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Have
You Thought of Leonard Peltier Lately?
Author Harvey Arden
Compiled &Edited by George Bowe Blitch
Published by HYT
Publishering
pages: 219
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A Review
By Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Marvin, US Army Special
Forces (Retired)
Author of Expendable Elite – One Soldier’s Journey Into
Covert Warfare
The day of their first meeting, author Harvey Arden writes
on page 70, “Leonard reached out to me with his own two
hands and gently gripped my shoulders; his eyes caught and
captured mine. ‘Harvey,’ he said softly, his eyes
locked intensely on mine, ‘You need to know this personally.
I did NOT kill those agents... It’s important
you believe that if we’re to work together’.”
Harvey believed. He had earlier shared an eloquent
philosophy regarding this book, telling that it
“...wasn’t written.” wasn’t past history, instead
and importantly “It was-and continues to be-lived.
What you read and see in these pages and in our companion
website www.haveyouthought.com, are the artifacts of
an ongoing struggle for one man’s freedom and for the
self-respect of us all.” He goes on to write within
a letter to Leonard Peltier dated January 1, 1997 [See page
61) a statement which I earnestly believe you will agree to
once you have perused the narrative, judiciously considered
it and taken an in-depth look at the photos and
paintings within the book. Only then will you fully
comprehend why it is that Arden writes, “They may take
your physical freedom, Leonard, but they cannot take your
MEANING.”
This is an all-important book as it personifies the
continuing plight and circumstance of the American Indian by
way of a potpourri of recollections, writings and pertinent
miscellany by and about Leonard Peltier, a man of integrity
and courageous purpose. As I write this he continues
to suffer a degrading and humiliating existence brought on
by a judicial system that seems hell-bent to keep a man
imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.
This book will help those who truly desire to
understand the plight of all American Indians, to
learn
the breadth and depth of negative societal influence on their
day-to-day life and to comprehend what it is that they may
expect with regard to future socio-economic existence.
You will discover that their very lives, lands and livelihood
are continually monitored and their changing conditions
predicated on the whims of those in power in this nation who,
for the most part, wantonly disregard past treaties,
sovereignty and constitutional safeguards so as to limit their
individual or collective influence and deny them basic human
rights
Awesome to this reviewer is the manner in
which Leonard Peltier stoically and steadfastly
accepts
the reality of his structured and indeed menial existence in a
federal penitentiary while doing all that he can, within the
physical constraints imposed by those empowered to control and
discipline him, to further the cause of his people, those he
knows and loves, and who yearn for his freedom. He is
most aptly classified, in the judgment of many, a political
prisoner, one who has been consistently denied parole though
the FBI itself admits not having evidence in hand to prove his
guilt of the crimes for which he is imprisoned.
Leonard provides specific details regarding
the pressure being applied through government
apparatus
using sophisticated NASA satellites and multinational energy
corporations in an unwelcome venture meant to take tribal
lands for resource development with little regard for ancient
American Indian attempts to retain and protect those same
lands. Leonard writes it “like it is” on page 44 (a
quote from his book “Prison Writings: My Life is my Sun
Dance) “I have no doubt whatsoever that the real
motivation behind both Wounded Knee II and the Oglala
firefight, and much of the turmoil throughout Indian Country
since the early 1970s, was-and is-the mining companies’
desire to muffle AIM [American Indian Movement] and all
traditional Indian people, who sought-and still seek-to
protect the land, water and air from the thefts and
depredations. In this sad and tragic age we live in, to
come to the defense of Mother Earth is to be branded a
criminal.”
It will be evident, after reading Chapter 2, “Entering a
Shadowed World,” that Harvey was quite proper in what he
said on page 103, “It seemed to me that the ‘corporate
media’ had built a wall of silence around Leonard’s book
as they had around Leonard himself and virtually all Indian
people and struggles.” Hence, this publication by
HYT Publishing, an enterprise of loyal supporters of Leonard
Peltier.
As you permit, even encourage (when caught up by the powerful
flow of often tortured words) your mind to flow through and
take on the meaning of the many and varied writings and
musings brought together in this historical work. You
will understand the complex legal nature of the why and
wherefores associated with the keeping of Peltier as a
political prisoner as attorney Barry A. Bachrach acquaints you
with what he calls a “continuing manifestation of the
injustice which this country continues to heap upon Leonard”
and he details what he understands to be “the epitome of
injustice” that is heaped on Leonard Peltier. Not one
to give up and surely one who is loyal to the core once
convinced of the integrity of Leonard, even as I write this
review, Barry Bachrach has filed a major law suit in
Washington, DC, for two federal prisoners who claim that
United States Department of Justice officials knowingly
violated the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and illegally
extended their prison terms for over a decade. “The suit was
brought about by Leonard Peltier, now serving consecutive life
sentences for the alleged killing of two FBI agents on June
26, 1975; &Yorie Von Kahl, serving life plus 15 years for
the alleged killing of two U.S. Marshals on February 13, 1983.
After trial, undisputed evidence of government misconduct was
uncovered in each of these controversial cases.” He goes on
to point out that “The plaintiffs should have been given
their release dates by October 11, 1989, minus sufficient time
to exhaust appeals. Had the Parole Commission followed
the congressional mandate, Peltier would have been released
over 12 years ago. Lacking in any statutory authority,
the U.S. Parole Commission in fact illegally extended the
terms of imprisonment of both men.”
Leonard Peltier continues to be punished by the legal
system, even as he is constituted as a write in candidate
for President of these United States in a number of states,
and even though those who have judged him wrongly are fully
aware of the incredulous fact that our own FBI has informed
the parole board they sit on that no evidence exists to
point to Leonard as the cold-blooded killer of those two
agents. NONE! I believe that Leonard said it
best, “My name is Leonard Peltier, but I draw breath as
the living embodiment of a greater cause than just one
man’s freedom. Every nation must include, as a part
of its very fiber and rationalization, a constant demand and
vigilance for justice. More than anything I desire
this, I pray for peace and justice. One cannot truly
exist without the other.
Harvey Arden concludes this important work
with an impressive list of the achievements of
Leonard
Peltier that have convinced many, including myself, to
recommend Leonard Peltier to the Norwegian Nobel Institute for
award of the Nobel Peace Prize. I urge all to get
to know Leonard through the pages of this book and then to
join the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, an organization
devoted to freeing Leonard Peltier and all American Indians
from unfair shackles imposed by a repressive “system” that
disallows the rightful exercise of inherited freedom.
You may
purchase this book at:
www.haveyouthought.com
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