prison release |publisher=[[The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead|In Forum]] |date=February 19, 2025 |accessdate=February 19, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.kfyrtv.com/2025/02/19/live-leonard-peltiers-return-north-dakota/|title=UPDATE: Leonard Peltier speaks at event welcoming him home |publisher=KMOT |date=February 19, 2025 |accessdate=February 19, 2025}}</ref>

== Other concerns and incidents ==

=== 2002 editorial about deaths of agents and Anna Mae Aquash ===
In January 2002 in the ''[[News from Indian Country]]'', publisher Paul DeMain wrote an editorial that an "unnamed delegation" told him that Peltier had murdered the FBI agents.<ref name="Demain2">[http://www.indiancountrynews.info/anniededication2.cfm.htm Paul DeMain, "Leonard Peltier. Now what do we do?"] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080603030949/http://www.indiancountrynews.info/anniededication2.cfm.htm|date=June 3, 2008}}, ''News From Indian Country'', 2002.</ref> DeMain described the delegation as "grandfathers and grandmothers, AIM activists, pipe carriers and others who have carried a heavy unhealthy burden within them that has taken its toll."<ref name="Demain2" /> DeMain said he was also told that the motive for the execution-style murder of high-ranking AIM activist [[Anna Mae Aquash]] in December 1975 at Pine Ridge "allegedly was her knowledge that Leonard Peltier had shot the two agents, as he was convicted."<ref name="Demain2" />

DeMain did not accuse Peltier of participation in the Aquash murder.<ref name="Demain2" /> In 2003 two Native American men were indicted and later convicted of the murder.<ref name="Demain2" />

On May 1, 2003, Peltier sued DeMain for [[libel]] for similar statements about the case published on March 10, 2003, in ''News from Indian Country''. On May 25, 2004, Peltier withdrew the suit after he and DeMain settled the case. DeMain issued a statement saying he did not think Peltier was given a fair trial for the two murder convictions, nor did he think Peltier was connected to Aquash's death.<ref name=":82">{{cite web |title=Press Release May 28, 2004 |url=http://jfamr.org/allow.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513114456/http://jfamr.org/allow.html |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |access-date=November 27, 2016 |publisher=Jfamr.org}}</ref> DeMain stated he did not retract his allegations that Peltier was guilty of the murders of the FBI agents and that the motive for Aquash's murder was the fear that she might inform on the activist.<ref name=":82" />

===Indictments and trials for the murder of Aquash===
In 2003, there were federal grand jury hearings on charges against [[Arlo Looking Cloud]] and [[John Graham (Canadian activist)|John Graham]] for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Anna Mae Aquash. Bruce Ellison, Leonard Peltier's lawyer since the 1970s, was subpoenaed and invoked his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, refusing to testify. He also refused to testify, on the same grounds, at Looking Cloud's trial in 2004. During the trial, the federal prosecutor named Ellison as a co-conspirator in the Aquash case.<ref name="timeline">[http://jfamr.org/conspire.html Paul DeMain, "Aquash Murder Case Timeline"] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080705201708/http://jfamr.org/conspire.html |date=July 5, 2008 }}, ''News from Indian Country'', posted on Justice for Anna Mae and Ray Website</ref> Witnesses said that Ellison participated in interrogating Aquash about being an FBI informant on December 11, 1975, shortly before her murder.<ref name="timeline" />

Leonard Peltier is quoted in We, The People as saying, "I think it was around that December when I heard that Anna Mae was dead. I was in that jail over there in Canada right around whenever they exposed who she really was and what she died from, but I believe I didn't hear about it until December." Peltier had knowledge of Anna Mae Aquash's death in December, months before her body was found and her family was notified of her death.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=November 24, 2004 |title=Denise Pictou-Maloney sets record straight |url=https://www.jfamr.org/denise_interview.html |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash and Ray Robinson Jr. Justice Fund}}</ref> 

In February 2004, [[Arlo Looking Cloud|Fritz Arlo Looking Cloud]], an Oglala Sioux, was tried and convicted of the murder of Aquash. In Looking Cloud's trial, the prosecution argued that AIM's suspicion of Aquash stemmed from her having heard Peltier admit to the murders of the FBI agents. [[Darlene Ka-Mook Nichols|Darlene "Kamook" Nichols]], former wife of the AIM leader Dennis Banks, testified that in late 1975, Peltier told of shooting the FBI agents. He was talking to a small group of AIM activists who were fugitives from law enforcement. They included Nichols, her sister Bernie Nichols (later Lafferty), Nichols' husband Dennis Banks, and Aquash, among several others. Nichols testified that Peltier said, "The motherfucker was begging for his life, but I shot him anyway."<ref name="Ka-Mook Testifies">{{cite web |url=http://www.jfamr.org/doc/kmtest1.html |title=Ka-Mook Testifies |publisher=jfamr.org |access-date=September 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518032313/http://www.jfamr.org/doc/kmtest1.html |archive-date=May 18, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Bernie Nichols-Lafferty gave the same account of Peltier's statement.<ref>{{cite web |last=(withheld) |date=February 19, 2005 |title=Bernie Lafferty Speaks Regarding Leonard Peltier |url=http://jfamr.org/didit.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716114753/http://jfamr.org/didit.html |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |access-date=September 24, 2009 |website=Justice for Anna Mae and Ray |publisher=jfamr.org}}</ref> At the time, all were fleeing law enforcement after the Pine Ridge shootout.<ref name="Ka-Mook Testifies" /><ref name="laffertyjfamr">{{cite web |year=2002 |title=But will anyone believe him? Robert Robideau confesses to shooting agents |url=http://www.indiancountrynews.com/fullstory.cfm?ID=188 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20060311222926/http://www.indiancountrynews.com/fullstory.cfm?ID=188 |archive-date=March 11, 2006 |publisher=News from Indian Country}}</ref>

