Rev. Holly Haile Davis, DD
Shinnecock Reservation, NY
In 1975, members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) were called on for protection by Oglala Sioux residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. A corrupt tribal goverment ruled the reservation. Violent acts by the tribal police and gangs allied with the tribal council were perpetrated against those who opposed them. The Tribal Council cooperated closely with US government Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel in the area.
Members of AIM were camped out on the reservation when the FBI staged a raid which resulted in a fire fight and the death of one Native American and two FBI agents.
Subsequently Lenard Peltier of AIM was hunted down and tried for the murders of the two FBI agents. He was sentenced to two life sentences. His supporters believe there is little or no evidence to connect him with the murders.
Supporters of Leonard Peltier are circulating a petition to get the FBI to release files never published that may have a bearing on his murder conviction.
To sign the petition you can go to www.petitiononline.com/comerade/
Excerpt:
"I am writing in regard of Leonard Peltier. Mr. Peltier is a Native American activist who is currently imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Mr. Peltier has been incarcerated for over 27 years as a result of a shoot-out at the Pine Ridge Reservation on June 26, 1975 that resulted in the deaths of three men: two FBI agents & a young Native American man.
Currently, Mr. Peltier's attorneys are attempting to secure his files from the FBI under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA requests have been made on Mr. Pelter's behalf to FBI Headquarters as well as to a number of FBI field offices around the country. Unfortunately, the FBI has used a number of methods to circumvent its obligation under the FOIA. ..."
The following excerpts from "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse" by Peter Matthiessen * may explain reasons for the cooperation between the government and a 'puppet regime' on the Pine Ridge Reservation and the 'war' between the government and AIM.
"After World War II uranium was discovered not far south of the Black Hills city named for Custer."
In 1971 an Interior Department- endorsed study "decreed that the Black Hills aquifers - the only real source of water in this dry country - could sustain massive exploitation of the coal, oil, and uranium resources of the region."
"Exploratory drilling endsued in the Black Hills and government agencies made preliminary surveys on the Indian reservations..."
".. in the early 70's even the tribal councils were forced to weigh the benefits of the mining leases against the long-term welfare of their nations, not simply because the terms arranged by the BIA were so disadvantageous but because the destruction of the land must lead to the certain destruction of the Indian people."
(In 1974) "...AIM now intended a shift of emphasis toward the prevention of continuing resource exploitation in Indian land"
"On the day before the shoot-out at Oglala Richard Wilson of the Tribal Council awarded custody to the US government of a large tract of Indian land .. on the Pine Ridge Reservation."
* Viking, New York, copyright by Peter Matthiessen, 1980, 1983, 1991
