 Welcome to Cooper Union. What's happening with human rights around the world on Think Tech Live, broadcasting from a downtown studio in Honolulu, Hawaii in Moana, New York. I'm your host, Joshua Cooper. And the title of today's episode is Please for Leonard Peltier's Freedom Persist, the case raised at the UN and the US Senate. Today, I'm fortunate to be joined by three amazing activists and advocates working for the freedom of Leonard Peltier. And I wanna first go to Jean Groot. Jean, thank you so much for joining us. We know you're the co-director of the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee. Could you share with us who is Leonard Peltier? Yes, Leonard Peltier has been in prison for 47 years. And basically he's stood up for the people in many ways. One of the ways is that he was wrongly convicted for the death of two FBI agents in Ogoa, South Dakota. And also we always failed to mention that Joe Stunt has also killed him as a native man from Washington state. But Leonard represents indigenous peoples fight. And we've been fighting his government and the people for a very long time. We've faced many years of colonization. And one of the things that we're trying to do now is get Leonard Peltier free. And a lot of it's based on lies, total lies and the colonized stereotypes of Indians, all the things that Leonard represents is all the things that are happening to our people. Okay, the lies and the manipulation and the very fact that the federal government, the FBI will not admit their wrongs and how they coerced so many people during his trial. I mean, on day one, they went to Canada and they lied to the Canadian government, United States government just to get him returned here. And they based that on the affidavit done by Myrtle Forbear. And she was forced to do these affidavits but Canada would not extradite him without an eyewitness. That was the reason to bring her. And basically they told everybody that that was his girlfriend. They were like, who is this woman? We've never, ever seen her before. I mean, it was just an all right lie. So that's the way it all began. But it really began, you know, or political prisoners started way back at contact. We have crazy horse that was also thrown in jail, sitting both. I mean, our history repeats and Leonard is one of the historical figures right now that we are trying to free that has been railroaded, you know? So all the things that Leonard represents with all the fight that we have today with our people. And this all happened in Oglala, South Dakota. Basically the FBI came down there and did not even recognize its own law, broke many laws just to be down here. So it's a continual fight to get Leonard out as the political prisoner. And one of the things I do know is that I'm a survivor of the firefight and he protected us. And the things that we were doing in the community were basically organizing a community to be self-sufficient. I mean, we planted gardens, most of us there were under the age of 17, 18. So we were never charged, people that were charged with an adult. And you have a bunch of kids that got away from the FBI. I think that doesn't make them show face very good. But you know, good thing we were young, we could run up those hills fast. But I'm here now in the Oglala area. I'm at Red Claw Renewable Energy, which is near where the firefight happened. And every day, you know, I drive by there and I remember that day, you know, I was 15 years old, 14 years old, actually. My brother was 10 and he didn't, that didn't save him from being shot at. So, you know, it doesn't matter. When they want something, they break any law. And today we know that they break any law to keep him in there. So the story has been a long one. And 47 years is way too long. When the evidence, we have evidence and we have judges, we have senators, we have Congress people that can read and understand what the Constitution stands for. So basically, you know, honor your own laws, honor our treaties. I mean, we have a long list of things that need to be made right with our indigenous nations. Leonard Paltier's release is one of them. Leonard's family, he has been able to spend any time with his grandchildren. I'm a grandmother now. I can't even imagine, since I was the age of 16, he's been in prison. So when it comes down to it, there's not gonna be any peace or any type of progress how this case has been addressed. And everything that we talk about, we have documentation for it. I don't know why he's not released, but you know, the people should have more power than a few politicians that will not hide their scars of how they attack people. Gene, thank you so much for the historical perspective, bringing it back to colonization, but then also your firsthand account of surviving as well as a teenager. And we'll come back to you, Lenny Foster. It's so good to see you again. I know we've seen each other at the Universal Periodic Review and also at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. We know you serve as a spiritual advisor for Leonard Paltier, but also for more than 2,000 incarcerated Native Americans in 96 state and federal prisons. Thank you for joining us. And who is Leonard Paltier to you? I've known Leonard Paltier for over 50 years. I met him in Denver, Colorado in 1970. I became acquainted with him because we were both young, joined the American Indian Movement and we're both idealistic, working for our people's struggles, treaty rights and human rights for Indigenous people and treaty rights for our Indian people. He's a citizen of the Third World War, a modern man ban of Chippewas. And I believe he's 77 years old, he's four years older than me. And I've known him in the prison system when I first met him in USP Leavenworth, 1985. And I've visited him for 20 years at the Leavenworth Federal Prison, which is a maximum security prison. And my responsibilities for him was to provide him with spiritual support, engage in a cleansing and purification ceremony known as a Swellage. We prayed with the chanupa, the pipe. So that's how I got to know him. And I know him to be a reverent elder and he's become as such because of the long time of incarceration. He's a very talented painter, artist, and he's a very sincere human being. And I believe it's time he's released and be allowed to go home to Turtle Mountain and enjoy his remaining years with his family, his grandchildren, great-grandchildren. And it's only befitting and right that we work on his behalf to do that. We don't leave any brother behind on the battlefield. So we need to get him out of the federal beer prison. So that's one aspect of him that I know, but I also want to share that I Sundanced with him at Crotox Paradise in Rosebud, South Dakota, 1975. And shortly thereafter, he was captured in Canada and then he sent word out that he wanted me to come and visit him and provide him with the sweat-laught ceremonies and pray with a pipe with him. So I did that. At that time, there was a David Chief and Archie Fire where his spiritual advisors, and I joined that group from Arizona. I'm a dener. So I'm explaining my clan, the Taran House clan, born for Mount Cove. And my maternal grandparents are River Edge and my paternal grandparents are one who walks around. So that's who I am as a Dene citizen. And I've known Leonard Pell Tear since 1970. I know him through the Sundance. And I think that's something that's very important because that's one of the ancient old ceremonial practices of the Great Plains people. And the Sundance was brought to the Southwest by our elder Leonard Crodog in 1979, 1980. And we've been Sundancing in the Southwest ever since. So that's how I know Leonard Pell Tear. And like I said, I used to visit him every quarter at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth. And we did our sweat-laught ceremonies and he was one of 85 prisoners, native prisoners at that facility. So we became acquainted and became good friends through those years. Now he's at the USP Coleman, Florida. And I have the opportunity to visit him, but only in the visiting room, the warden prohibited me from participating in the sweat-laught with him out of the sweat-laught area. And I objected and I asked him, why? He said, we don't let friends or relatives come into the prison to do ceremonies with their relatives. And it's come to my attention that you and him are like friends. I said, how can I not be his friend? I've known him for 52 years, but that wasn't enough for him to change his order. So I can only visit him at the visiting room. But someday soon we'll be engaging in a sweat-laught ceremony again together and praying with the pipe. And like I said, he's a very reverent. He's a very humane person, very talented, very friendly. A real sense of a humor about him. And he's a very well-read, very self-taught. He keeps up with things out here in the free world. So that's how I know him to answer your question. Thank you so much, Lenny. And it is true, even Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama protest his imprisonment and request his immediate release. And just last week, our next speaker representative, Ruth Buffalo, was able to bring his case forward to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the 21st session. Representative Buffalo, could you share with us a bit? Who is Leonard Peltier to you and the amazing work that you're doing? Nido Shadzi, Nakhbaga'o. Marashi Mya Adeshez, Mabi Sigits, Madzigidads, Nakhbaga'o. Hello, good people. My name is Woman of Peers. I'm dialing in from the stolen lands of the Dakota and Anishinaabe people within the what is present day Red River Valley here in Pargo, North Dakota. It's an honor to be here with you and to have shared the words for Leonard Peltier on behalf of the International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee. What who Leonard Peltier is to me, he represents and is a constant reminder of the injustice that we continue to face here within our own homelands of what is present day United States of America. Many of us know all too well, unfortunately, the over-representation of Native Americans within every level of criminal justice system, from juvenile justice system to county jails, city jails, state prisons, federal prisons. And so it's, it times up, we need Kim back in our homelands with his present day, North Dakota. I'm a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa Narikra Nation, and we just need to get them out of there. There's too many stories of loved ones that we know of who have been incarcerated, who have been denied compassionate release. And so this is really a sense of urgency and we need Leonard free. We know that we, none of us are free until Leonard is free. And so as state legislators, we have helped with different efforts in mobilizing the communities and calling for his release at, it's the end of October, about 24 native state legislators issued a letter to Biden calling for his release. We've also had the National Caucus of State legislators for Native American also issue a letter and a resolution to Biden calling for Leonard's release. And also the DNC native caucus has also followed suit. Even the North Dakota Democratic Nonpartisan League has issued