Stop cruel and unusual punishment, support Leonard Peltier

New York — On April 28, Lenny Foster, a longtime American Indian Movement activist and former director of the Navajo Nation Corrections Project, spoke on “Native American Issues and Leonard Peltier” at The People’s Forum.

Foster, a member of the Diné Nation, participated in the occupation of Alcatraz, the Wounded Knee uprising and many other historic events. He described his history working with the International Indian Treaty Council as part of his support for Indigenous justice.

After opening with a prayer, Foster spoke about the frame-up of political prisoner Leonard Peltier following a gun battle at the Pine Ridge reservation in 1975. One Indigenous person and two FBI agents were killed.

The FBI went to great lengths to set up Peltier. He was illegally extradited from Canada to face a trial filled with constitutional violations. Documents proving FBI misconduct have become public since Peltier’s sentencing. Yet more than four decades later, he remains in prison, suffering poor health.

Foster explained that Peltier asks his supporters to protect the earth and defend the rights of others, as well as to pass on the tradition of activism and mentor youth everywhere.

Foster closed the well-attended program by performing an AIM song.    

NYC Free Peltier, the Jericho Movement, the ProLibertad Freedom Campaign and NYC Anarchist Black Cross sponsored the event. Readers can contact nycfreepeltier@gmail.com for further information on how to support Leonard Peltier. Outside New York, visit the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee.