Cuthand: Clemency right call by Biden for Indigenous activist

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One of outgoing U.S. president Joe Biden’s last acts was to commute the life sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier. This is not a pardon, but it permits Peltier to live out the remainder of his life under home confinement.

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Peltier was convicted of the killings of two FBI agents in 1975 and has remained in prison for 50 years, maintaining his innocence.

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Peltier was born in 1944 and raised by his grandparents on the Turtle Mountain Chippewa reservation near Belcourt, North Dakota. He spent his early life on the reservation, but was sent to residential school at Wahpeton, North Dakota at age nine.

Later, Peltier worked as a labourer, a welder and in Seattle he was co-owner of an auto repair shop. He became a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) after meeting fellow member Dennis Banks.

At the time, First Nations activism was in the initial stages. Various groups had organized across the country, including a group of people from Minneapolis who formed AIM. The officials at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and local law enforcement were alarmed about the growing militancy among the young people.

The United States had a violent record of dealing with civil rights issues, and the action against political organizing in the Native American community was no different.

It was at this time that the RCMP identified Indigenous activism as the biggest internal threat to Canadians. The fear was that the activism and violence in the U.S. would come across the border. That fear was tinged with guilt because Canadians knew the Indigenous people had legitimate grievances.

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Members of AIM came out in support of opposition at the Pine Ridge reservation, leading to the 70-day standoff there at Wounded Knee. In 1975, two FBI agents were killed on the Pine Ridge reservation. Peltier and two others were charged.

Peltier maintained that he wasn’t on the reservation at the time of the killings, but a witness stated that he was present and she witnessed the killing. The witness, Myrtle Poor Bear, would later recant her testimony, stating that FBI agents had coerced her into signing the affidavit.

The judge refused her testimony on appeal, citing mental incompetence. In any event, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Over the years, imminent persons such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Jesse Jackson, the Dalai Lama and Rigoberta Menchu called for clemency in his case.

He was also supported by organizations such as the European Parliament, the Kennedy Center for Human Rights, Amnesty International and the American Association of Jurists.

It was hoped that presidents Clinton or Obama would pardon him as they left office, but the FBI campaigned against any move toward clemency.

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James H. Reynolds, the senior U.S. attorney who supervised the prosecution against Peltier, wrote to the U.S. department of justice and stated that clemency was in the best interest of justice in this case.

He also added that the case against Peltier was a “very thin case” and would likely not be upheld by the courts today.

Peltier is 80 years old now. He poses no threat to society and clemency is the natural conclusion. I’m sure the FBI doesn’t agree, but his release is in the best interest of justice.

Peltier is not receiving a pardon. He was denied parole several times in the past and his next opportunity would be in 2026. He is receiving the equivalency of parole since he is allowed to live at his home under a form of house arrest.

The case is still controversial, and the facts have not had a clear airing. The FBI maintains his guilt and has lobbied successive governments against clemency. Meanwhile, groups of Indigenous people campaign for a full pardon, maintaining his innocence. The truth lies somewhere out there.

Doug Cuthand is the Indigenous affairs columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the Regina Leader-Post. He is a member of the Little Pine First Nation.

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