‘I’ve come home’

BELCOURT, N.D. – After 49 years of imprisonment, Chippewa activist Leonard Peltier raised his fist out the window of a white SUV Tuesday as he crossed the border of the Turtle Mountain Reservation and shouted to his supporters and to his family.
“Thank you very much,” he yelled to dozens of people standing on the side of North Dakota Highway 5. “I’m home. I’ve come home.”
The 80-year-old landed in Devils Lake, North Dakota, on Tuesday afternoon and was taken in a caravan 90 minutes north to Belcourt, where supporters in more than 80 vehicles waited at the reservation border.
People carried signs: “Miigwech (thank you) Leonard Peltier.” “50 years of resistance.” “Welcome Leonard.” “It’s about damn time.” “Welcome home Leonard Peltier.” “Welcome home cuz.” “Welcome home grandpa.”
Facing minus-20-degree wind chills, fathers stood by their shivering sons and daughters. Elders stood by their grandchildren, and Two-Spirit people hoisted fabric-covered signs.
Men sang the American Indian Movement anthem on a drum as cars streamed past in both directions.
Sheila Peltier sat in her vehicle waiting for the caravan to arrive. Leonard Peltier’s youngest sister said she organized much of the Tuesday activities, including a community dinner in the evening.
“It’s a glorious day. It’s a historical day,” she said. “He’s coming home.”
She said she attended rallies as a child held in support of her brother’s freedom. Her brother will face house arrest when he gets home, but those restrictions aren’t likely to drain his spirit too much, she said.
“Anything’s better than where he was,” Sheila Peltier said. “I’m sure he feels like he’s a free man compared to being in prison for nearly 50 years.”
Peltier was released from federal prison in Sumterville, Florida, Tuesday to make the journey home. Outgoing President Joe Biden issued an order as he was leaving office Jan. 20 to grant clemency to Peltier, who suffered from several serious health problems.

Peltier – who was not convicted of murder in the deaths of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams – served 49 years after being convicted of aiding and abetting in the murder of the federal officers. He also received a seven-year sentence for an escape attempt.
Until Biden’s last-minute action, Peltier had repeatedly been denied parole, pardon, clemency and compassionate release and had seen eight presidents leave office without pardoning him or commuting his sentence.
His release came after decades of grassroots organizing in Indian Country and the presentation of evidence of misconduct and constitutional violations during the prosecution of Peltier’s case.

Sheila Peltier said her brother endured a grave injustice by being convicted of a crime based on false evidence.
“They took his life for nothing. There’s no evidence,” she said. “Somebody had to pay for a crime. He’s the one that had to do it I guess.”
Earlier Tuesday at the Sky Dancer Casino and Resort, Leonard Peltier’s nieces, Brenda Martinez, 62, and Pamela Bravo, 58, paced the halls waiting for their uncle’s arrival.
Martinez said it likely will be difficult for prisoner No. 89637-132 to transition to life outside the walls of Coleman Federal Corrections Complex in Florida.
“He can now open a fridge. He can turn on a stove, things he has not been able to do for 50 years, that we take for granted,” she said. “And he can look out his window. He can stand at the door and smell that morning air, things he has not had for more than a lifetime.”

She said Biden’s decision to grant her uncle clemency was a shock to her and many of her relatives. After confirming the news with her aunt, Sheila Peltier, she began calling other relatives to share the news.
She said she had worried something might prevent Leonard Peltier from leaving prison after Jan. 20, especially with Donald Trump becoming president and federal authorities fuming over Biden’s decision.

“It’s been one of the longest months,” she said.

Martinez shared fond memories of her uncle taking her and her siblings into Belcourt to buy candy as children.

“He was a wonderful uncle,” she said. “He was very loving to us and that’s what we carried.”

Said Bravo: “He’s just a strong person, standing up for all the Natives.”

His younger brother, Ron Peltier, 70, waited at the casino for his brother after Leonard Peltier’s caravan crossed the reservation border on Tuesday.

He said he never got to know his brother, as Leonard was away at boarding school when he was young and Ron was taken from his family at age 4 and later adopted at age 8. Ron Peltier spent his life in Toledo, Ohio, and today lives with his wife there.
But in 2005, he reunited with his brother and began visiting him at U.S. Penitentiary Leavenworth in Kansas, where they spent many hours together.
“The thing that strikes me the most about Leonard is the fact that he has not gotten bitter or angry,” he said. “He didn’t give in and give up, and a lot of people would be deflated and defeated. … He’s got a good heart.”
Greg LeBeau, 44, a staff member at Belcourt Elementary School, grew up in Leonard Peltier’s hometown hearing stories about Peltier and decided later to educate himself about the circumstances of his imprisonment.
He said the past few weeks since Biden’s decision have been an “emotional roller coaster” and he called the decision to grant Peltier clemency an act of justice for all Native people.
“It’s a historical day, and I’m very proud to be a part of it and be present for it,” he said. “All I hope for him is that he gets the peace that he’s waited for for so long.”

Little Crow Bellecourt, 52, executive director of the Indigenous Protector Movement in Minneapolis, said he grew up singing with drum groups at events held to rally support for Peltier.
When he heard about the clemency decision, he said he thought of his father, famed AIM leader Clyde Bellecourt, and the many years he fought for Peltier’s release.
“A lot of his brothers and sisters that he fought with in the movement are in the spirit world now. Gone,” Little Crow Bellecourt said. “So my hopes are that he can be around family, and he’s been the face of Native resistance for many years, my whole life. Gives me hope that we don’t give up.”

He said the AIM’s birth in Minneapolis in 1968 sparked a nationwide movement for Indigenous pride and social justice. He said his father was one of the first Native people in Minneapolis to grow his hair long.
He said AIM fought for the people, especially those on the Pine Ridge Reservation who called for the organization’s support. Additional celebrations are scheduled for Wednesday.
“It’s going to be a big day,” he said, choking back tears. “I can’t wait for tonight, to see him, sing some songs. I actually get to sing the Peltier song tonight while he’s a free man, and that’s awesome.”
A community feed for Peltier took place from noon-4 p.m. Central time Wednesday at the Sky Dancer Casino Event Center in Belcourt.

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