Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist and a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM). Following a controversial trial, Peltier was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of two FBI agents during a shootout on June 26, 1975, at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms and has been imprisoned since 1976. As of 2022, Peltier is incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Coleman, in Florida.
In his 1999 memoir, *Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance*, Peltier admitted to participating in the shootout but denied killing the FBI agents. Various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, and notable figures like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and the 14th Dalai Lama, have campaigned for his clemency. Despite these efforts, President Barack Obama denied Peltier's clemency application on January 18, 2017.
At the time of the shootout, Peltier was an active member of AIM, which advocated for Indigenous rights and sought to combat racism and police brutality against Native Americans. Peltier ran for President of the United States in 2004 as the Peace and Freedom Party's nominee, receiving 27,607 votes. He also ran for Vice President in 2020 on the Party for Socialism and Liberation ticket but withdrew due to health reasons on August 1, 2020.
Peltier is of Lakota, Dakota, and Anishinaabe descent and was raised among the Turtle Mountain Chippewa and Fort Totten Sioux Nations of North Dakota.
Early Life and Education
Leonard Peltier was born on September 12, 1944, at the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation near Belcourt, North Dakota, as one of 13 children. His parents divorced when he was four, and he and his sister Betty Ann were raised by their paternal grandparents on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
At age nine, Peltier was enrolled at the Wahpeton Indian School in Wahpeton, North Dakota, a boarding school run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The school enforced assimilation policies, requiring students to use English and prohibiting Native American cultural practices. After graduating in 1957, Peltier attended the Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota. He returned to the Turtle Mountain Reservation after completing the ninth grade and later obtained a GED.
Career and Activism
In 1965, Peltier moved to Seattle, Washington, where he worked as a welder, construction worker, and co-owner of an auto shop. The shop's upper level served as a halfway house for Native Americans dealing with alcohol addiction or re-entering society after prison, though it eventually closed due to financial strain.
Peltier became deeply involved in Native American civil rights causes. In the early 1970s, he learned about the tensions at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation between supporters of elected tribal chairman Richard Wilson and traditionalist Lakota members. Peltier was invited to join AIM by Dennis Banks in 1972, becoming an official member of the organization, which was founded in Minneapolis in 1968 during a time of rising Indian activism for civil rights.
Wilson's private militia, the Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOON), reportedly attacked political opponents, leading to the AIM and Lakota armed takeover of Wounded Knee in February 1973. This resulted in a 71-day siege by federal forces, known as the Wounded Knee occupation, which demanded Wilson's resignation. Peltier, however, spent most of the occupation in a Milwaukee jail on attempted murder charges related to a different protest. He joined an AIM protest outside the federal building in Milwaukee after securing bail and was en route to Wounded Knee with supplies when the occupation ended.
In 1975, Peltier traveled to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as an AIM member to help reduce political violence. At the time, he was a fugitive, with an arrest warrant in Milwaukee for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution for the attempted murder of an off-duty police officer—a charge for which he was acquitted in February 1978.
Throughout his life, Peltier has had seven children from two marriages and has adopted two additional children.
Shootout at Pine Ridge, South Dakota: The Events and Aftermath
On June 26, 1975, Special Agents Ronald Arthur Williams and Jack Ross Coler of the FBI returned to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation searching for Jimmy Eagle, wanted for questioning in a recent assault and theft case. The agents spotted and followed a vehicle, a white over orange Chevy Suburban Carryall carrying Leonard Peltier, Norman Charles, and Joe Stuntz. Although Williams and Coler were unaware, Peltier had an outstanding federal warrant for attempted murder of a Milwaukee police officer.
After turning off US Hwy 18 into the Jumping Bull Ranch, the occupants of the Suburban stopped and began receiving gunfire. Between 11:45 and 11:50 a.m., Williams radioed for reinforcements, stating they were under fire and would be killed without help. Both agents were fatally shot within the first ten minutes of gunfire. Their bodies were recovered around 4:25 p.m.
The FBI reported that Williams received a defensive wound to his right hand before being shot in the head, and Coler, incapacitated from earlier wounds, was shot twice in the head. Williams' car was driven into the AIM camp, stripped, and the agents' guns were stolen. Stuntz was later found wearing Coler's FBI jacket and was killed by a BIA agent.
Aftermath
Three men were arrested: Peltier, Robert Robideau, and Darrelle "Dino" Butler. Peltier provided several alibis, each inconsistent with one another. Various pieces of evidence, including Agent Coler's .308 rifle and an AR-15 rifle, were found in a vehicle linked to Peltier.
Trial
Peltier was named to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on December 22, 1975. He was arrested in Canada and extradited in December 1976, despite later controversies over the legitimacy of the extradition documents.