a statement calling for Leonard's release. And so we're trying to help where we can within our reach, but I've had the opportunity to talk to Leonard a handful of times and he's very, very upbeat and very, you can tell he's a very kind hearted person. And we just need to get him out of there. We need him to walk out of there and to return to his homelands here in North Dakota back to his family, his friends within the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Indians reservation, the homelands here. And I was born in 1977 and he's currently 77 years old. So we talk about his experience in boarding school and all of the injustices surrounding that. And so Leonard to me is somebody that needs to be released. He is our Nelson Mandela and none of us are free until Leonard's free. That's who Leonard is to me. Thank you so much. And it also brings up not only were you speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the UN Headquarters in New York, but also just last week, Senator Brian Schatz who's the chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, press attorney general, Merrick Garland on the status of Belter's clemency petition as Garland testified in an unrelated Senate budget hearing. So it is good that the world is aware. Jean, do you wanna share with us why this case is so important in the US but also around the world? This case basically, like I said earlier, it represents an attitude that the United States government has had against native nations. Okay, we have many treaties we're here from the Dakota nation. So our treaties have not been honored our land has been stolen. I mean, Leonard represents every bit of that, his treatment and how he's being treated. So there's just so many connections in so many ways that his treatment is related to the way our nations have been treated, basically. So I think that one of the things that we can do is educate ourselves or education or past historical treatment has been lost. At some point, we don't teach it in our schools. They don't tell about the things that are going on. The unjust, I mean, he represents everything about the judicial system that is going on to native people. And we have people going to prison that the average non-native won't even do time for. But because we have a racist system, I live in Rapid City, which is one of the most we call it the deep north. And we have people in prison, for we have one of the only laws in our state where somebody can go to prison for having drugs in your pee. It's just outrageous. We have a lot of people with preferred treatment, not the penal system. So there's so many attacks on our people. And Leonard just represents an overall of so many of these unjust attacks, the bias system. I mean, we don't have access to by justice is what the bottom line is. We don't have the money to bail our people out. So there's a difference there between the treatment of us and them. Thank you so much, Jean. And it reminds me of a quote of Peltier. He said, we need to do more than just what is right. We need to join together and right what is wrong. And I think the work that you've been doing this entire time leads towards that. Lenny, can you share with us why this case is so important and matters so much to the world? No. Leonard's represents the resistance of the indigenous people, the Indian people. And we were never taught our true history, the culture, the languages and the schools and upbringing, everything that was taught was basically distorted or outright law. And then when we start to question some of that, we become an enemy and throughout our lives where Indian people are targeted, once we leave the reservation, go into the border towns, into the cities. So it becomes a, to be a target, it becomes a very difficult life to exist under a double standard of society. And with that, it's very difficult to basically exist and make a living. And the laws are written where we're basically targeted and it becomes a very difficult existence in this society and to go to other places where basically it's still our land, but you don't have any native or indigenous people there, except maybe in the Navadios or the ghetto or places where you're not able to enjoy their existence in this society. And to enjoy their existence as a human being. So it's a very difficult, it has become difficult and we were brought to a point where we resist it and then to be a resistor, you're targeted. And that's one reason the movement and the prisons brought about the American Indian movement in the upper Midwest, in Minnesota, places like that. And it grew and it became basically a threat to the FBI. And I participated in the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan where we ended up taking over the BI building in 1972. I was at Wounded Knee for the whole 71 days and engaging in some very intense firefights. Then I realized the seriousness of standing up for your treaties, your rights as an Indian person, human rights for indigenous people, for Indian people and just honoring or seeking the full compliance and the enforcement of the treaties because almost every one of these agreements have been broken and to question it, you become a threat. And so that was my experience when I left the Naval Reservation to go to school and I was up in Pasco, I was in the Colorado state in Fort Collins as I ended up joining the American Indian movement in Denver, Colorado under the late Vernon Balport. And he introduced me to Dennis Banks and Clyde Balcourt. And as I mentioned, I met Leonard Paltier and I met Bill Means and Russell Means and Ted Means and people like that