Earlier in 1975, AIM member Douglass Durham had been revealed to be an undercover FBI agent and dismissed from the organization. AIM leaders were fearful of infiltration. Other witnesses have testified that, when Aquash was suspected of being an informant, Peltier interrogated her while holding a gun to her head.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jfamr.org/doc/troytest.html |title=Troy Lynn Yellow Wood Testifies |publisher=Jfamr.org |date=February 2004 |access-date=November 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dickshovel.com/annatp4.html |title=News from Indian Country Taped Interviews |publisher=Dickshovel.com |access-date=November 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.coloradoaim.org/history/1994RobideauslettertoPaulDemain.htm |title=Open Letter to Paul DeMain |publisher=Coloradoaim.org |date=April 8, 1994 |access-date=November 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125084425/http://www.coloradoaim.org/history/1994RobideauslettertoPaulDemain.htm |archive-date=November 25, 2012}}</ref><ref>Steve Hendricks, ''The Unquiet Grave: The FBI and the Struggle for the Soul of Indian Country'', Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006, p. 202</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dickshovel.com/time.html |title=Aquash Time Line |publisher=Dickshovel.com |access-date=November 12, 2012}}</ref><ref name="jfamr.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.jfamr.org/doc/appeal_rspns.pdf |title=Corel Office Document |website=Jfamr.org |access-date=November 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327074803/http://www.jfamr.org/doc/appeal_rspns.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Peltier and David Hill were said to have Aquash participate in bomb-making so that her fingerprints would be on the bombs. Prosecutors alleged in court documents that the trio planted these bombs at two power plants on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on [[Columbus Day]] 1975.<ref name="jfamr.org" />

During the trial, Nichols acknowledged receiving $42,000 from the FBI in connection with her cooperation on the case.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/rad-green/2005-January/017015.html |title=[R-G] LPDC Alerts: Begin the New year with Leonard Peltier in mind and action |website=Lists.ecom.utah.edu |access-date=November 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711170700/http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/rad-green/2005-January/017015.html |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> She said it was compensation for travel expenses to collect evidence and moving expenses to be farther from her ex-husband Dennis Banks, whom she feared because she had implicated him as a witness.<ref name="Ka-Mook Testifies" /> Peltier has claimed that Kamook Nichols committed perjury with her testimony.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aimovement.org/peltier/index.html |title=AIM – American Indian Movement Store |website=Aimovement.org |access-date=November 27, 2016}}</ref>

No investigation has been opened into the allegedly perjured testimony of Kamook Nichols, now married to a former FBI Chief Agent and living under the name Darlene Ecoffey. During the Looking Cloud trial, the Honorable Lawrence L. Piersol admitted the testimony with the following statement: "The requested testimony is hearsay, but I am going to admit it for a limited purpose only. This is a limiting instruction. It isn't admitted nor received for the truth of the matter stated. In other words, whether the rumor is true or not. It is simply received as to what the rumor was. So it is limited to what the rumor was, it is not admitted for the truth of the statement as to whether the rumor was true or not."

On June 26, 2007, the Supreme Court of [[British Columbia]] ordered the extradition of John Graham to the United States to stand trial for his alleged role in the murder of Aquash.<ref>[http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=693&Itemid=1 "Former FBI agent says: Anna Mae Awaits Justice"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507002644/https://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=693&Itemid=1 |date=May 7, 2021 }}, ''News From Indian Country''</ref> He was eventually tried by the state of South Dakota in 2010. During Graham's trial, Darlene "Kamook" Ecoffey said Peltier told both her and Aquash that he had killed the FBI agents in 1975. Ecoffey testified under oath, "He (Peltier) held his hand like this", she said, pointing her index finger like a gun, "and he said 'that (expletive) was begging for his life but I shot him anyway.'"<ref>[http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_55f2a368-01b9-11e0-a499-001cc4c03286.html "Marshall takes witness stand in Graham murder trial"], ''Rapid City Journal''</ref> Graham was convicted of murdering Aquash and sentenced to life in prison.

=== Media interviews  ===
In the documentary film ''Incident at Oglala'' (1992), AIM activist Robert Robideau said that the FBI agents had been shot by a 'Mr X'. When Peltier was interviewed about 'Mr X', he said he knew who the man was. Dino Butler, in a 1995 interview with E.K. Caldwell of ''[[News From Indian Country]]'', contended that 'Mr X' was a creation of Peltier's supporters and had been named as the murderer in an attempt to gain Peltier's release from prison.<ref>{{cite web |year=1995 |title=Dino's Interview |url=http://www.dickshovel.com/dino.html |access-date=November 27, 2016 |website=Dickshovel.com}}</ref> In a 2001 interview with ''News From Indian Country'', Bernie Lafferty said that she had witnessed Peltier's referring to his murder of one of the agents.<ref name="laffertyjfamr" /><ref name="Anderson 1995">{{Cite magazine |last=Anderson |first=Scott |author-link=Scott Anderson (novelist) |date=July 2, 1995 |title=The Martyrdom of Leonard Peltier |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/martyrdom-leonard-peltier/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916150700/https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/martyrdom-leonard-peltier/ |archive-date=16 September 2021 |magazine=[[Outside (magazine)|Outside]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Presidential politics===
Peltier was the candidate for the [[Peace and Freedom Party (United States)|Peace and Freedom Party]] in the [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004 election]] for [[President of the United States]]. While numerous states have laws that prohibit prison inmates convicted of felonies from voting (Maine and Vermont are exceptions),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mainetoday.com/elections/2004/news/041010_041009inmatevote.shtml |title=Inmates in Maine, Vermont are allowed to vote |first=Glenn |last=Adams |agency=Associated Press |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041224061553/http://www.mainetoday.com/elections/2004/news/041010_041009inmatevote.shtml |website=Mainetoday.com |date=October 9, 2004 |publisher=Maine Today Media, Inc. |archive-date=December 24, 2004 |access-date=October 31, 2017}}</ref> the [[United States Constitution]] has no prohibition against felons being elected to federal offices, including President. The Peace and Freedom Party secured ballot status for Peltier only in California. His presidential candidacy received 27,607 votes,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2004_general/formatted_pres_detail.pdf |title=Results, by district, of Presidential vote in California, 2004 |website=SOS.ca.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724043003/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2004_general/formatted_pres_detail.pdf |publisher=Secretary of State, California |archive-date=July 24, 2008 |access-date=October 31, 2017}}</ref> approximately 0.2% of the vote in that state.