Robideau and Butler were acquitted on grounds of self-defense. However, Peltier was convicted in Fargo, North Dakota, and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. The FBI presented forensic evidence linking Peltier to the close-range execution of the agents. Some organizations have since raised doubts about the fairness of Peltier's trial.
Clemency Appeals and Parole
Peltier's case has drawn support from numerous civil rights advocates and international organizations. Despite several clemency petitions, including appeals from prominent figures and entities, Peltier's requests have been consistently denied. His most recent parole hearing in 2024 resulted in a denial, with another full hearing set for 2039.
Controversies and Remaining Questions
Discrepancies in material evidence and allegations of coerced testimonies have fueled ongoing debates about Peltier's guilt. Various appeals and documents, including an impartial examination of the FBI ballistics report, suggest that some evidence used to convict Peltier may not have been entirely reliable. However, the courts have upheld his conviction.
In summary, the case of Leonard Peltier remains one of the most controversial and contested in modern American legal history, with ongoing debates about justice, fairness, and the impact of historical context on the proceedings.
Later Developments
In January 2002, Paul DeMain, publisher of *News from Indian Country*, wrote an editorial stating that an "unnamed delegation" informed him that Leonard Peltier had murdered the FBI agents. The delegation comprised "grandfathers and grandmothers, AIM activists, pipe carriers, and others" who reportedly carried a significant burden regarding these events. DeMain was also told that the execution-style murder of high-ranking AIM activist Anna Mae Aquash in December 1975 at Pine Ridge allegedly occurred because she knew Peltier had shot the two agents.
DeMain did not accuse Peltier of participating in Aquash's murder. In 2003, two Native American men were indicted and later convicted for Aquash's murder. On May 1, 2003, Peltier sued DeMain for libel over similar statements published on March 10, 2003, in *News from Indian Country*. The suit was settled on May 25, 2004, with DeMain issuing a statement that he did not believe Peltier received a fair trial for the murder convictions, nor did he think Peltier was connected to Aquash's death. However, DeMain did not retract his allegations about Peltier's guilt regarding the FBI agents' murders and Aquash's murder motive.
Indictments and Trials for Aquash's Murder
In 2003, federal grand jury hearings led to charges against Arlo Looking Cloud and John Graham for Aquash's murder. Peltier's lawyer, Bruce Ellison, invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during these hearings and Looking Cloud's 2004 trial, where the federal prosecutor named Ellison as a co-conspirator. Witnesses testified that Ellison participated in interrogating Aquash about being an FBI informant before her murder.
In February 2004, Fritz Arlo Looking Cloud was convicted of Aquash's murder. The prosecution argued that AIM's suspicion of Aquash stemmed from her hearing Peltier admit to killing the FBI agents. Darlene "Kamook" Nichols, former wife of AIM leader Dennis Banks, testified that Peltier had boasted about shooting the agents in late 1975. Nichols and her sister, Bernie Nichols-Lafferty, both recounted Peltier's statement that he shot the agent despite his pleas for life. At the time, they were fugitives following the Pine Ridge shootout.
AIM's concerns about infiltration increased after revealing Douglas Durham as an undercover FBI agent earlier in 1975. Other witnesses claimed Peltier interrogated Aquash at gunpoint and made her participate in bomb-making to leave her fingerprints on the bombs. Prosecutors alleged that Peltier, Aquash, and David Hill planted bombs at two Pine Ridge power plants on Columbus Day 1975.
During the trial, Nichols acknowledged receiving $42,000 from the FBI, which she said covered travel and moving expenses for safety reasons. Peltier claimed Nichols committed perjury, but no investigation was opened into her testimony. Judge Lawrence L. Piersol admitted Nichols' testimony as hearsay to establish what the rumor was, not its truth.
On June 26, 2007, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ordered John Graham's extradition to the U.S. to stand trial for Aquash's murder. He was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to life in prison. During his trial, Darlene "Kamook" Ecoffey testified that Peltier admitted to killing the FBI agents.
Presidential Politics
In 2004, Peltier ran as the Peace and Freedom Party's presidential candidate, receiving 27,607 votes in California. In 2020, he was the vice-presidential running mate for Gloria La Riva on the Party for Socialism and Liberation ticket but resigned due to health issues and was replaced by Sunil Freeman.
Ruling on FBI Documents
On February 27, 2006, U.S. District Judge William Skretny ruled that the FBI did not have to release five of 812 documents related to Peltier, citing national security and informant protection. Peltier's defense team appealed the decision, seeking to obtain documents they believed should have been disclosed during his trial or following a Freedom of Information Act request.
Victim of Prison Violence
On January 13, 2009, Peltier was beaten by inmates at USP Canaan and subsequently transferred back to USP Lewisburg. He was later moved to a federal penitentiary in Florida and, as of 2014, housed at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex. Reports suggest that he has been frequently targeted and beaten by inmates, possibly with guard collusion.
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