Ona Move! In the Spirit of Crazy Horse
Hundreds of Native people and their supporters, led by
United American Indians of New England, gather in Plymouth,
Mass., each "Thanksgiving Day" to hear Native people present
the truth about their history and the conditions faced by
Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas. The event began in
1970, when Native people seized the Mayflower replica in
Plymouth Harbor and buried Plymouth Rock.
The call for last year's event, sponsored by the United
American Indians of New England (UAINE), explained: "Since
1970, Native Americans have gathered at noon on Cole's Hill in
Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the U.S.
'thanksgiving' holiday. . . . To them, 'thanksgiving' day is a
reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft
of their lands, and the relentless assault on their
culture."
One renowned prisoner in this war of capitalist conquest is
American Indian Movement warrior Leonard Peltier. He is serving
two consecutive life sentences for the killing of two FBI
agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation despite the fact that
government officials admit they don't know who shot the
agents.
In acts of solidarity over the years, Peltier from his
prison cell has taken up his pen in defense of African American
death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Abu-Jamal has written
to rally support for this Native political prisoner.
Message of thanks
to Leonard Peltier
& the LPDC
Mumia Abu-Jamal sent the following message to
Native political prisoner Leonard Peltier and his defense
committee on Jan. 21, 1999.
Ona Move!
We, all of us, give solid thanks to Leonard Peltier and his
numerous supporters worldwide, for the principled assistance in
France recently. I deeply appreciate it--we ALL do.
Many years ago, when I was doing radio commentary for
several Philadelphia college stations, I frequently received
taped reports from communications people from AIM (American
Indian Movement) and promptly reported such information to my
audience. What I learned was that the U.S. government was
waging a vicious and unrelenting war against Native people. It
was a phase in that war that an innocent Lakota activist,
Leonard Peltier, was dogged by this government and framed for
murder.
For almost a quarter of a century this kind and gentle
warrior, this artist, this son of his people, has withstood the
brutal assaults of the U.S. government, against its own "law,"
its own Constitution, its own precedent.
On Feb. 6, 1999, the calendar will strike 23 long and lonely
years in U.S. gulags for Leonard Peltier. Twenty-three years
since an overtly illegal extradition from Canada to the U.S.
Twenty-three years in a Yankee Iron Cage for the "crime" of
resisting American repression.
As we enter a new century, it is past time for us to correct
this vile injustice against Leonard Peltier. Let a new century
begin with an act of justice for the Oglala people.
Free Leonard Peltier!
Free the MOVE 9!
Long Live John Africa!
In the Spirit of Nat Turner
and Crazy Horse!
Ona Move!
Leonard Peltier:
Solidarity with Mumia
Peltier sent the following statement this year to
a Nov. 2 demonstration in Philadelphia that demanded freedom
for death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
Greetings, Brothers & Sisters:
I stand in solidarity with you today in support of my
brother Mumia Abu-Jamal's immediate release. The price that
Mumia & I & other political prisoners are paying is the
result of the colonial & racist policies of the U.S.
government & multinational corporations. They target &
prosecute those who would dare speak out against their
oppressive & genocidal policies. We are well aware of the
hypocrisy of a society that claims liberty & justice for
all, yet disregards its own laws & ideals to consolidate
power in the hands of a few.
The death penalty does not serve any purpose other than that
of taking another life. Far too many have already been put to
death who were not guilty of anything. The death penalty is not
a deterrent & does not stop crime. That the death penalty
is racist is also well known. Murder is murder whether
committed by the state or an individual.
We must stand together & learn to work alongside one
another, against the oppression forced on us by our government.
The struggle for justice & freedom must go on. The struggle
to save Mumia's life & to expose the plight of all
political prisoners must continue. Do not let them take Mumia's
life!
Again, I stand in solidarity
with this struggle.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
Reprinted from the Dec. 5, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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