In 2020, he ran as the vice-presidential running mate of [[Gloria La Riva]] on the ticket of the [[Party for Socialism and Liberation]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election|presidential campaign]]. He was forced to resign from the ticket for health reasons in early August 2020, and was replaced with Sunil Freeman.<ref name="LaRiva">{{Cite web |title=La Riva / Peltier Presidential Campaign Announcement |url=https://www.larivapeltier2020.org/campaign_announcement |access-date=July 2, 2020 |website=La Riva Peltier 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lariva2020.org/statement_on_leonards_withdrawal |title=Leonard Peltier regretfully withdraws as vice-presidential candidate |website=Party for Socialism and Liberation |date=August 2020 |access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref><ref name="BAN">{{cite web |url=http://ballot-access.org/2020/08/02/party-for-socialism-liberation-alters-its-vice-presidential-nominee/ |title=Party for Socialism & Liberation Alters its Vice-Presidential Nominee |website=Ballot Access News |last1=Winger |first1=Richard |date=August 2, 2020 |access-date=August 3, 2020}}</ref>

===Ruling on FBI documents===
In a February 27, 2006, decision, U.S. District Judge [[William M. Skretny|William Skretny]] ruled that the FBI did not have to release five of 812 documents relating to Peltier and held at their Buffalo field office. He ruled that the particular documents were exempted on the grounds of "national security and FBI agent/informant protection". In his opinion, Judge Skretny wrote, "Plaintiff has not established the existence of bad faith or provided any evidence contradicting (the FBI's) claim that the release of these documents would endanger national security or would impair this country's relationship with a foreign government." In response, Michael Kuzma, a member of Peltier's defense team, said, "We're appealing. It's incredible that it took him 254 days to render a decision." Kuzma added, "The pages we were most intrigued about revolved around a teletype from Buffalo ... a three-page document that seems to indicate that a confidential source was being advised by the FBI not to engage in conduct that would compromise attorney-client privilege." Several of Peltier's supporters have taken legal action in an attempt to obtain more than 100,000 pages of documents from FBI field offices, claiming that the files should have been turned over at the time of his trial or following a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] (FOIA) request filed soon after.<ref>[http://www.prisonactivist.org/pipermail/prisonact-list/2006-February/010574.html "LDPC email"] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070926232932/http://www.prisonactivist.org/pipermail/prisonact-list/2006-February/010574.html |date=September 26, 2007 }}, Prison Activist.org</ref><ref>[http://lpdctexas.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_lpdctexas_archive.html Carolyn Thompson, "Judge Allows FBI to Withhold Some Peltier Documents"], AP, LPDC Texas Blog</ref>

===Victim of prison violence===
On January 13, 2009, Peltier was beaten by inmates at the [[United States Penitentiary, Canaan]], where he had been transferred from [[Federal Correctional Institution, Lewisburg|USP Lewisburg]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Caleb T. Maupin |date=2009-01-29 |title=Leonard Peltier attacked in prison |url=https://www.workers.org/2009/us/leonard_peltier_0205/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=[[Workers World (newspaper)|Workers World]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2009-01-21 |title=Relatives Say Peltier Beaten Following Prison Transfer |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/21/headlines/relatives_say_peltier_beaten_following_prison_transfer |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=[[Democracy Now!]] |language=en}}</ref> He was sent back to Lewisburg, where he remained until the fall of 2011, when he was transferred to a federal penitentiary in Florida. According to ''[[High Country News]]'' in 2016: "Everywhere he's been, inmates have jumped and beaten him, likely with the collusion of guards."<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Baughman |first=Mike |date=2016-07-20 |title=How Leonard Peltier has unjustly spent forty years in prison — and why it's time to change that |url=http://www.hcn.org/issues/48-12/how-leonard-peltier-has-unjustly-spent-forty-years-in-prison-and-why-its-time-to-change-that/ |access-date=2024-06-11 |website=High Country News |language=en-US |quote=Everywhere he’s been, inmates have jumped and beaten him, likely with the collusion of guards. Now he is going blind from diabetes, suffers from kidney failure and is susceptible to strokes. |ref=July 2016 HCN}}</ref>