and also the women who were the backbone of this struggle. So it was a good experience for me and this movement spread throughout the whole country and we were a part of that Leonard Paltier was part of the movement with the Northwest Group and I was with the Denver American Indian movement. So it was a beautiful experience then going through the Sundance that made us very confident in ourselves and then the more learning and educating ourselves about the treaties and the mistreatment of our people resulted in being a real warrior. And that whole experience many of us went through and that was my experience with Leonard Paltier because I met him and then he was with a different chapter and I was with a different chapter but we all ended up doing the same thing and I applaud our sister there for being in the legislative process and that's a difficult one. I know something about the legislative process because I had some bills introduced in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah to protect religious rights and religious freedom for Native Americans in the prison system. Mahalo Lenny for that lifetime of liberation and as you mentioned, Representative Ruth may be able to move to her briefly just for her to share why this case was so important and what was the impact from what she shared last week at the permanent forum. And I remember hearing the words of, Leonard recently said, if I'm not guilty of the shooting, I'm not guilty. I'd like to go home to spend what years I have left with my great grandkids and my people and that was really what you shared last week, Representative Ruth. But sure, Mazikidads, thank you Lenny and Jean for all of the work that you've done. It's sad that we have to continue to fight every day and just think of how much that impacts your daily health because that is stress, that's chronic stress and so just hope that you're taking good care of yourselves because we need you here for many more years to come. And yeah, I'm thankful to have been able to say a few words at the UN, the listening session via Zoom and it's the work that Lenny and Jean are doing. It's so important for all of us because it has to stop. It has to stop. When do things change? When are we going to have the real change that we need? Families deserve to be together, especially the first peoples of these lands and it raises the question, why are we not held in high regard within our own home lands? Why do we have our elder behind bars today? And so I see so many injustices and it's terrible and it needs to stop. And so we hope that by Biden releasing Leonard, it'll bring a renewed hope for the first peoples of these lands that we too have a right to the American dream that is so often spoken by the founders of our country but we deserve true justice, period. And we don't have justice right now, not until Lenny Leonard is free. So I just wanna say, Maud Ziggitadz, thank you for allowing me to share a few words. Thank you. I know we only have a couple moments left. Jean, would you like to share, what's the state of Leonard Peltier's case and why we believe now with President Biden that we might turn a page going forward? Yeah, there's always hope that one of the presidents will actually acknowledge his own constitution. And one of the things that I don't know that's been holding it back is we know that his Leonard's applications for clemency have been held back and we know it's the FBI. And if they want change and they want to make some great changes, I mean, he's already made some good changes putting Dev Halvin in as the secretary of interior. There's a lot of good changes. Now, at least in Leonard Peltier would actually show that there's somebody that has some real belief in the United States constitutional system. Now they disacknowledge it, they make their own laws to cover their own track, which is not the so-called American way. So let's live with reality and not really expect that Leonard's just gonna stay in there because they ignore that part of our constitutional end or human rights. I mean, there's human rights being violated here still. And when you go back to the day massacre days when the people were given medals, I mean, that is so ugly that you get medals to massacre unarmed people. We're still in that state right now with Leonard Peltier and the Oglala Firefight. People were killed there, they were never acknowledged but because two FBI just got killed now, they wanna keep him in there forever. But that's not nothing to the massacres that our people have felt over the generations. Thank you so much, Jean, Ryan brings us to where we are. I know we're on the final moment. I remember one quote from Leonard Peltier that showed us the wisdom that Lenny was sharing. He said, I don't know how to save the world. I don't have the answers or the answer. I hold no secret knowledge as how to fix the mistakes of generations past and present. I only know that without compassion and respect for all of us inhabitants, none of us will survive nor will we deserve to. And that really brings up his wisdom with the climate crisis, the health crisis. And I think all of you for joining us here on Cooper Union. And I think we definitely should have a second show looking at what'll happen when of course Lenny, you're there in the sweat lodge with him and pointing out how we've been able to turn a page and move forward. Thank all three of you for all the work that you have done in the past and continue doing every day. And I echo what Representative Ruth Buffalo said of take care of yourselves because we're all needed to keep going forward. Mahalo. Thank you.