=== Health issues ===
In March 2000, Peltier was confirmed to be suffering from a jaw infection, diabetes and a heart condition and was granted a transfer to the [[Federal Medical Center, Rochester|Federal Medical Center]] in [[Rochester, Minnesota]] for a period of time in order to be close to the [[Mayo Clinic Hospital (Rochester)|Mayo Clinic]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bhpioneer.com/indian-activist-leonard-peltier-moved-to-rochester-prison/article_9ced4fc0-6657-500f-ba8d-aebfe5fde6b5.html|title=Indian activist Leonard Peltier moved to Rochester prison|author=Associated Press|publisher=Black Hills Pioneer|date=March 21, 2000|accessdate=September 15, 2025}}</ref>

Over the years in prison, Peltier's health has declined and he suffers from various ailments; by 2016 his diabetes had led to impaired vision [and] kidney issues.<ref name=":6" /> In April 2024, the [[International Indian Treaty Council|International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)]] joined other groups appealing for his parole, citing his declining health: "Mr. Peltier is almost 80 years old and has several compounding health conditions, including kidney disease, diabetes, near-total blindness, and an untreated aortic aneurysm. He requires a wheelchair."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-26 |title=IITC requests favorable consideration of parole for Leonard Peltier |url=https://www.iitc.org/iitc-requests-favorable-consideration-of-parole-for-leonard-peltier/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=International Indian Treaty Council |language=en-US}}</ref> [[COVID-19]] further weakened Peltier, according to his clemency lawyer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-10 |title=Former federal judge who once sentenced people to long prison terms now working to free Peltier. Part 3 |url=https://www.sdstandardnow.com/home/former-federal-judge-who-once-sentenced-people-to-long-prison-terms-now-working-to-free-peltier |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=The South Dakota Standard |language=en-US}}</ref> Still in prison six months later, and after a recent hospitalization, allies renewed the call for his release, or at least a transfer to a Minnesota prison, where he could be closer to family and friends. They accused the Bureau of Prisons of medical neglect, even "cruel and unusual punishment”, violating the [[Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eighth Amendment]]. They said Peltier is not getting a healthy diet or insulin treatment for his diabetes and is unable to use his [[CPAP machine]] for [[sleep apnea]] treatment due to lack of an electrical outlet in his cell.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Muhammad |first=William P. |date=2024-11-11 |title=Leonard Peltier still suffering medical neglect in prison |url=https://new.finalcall.com/2024/11/11/leonard-peltier-still-suffering-medical-neglect-in-prison/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=Final Call News |language=en-US |quote=Over the years, his health has steadily declined. Mr. Peltier was recently hospitalized again briefly in late October. This has renewed calls for his release for proper medical care… 'A medical transfer to FMC Rochester not only ensures adequate medical care, but proximity to Leonard's homelands and family… 'If he does not get that medical care, we’re going to lose him,' she said. 'They gave him a CPAP machine, but there's no outlets to plug it into, that's their version of healthcare.'… CPAP machines are prescribed to treat sleep apnea and other serious health risks associated with the condition… 'The water is bad, it has waterborne pathogens, Leonard's diabetes is out of control because not only does he not get the diet he needs to control it, but he doesn't even get the insulin he needs…}}</ref> At the time his sentence was commuted in January 2025, Peltier's sister Betty Ann informed the ''[[Minnesota Reformer]]'' that Peltier now also uses a walker.<ref name="sisterspeaks">{{Cite news |last=Beach |first=Jeff |date=2025-01-21 |title=Native activist Leonard Peltier to serve remainder of sentence at home after Biden order |url=https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/01/20/native-activist-leonard-peltier-to-serve-remainder-of-sentence-at-home-after-biden-order/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |work=Minnesota Reformer |language=en-US |quote=Peltier’s sister, Betty Ann Peltier… said her brother is suffering from the effects of diabetes, has heart trouble and uses a walker… a home waiting for him on the Turtle Mountain Reservation but that she hopes he will stay with her}}</ref>

Since his release, Peltier has undergone several eye surgeries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hyatt |first=Kim |date=2025-08-20 |title=Leonard Peltier, now mostly free, navigates a new life on the outside |url=https://www.startribune.com/leonard-peltier-now-mostly-free-grapples-with-a-new-life-on-the-outside/601449974 |access-date=2025-09-24 |website=Star Tribune |language=en |quote=Since his release, he’s had several eye surgeries, to no avail. He hopes the Mayo Clinic can improve his vision so he can drive again and paint.}}</ref> In September 2025, Peltier stated that he had "lost 80% of my vision."<ref name=":7" /> 

==In popular culture==
===Books===
* {{cite book |last=Matthiessen |first=Peter |title=In the Spirit of Crazy Horse |publisher=Viking Press |publication-place=New York |date=1983 |isbn=0-670-39702-4 |oclc=8475580 |author-link=Peter Matthiessen|title-link=In the Spirit of Crazy Horse}}

* {{cite book |last=Sayer |first=John William |title=Ghost Dancing the Law: the Wounded Knee Trials |publisher=Harvard University Pr. |publication-place=Cambridge, MA |date=1997}}

===Films===
* ''[[Incident at Oglala|Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story]]'' (1992) is a documentary by [[Michael Apted]] about Peltier and narrated by [[Robert Redford]]. The film argues in favour of the assertion that the government's prosecution of Peltier was unjust and politically motivated.
* ''[[Thunderheart]]'' (1992) is a fictional movie by Michael Apted, partly based on Peltier's case but with no pretense to accuracy.
* ''Warrior, The Life of Leonard Peltier'' (1992) is a feature documentary film about Peltier's life, the American Indian Movement, and his trial directed by Suzie Baer. The film argues that the government's prosecution of Peltier was unjust and motivated by the hugely profitable energy interests in the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nativevideos.com/warrior.htm |title=NativeVideos.com.com |website=NativeVideos.com.com |access-date=November 27, 2016}}</ref>
* ''[[Free Leonard Peltier]]'' (2025) is a feature documentary film about Peltier's life, his role in the American Indian Movement, including the 1972 [[Trail of Broken Treaties]] event, and the effort to free him from prison. It was made by Jesse Short Bull and [[David France (writer)|David France]] and premiered at the [[2025 Sundance Film Festival]].<ref name=freeleonarpeltierdocumentary>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/30/free-leonard-peltier-documentary |title='He's going home': new film documents the fight to free Leonard Peltier |first=Adrian |last=Horton |work=The Guardian |date=2025-01-30 |access-date=2025-02-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/free-leonard-peltier-is-premiering-at-the-sundance-film-festival-its-getting-a-new-ending-just-like-its-subject-193416896.html |title='Free Leonard Peltier' is premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. It's getting a new ending, just like its subject. |first=Laura |last=Clark |publisher=Yahoo Entertainment |date=January 22, 2025 |access-date=February 2, 2025}}</ref>
* ‘’Yellowstone’’ (2018) is a television series on the Paramount Network created & written by Taylor Sheridan. In the first season the local tribal Chief Thomas Rainwater stands in his office in front of two different posters saying “Free Leonard Peltier” and “Pardon Leonard Peltier.”

===Music===
* Free Salamander Exhibit released their first album, "Undestroyed," on December 13, 2016. Its title track, composed by [[Nils Frykdahl]], is a tribute to Peltier, and features lyrics drawn nearly verbatim from Peltier's book, ''Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://webofmimicry.com/undestroyed.php |title=Free Salamander Exhibit – Undestroyed |website=webofmimicry}}</ref>
* [[Little Steven]] released the song "Leonard Peltier" on his 1989 album ''[[Revolution (Little Steven album)|Revolution]]''. The song discusses Peltier's case and the struggle of the Native Americans.
* [[Buffy Saint-Marie]] references Peltier in her 1992 track “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee “, from her album “Coincidence and Likely Stories”. [[The Indigo Girls]] covered the song on their 1995 live album ''1200 Curfews''. The song mentions Peltier, saying, "the bullets don't match the gun".
* Sixteen Canadian artists contributed to ''Pine Ridge: An Open Letter to Allan Rock – Songs for Leonard Peltier'', a benefit CD released in 1996 by ''What Magazine''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.angelfire.com/hi3/bluerodeo/discography.html |title=Blue Rodeo Discography. Retrieved 15 April 2011 |publisher=Angelfire.com |access-date=September 1, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Toad the Wet Sprocket]] reference Peltier, as well as the conflict at Pine Ridge and the Wounded Knee massacre, in their song "Crazy Life" on their album ''Coil'' (1997)
* [[Anal Cunt]] released the song "Laughing While Lennard Peltier Gets Raped In Prison" as a part of their album ''[[It Just Gets Worse]]''.
* [[U2]] recorded the song "Native Son" about Peltier. It was later reworked into their hit song "[[Vertigo (U2 song)|Vertigo]]"<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.edge.ca/station/ongoing_history_of_new_music.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307054113/http://www.edge.ca/station/ongoing_history_of_new_music.cfm |url-status=dead |title=Edge.ca |archive-date=March 7, 2008}}</ref> on their album, ''[[How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb]]'' (2004). Five years later, "Native Son" was released on their digital album ''[[Unreleased and Rare]]'' (2009).
* "Bring Leonard Peltier Home in 2012" was a concert that took place at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. The concert featured [[Pete Seeger]], [[Harry Belafonte]], [[Jackson Browne]], [[Common (rapper)|Common]], [[Mos Def]], [[Michael Moore]], [[Danny Glover]], [[Rubin Carter|Rubin "Hurricane" Carter]], [[Bruce Cockburn]], Margo Thunderbird, Silent Bear, [[Bill Miller (musician)|Bill Miller]], etc. all standing up for the immediate release of Leonard Peltier.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Flanary |first=Patrick |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/jackson-browne-and-common-unite-to-bring-leonard-peltier-home-20121215 |title=Jackson Browne and Common Unite to Bring Leonard Peltier Home |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=June 30, 2013 |date=December 15, 2012}}</ref>
* [[Rage Against the Machine]]'s 1994 "[[Freedom (Rage Against the Machine song)|Freedom]]" video clip shows footage of the case and ends with a picture of Peltier in prison and the phrase "justice has not been done".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4759 |title=Freedom by Rage Against the Machine Songfacts |website=Songfacts.com |access-date=November 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_vQt_v8Jmw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/H_vQt_v8Jmw |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |url-status=live |title=Rage Against The Machine – Freedom |via=[[YouTube]] |date=March 26, 2011 |access-date=November 27, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* "Sacrifice" from ''[[Contact from the Underworld of Redboy]]'', the 1998 music recording by [[Robbie Robertson]] (formerly of [[the Band]]), features voice recordings of Peltier throughout the song, and surrounded with melody and vocals. The song ends with Peltier alone saying, "I've gone too far now to start backing down. I don't give up. Not 'til my people are free will I give up and if I have to sacrifice some more, then I sacrifice some more."
* French singer [[Renaud]] released a song called "Leonard's Song" in his 2006 album ''[[Rouge Sang]]''. It supports Peltier and Native American rights, comparing in its lyrics the foundation of America to conducting an equivalent of [[the Holocaust]] against the Native American people.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}
* Alternative hip-hop trio [[The Goats]] mention Peltier several times on their 1992 debut album ''Tricks of the Shade'': in a track entitled "Leonard Peltier in a Cage", and in the song "Do the Digs Dug" (which also mentions activist [[Annie Mae Aquash]] – lyrics referencing them are "Leonard Peltier Leonard Peltier Who da hell is that, why the f*** should ya care? In jail, in jail, in jail like a dealer F*** George Bush says my T-shirt squeeler Please oh please set Leonard P. free Cause ya wiped out his race like an ant colony Whatcha afraid of, Annie Mae Aquash? Found her lying in the ditch with no place for a watch"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jimmyluxury.com/goatslyrics.html |title=Goats Lyrics |website=jimmyluxury.com |date=August 11, 2011 |access-date=June 28, 2019}}</ref>)
*Political hip-hop duo [[Dead Prez]] reference Peltier in their song "I Have A Dream, Too" from their 2004 album ''[[RBG: Revolutionary but Gangsta]]''.
*In 2010, a hip-hop artists' compilation was released, [[2010 in hip hop music|''Free Leonard Peltier: Hip Hop's Contribution to the Freedom Campaign'']], including music from Mama Wisdom, Immortal Technique, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples, 2Mex, Dee Skee, T-Kash, Buggin Malone, The Dime, Eseibio, Bicasso & DJ Fresh.
*Alternative hip-hop band [[Flobots]], known for criticizing US politics and calls for action, referenced Peltier in their song "Same Thing" from their 2007 debut album ''[[Fight With Tools]]''. The song mentions many people and topics, and the line that references Peltier also references [[Mumia Abu-Jamal]]; it reads "Free Mumia and Leonard Peltier".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://genius.com/Flobots-same-thing-lyrics |title=Flobots – Same Thing |website=genius.com |access-date=October 21, 2023}}</ref>
* [[Ryan Bingham]]'s song "Sunshine", is about Leonard Peltier.

===Other===

* In 2016, a [[Statue of Leonard Peltier|statue of Peltier]], based on a self portrait he made in prison, was created by artist [[Rigo 23]] and installed on the grounds of [[American University]] in Washington, D.C.. After the university received complaints from the FBI Agents Association, the statue was removed and returned to the artist.<ref>{{Cite news |title=American U Will Remove Statue of Leonard Peltier {{!}} Inside Higher Ed |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/01/03/american-u-will-remove-statue-leonard-peltier |access-date=July 3, 2020 |work=Inside Higher Ed |language=en}}</ref>
* It was reported by [[Joseph Corré]] that the last words of his father, [[Malcolm McLaren]] (1946–2010), were "Free Leonard Peltier".<ref>{{cite news |title=Free Leonard Peltier |date=April 15, 2010 |access-date=January 30, 2019 |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/malcolm-mclarens-last-words-free-leonard-peltier |work=Vogue}}</ref>

==Publications==
* Arden, Harvey (& Leonard Peltier). "Have You Thought of Leonard Peltier Lately?" HYT Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|0-9754437-0-4}}.
* Peltier, Leonard. ''Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance''. New York, 1999. {{ISBN|0-312-26380-5}}.

==Prison writings: ''My Life Is My Sun Dance''==
{{Overly detailed|date=December 2024}}
{{POV section|date=December 2024}}

===Introduction and Preface===
Chief [[Arvol Looking Horse]] and former Attorney Clark [[Ramsey Clark]] contributed the introduction and preface, respectively, to ''My Life is My Sun Dance''. Chief Looking Horse is a spiritual leader and an activist, who notably was involved in recent protest against the [[Dakota Access Pipeline protests|Dakota Access Pipeline]]. Clark has provided legal counsel to Peltier in relation to his appeals for clemency.

In his introduction, Chief Looking Horse emphasizes Peltier's suffering and role of a Sun Dancer- "...(Peltier) offered himself to Wakan Tanka so that the People might have peace and happiness once again" (pg. ix). Looking Horse also makes a call for the freedom of Peltier, that his freedom mirrors the return of Indigenous land, and that action must be made to ensure these things occur.

Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark notes in his preface that Peltier's struggle is representative of human rights and Indigenous rights as a whole, and he is known the whole world over yet seemingly hidden from Americans. He makes a case for Peltier's innocence at [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation|Pine Ridge]], and mentions the repeating of history that has occurred since [[Wounded Knee Occupation|Wounded Knee]] in 1973. Clark praises the efforts of the [[American Indian Movement]] taking initiative to protect their people, and berates the FBI and American judicial system on their willful ignorance of Peltier's case of innocence (pg. xxi).

In both the preface and introduction, these figureheads—one who champions Indigenous peoples’ rights, and the other who has worked extensively within the American judicial system—both call for the release of Peltier.

===Part i – In My Own Voice===
Leonard Peltier starts his memoir by explaining the uncomfortable and unsafe conditions in which he writes his passages. He expresses gratitude, welcoming his reader, unsure if his book will ever reach anyone. Despite his worries, his writing is personal, soaked in a humanizing tone of not only himself but of his reader. Peltier explains his intention behind writing his personal testimony on the 23rd year of his life sentence, proclaiming, "[I'm writing] not because I'm planning to die, but because I'm planning to live" (p.&nbsp;8).<ref name="book71" /> He spends much of this part reclaiming his identity, commonly restating his names, both Leonard Peltier and Gwarth-ee-lass, to allow his reader to view him as a person beyond any other label or event that has been used to strip him of his identity. As an Indigenous man to the Great Turtle Island, Peltier writes about his struggle against imprisonment, not as his sole struggle but as a struggle of his people, a struggle he would continue to endure for his people. He does not view himself as powerful until he aligns himself with his people, and only then does he find strength in the struggle he endures. Furthermore, he talks about the wisdom passed down to him from elders, that speaking out from the heart against injustice is the duty of all and is an Indigenous way of living. Peltier gives a detailed account of [[Sun Dance]], a spiritual ceremony in which one sacrifices his flesh and life to the [[Great Spirit]]. This spiritual journey, like his Indigenous ancestors, allows him to resist his oppressors rather than abandon his people. As a Sun Dancer, he embodies an unbreakable resistance often misunderstood by settlers. Through the parts that follow, he shows the reader the power behind Sun Dance.

===Part ii – Who I Am===
In part 2 of ''My Life is My Sun Dance'', Peltier discusses what it means to be Indigenous in North America but more specifically the United States. He explains that his story is not specific to him but "is the story of my people, the Indian people of this Great [[Turtle Island]]."<ref name="book71" /> He discusses some key point in history that outline what he describes as a history saddened in tragedy, deceit, and genocide.<ref name="book71" /> He describes how Indigenous peoples' lands have been stolen from them and how they were pushed onto reservations. He describes the events of the [[Wounded Knee Massacre]], South Dakota on December 29, 1890, which was a crucial part in what he describes as the genocide of Indigenous people.<ref name="book71" /> He also describes how the genocide is being carried on into modern day by citing statistics such as the fact that some of the highest levels of poverty, unemployment, infant mortality, and teen suicide rates in the country are on the reservations in South Dakota. He highlights the [[American Indian Movement]] which has sought to reveal to the world the crimes against humanity that were committed against Indigenous people. Part 2 also contains a poem titled "an eagle's cry" which is about wanting to be heard as the lines "Listen to me!" and "hear us" are uttered many times throughout.<ref name="book71" />

===Part iii – Growing Up Indian===
Peltier writes about the importance of names in this section of his memoir. As they relate to Indigenous identity, Peltier notes how names give individuals a sense of who they are and their possibilities. He highlights that names provide individuals with something to live up to and that names can point to where a person is supposed to be in life. Peltier explains the different names he has, such as Tate Wikuw, which translates to "Wind Chases the Sun" in the [[Dakota language|Dakota]] language, which was his great-grandfather's name, and Gwarth-ee-lass which translates to "He Leads the People" (Peltier 61).<ref name="book71" /> This section of his memoir also showcases the struggles of Indigenous sovereignty and agency, as Peltier notes that he, along with every other person of the Ikce Wicasa (the Common/Original people), have their land and identities under occupation. He highlights the frequency of racial profiling of Indigenous people like himself and how the [[prison–industrial complex]] (PIC) targets and thrives off of them. Peltier illuminates the genocidal projects of the PIC by showcasing the harmful effects of [[colonization]], and the PIC replicating colonization in prisons, these systems have had on Indigenous peoples.

===Part iv – Becoming Political===
Peltier writes about his entry into and work for Indigenous movements. Upon seeing Indigenous people being brutalized for trying to maintain and protect their rights, which are guaranteed under federal [https://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/ntreaty.asp treaties] and not upheld by the U.S. government, he began fighting for civil and Indigenous rights with [[American Indian Movement|AIM]]. He discusses how the U.S. government was primarily interested in taking Indigenous land through means of brutalization, murder, and wrongful incarceration for colonial and extractive reasons. As an AIM member, he participated in the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] (BIA) takeover in November 1972, which began as a peace march called the "[[Trail of Broken Treaties]]" that escalated due to BIA and security officials attempting to forcefully remove protestors. He also worked with AIM to help find work for Indigenous people and worked in an alcohol rehab program, as well as spiritual work. In 1975, Peltier arrived at the [[Oglala]] nation to help protect the Indigenous people living there who were being murdered.<ref name="whoisleonardpeltier.info">{{Cite web |title=The Shootout {{!}} International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee |url=https://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/home/facts/shootout/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |language=en}}</ref> He and other AIM warriors were sent to defend the residents of the land, not as a para-military force.<ref name="whoisleonardpeltier.info"/> However, they were ambushed and forced to defend themselves with the small supply of defensive arms they had. Peltier reflects on how the government hid information and lied to place blame on him and AIM members as aggressors in the exchange.<ref name="book71" />

===Part v – That Day at Oglala===
This section goes over Peltier's recounting of the day of the attack on his people at [[Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota|Oglala]] that led to his eventual arrest and imprisonment. Peltier was staying in a "tent city" with other [[American Indian Movement|AIM]] members on Harry and Cecilia Jumping Bull's property. The [[Lakota people|Lakota]] Elders had asked for their protection from the [[Guardians of the Oglala Nation|GOON]] squads who had been "terrorizing" the [[Pine Ridge Indian Reservation|Pine Ridge Reservation]] "for months" (Peltier 126).<ref name="book71" /> On June 26, 1975, their group, which included women, children, and elders, was attacked by "lawmen, GOONs, [[SWAT]] teams, vigilantes, [[Bureau of Indian Affairs Police|BIA]] police, you name it" (129).<ref name="book71" /> Peltier's group did not want to immediately retaliate. However, two FBI agents, Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams were killed and the violence against Peltier's group escalated. Despite being convicted for their murders, Peltier denies killing the two FBI agents and says that he would have tried to stop whoever was the true assailant. Peltier and his people managed to escape the attack and all survived, except for Joe Killsright Stuntz. While running away, the group stopped for prayer and Peltier says they were led to safety by an eagle. Peltier thanks those who gave them sanctuary after the attack and those who cheered on and aided their escape. While Peltier's group hid, police went on a large manhunt and terrorized the Pine Ridge Reservation looking for them. Elders in Peltier's group decided they would hide until [[Sun Dance]] in August where they could thank [[Wakan Tanka]] for saving their lives, but police caught and arrested members of the group one by one until Peltier decided to flee to Canada. He hoped for safety among the Indigenous communities there and possibly being granted political asylum, as he did not trust the American government to give him a fair trial, or even to let him live.

===Part vi – A Life in Hell===
Peltier accounts his arrest in Canada on February 6, 1976. Following his arrest, the FBI suborned and coerced Myrtle Poor Bear to provide false affidavits against Peltier, claiming she was an eyewitness to the killing of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in June 1975 and an ex-girlfriend of Peltier's.<ref name="book71" /> Despite Peltier's unjust and inhumane treatment since his arrest in Canada, he refuses to be made a victim, emphasizing his status as a warrior who finds his strength in Sun Dance.<ref name="book71" /> After being falsely promised a fair trial, Peltier signed the extradition papers to facilitate his return to the United States, where he received two life sentences on June 1, 1977, and was transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas.<ref name="book71" /> The FBI elaborately orchestrated Peltier's sentencing through fabricated evidence and "willful illegality" as they desperately needed a public "scapegoat" to pay for the deaths of two of their agents.<ref name="book71" /> Peltier describes the "unconstitutional" treatment he has experienced since his imprisonment, including surviving an assassination plot and prison escape during his transfer to Lompoc prison in 1979.<ref name="book71" /> Further, Peltier recounts a recurring and changing dream he experienced while in solitary confinement, which he conveys in the form of a story titled "The Last Battle".<ref name="book71" /> Peltier also describes the "''inipi'', or sweat-lodge ceremony" he participated in every Saturday at Leavenworth, through which he was able to feel a “blessed freedom” and total escape despite his imprisonment.<ref name="book71" />

===Part vii – A Message to Humanity===
In the final section of his memoir, Peltier envisions humanity's mutual future. He discusses the necessity of respect, compassion, and collaboration among all people. He encourages the reader to celebrate humanity's differences and to find strength in togetherness and common humanity. He finds hope in children and anticipates a "Great Healing" toward a better future.<ref name="book71" /> To realize this vision, Peltier emphasizes the necessity for sincere effort and change in the present. He writes about the importance of individual action and underlines the need for [[Indigenous rights|Indigenous sovereignty]].

== See also ==
* [[List of memoirs of political prisoners]]
* [[List of longest prison sentences served]]
* [[:Category:Native American activists|Category:Native American activists]]

== Endnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* [[Ward Churchill|Churchill, Ward]] and Jim Vander Wall: ''Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the [[Black Panther Party]] and the [[American Indian Movement]]''. South End Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1988, 2002. {{ISBN|0-89608-293-8}}.
* Anderson, Scott. [https://web.archive.org/web/20210916150700/https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/martyrdom-leonard-peltier/ "The Martyrdom of Leonard Peltier"], ''Outside Magazine'', July 1995.
* "Writer Sues Peltier", ''Kansas City Star'', July 3, 1992.
* [[Ward Churchill|Churchill, Ward]] and Jim Vander Wall: ''The COINTELPRO Papers: Documents from the FBI's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States''. [[South End Press]], Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1990, 2002. {{ISBN|0-89608-648-8}}.
* [[Peter Matthiessen|Matthiessen, Peter]] (1983). ''[[In the Spirit of Crazy Horse]]''. [[Penguin Books|Penguin]]. {{ISBN|0-14-014456-0}}.
* {{cite book |last=Sayer |first=John William |title=Ghost Dancing the Law: the Wounded Knee Trials |publisher=Harvard University Pr. |publication-place=Cambridge, MA |date=1997}}.
* Messerschmidt, James W. ''The Trial of Leonard Peltier''. South End Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 1983. {{ISBN|0-89608-163-X}}.

==External links==
{{External links|section|date=May 2020}}
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.freeleonardpeltiernow.org/ Leonard Peltier's official committee]
* [http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/13/exclusive_native_american_activist_leonard_peltiers Native American Activist Leonard Peltier's Jailhouse Plea for Long-Denied Clemency], an interview with [[Peter Coyote]] on ''[[Democracy Now!]]'', December 13, 2012
* [http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/peltier/peltierhome.html The Leonard Peltier Trial (Documents)]
* [https://archive.org/download/dn2000-0612/dn2000-0612-1_64kb.mp3 Interview with Leonard Peltier from jail in 2000] by ''[[Democracy Now!]]''
* [http://minneapolis.fbi.gov/history_peltier.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation, Minneapolis Division: Leonard Peltier Case] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917125243/http://minneapolis.fbi.gov/history_peltier.htm |date=September 17, 2008 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310203845/http://millcity.pconline.com/Plaque%20project/ Leonard Peltier Memorial Bridge]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040513151243/http://www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk/profiles/peltier.html Leonard Peltier on Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150206074714/http://leonardpeltier.net/ International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (archived)]
* [http://www.aimovement.org/peltier/index.html Leonard Peltier] at the [[American Indian Movement]] (A.I.M.)
* [http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/27/parole_hearing_to_be_held_tuesday Parole Hearing to Be Held Tuesday for Imprisoned Native American Activist Leonard Peltier] – video report by ''Democracy Now!'', July 27, 2009
* [http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info Official International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee – LP-DOC (since May 2008)]
*[https://www.jfamr.org/denise_interview.html Denise Pictou-Maloney sets record straight] Interview with Denise Pictou-Maloney, Anna Mae Aquash's daughter

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