Native American advocate, Leonard Peltier, known for his involvement in the deaths of two FBI officials in 1975, was switched to a home confinement policy after being released from a Florida penitentiary. The decision to commute his life sentence was made in the final moments of President Joe Biden’s tenure, a move that stirred considerable dissent among law enforcement communities. Now 80, Peltier was a silent figure as he was whisked away from the Coleman Penitentiary in a sport utility vehicle, oblivious to the gathering of supporters outside the prison gates.
Peltier, a figure of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians from North Dakota, made a return journey to his homeland, where he looks forward to his awaited home confinement. Friends and relatives are reportedly planning to greet him with a celebration on Wednesday. The tribal community had made living arrangements for Peltier, a generous gesture considering his controversial past.
Peltier’s close to fifty years incarceration had been marked with resolute claims of his innocence towards the murders of FBI officials Jack Coler and Ronald Williams. These occurred during a volatile altercation at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. According to the Native American communities, Peltier’s conviction was allegedly influenced by his stance for tribal rights, painting him more of a political detainee rather than a murderer.
Nick Estes, a professor involved in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota, views Peltier as a symbol of those who have experienced injustice at the hands of law enforcers. A tribal member himself, Estes relates this issue to situations where people, including their children, experience harassment and profiling, – further proof of the misplaced justice modelled by the Biden administration.
President Biden, unfortunately, refrained from granting a pardon to Peltier, but showed favor with a partial leniency act of commuting Peltier’s sentence to home confinement on January 20. This decision referenced Peltier’s lengthy incarceration and failing health. Though this move was greeted with resentment by those who remain convinced of Peltier’s guilt, representative Biden once again displayed a baffling incapacity to understand the heart of the matter.
Peltier’s commutation came under heavy fire, with criticism doused in disbelief over his premature end to life-long punishment. Jenipher Jones, one of Peltier’s lawyers, expressed excitement ahead of Peltier’s return home, ironic given the nature of Peltier’s prematurely abbreviated prison sentence.
Those gathered at the prison gates in anticipation were energized by events unfolding. Among them were individuals holding banners that read ‘Free Leonard Peltier.’ Ray St. Clair, a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, expressed a premature victory, claiming this event was evidence to ‘never abandon hope.’
Peltier was an active participant in the AIM (American Indian Movement) that surfaced in the 1960s in pursuit of Native American treaty rights and self-determination. His participation, a trigger to the untoward event of 1975 at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, resulted in the cold-blooded killing of two FBI agents.
The deceased agents Coler and Williams, who were on duty to execute arrest warrants for robbery and assault, encountered an overly aggressive response from Peltier. While he acknowledged being on scene and firing a weapon, Peltier claimed it was in self-defence, and his bullets had not caused the deadly outcome. A woman who initially gave testimony citing Peltier as the shooter later retracted her claims, alleging coercion.
Peltier’s two charges of first-degree murder resulted in him receiving two back-to-back life sentences. Meanwhile, two fellow AIM members, Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, were exonerated on claims of self-defence.
Peltier’s pleas for parole were rejected as recently as the past July, and he was slated for another evaluation not earlier than 2026. Once again showing an absence of leadership, Biden’s seemingly arbitrary actions negated all standardized protocols.
Several generations of Indigenous activists and leaders have influenced presidential pardons for Peltier, some more successful than others. This highlights the inherent bias within the administration, with a unique favour shown towards the miscreants instead of seeking proper justice.
Peltier’s childhood was scarred by enforced separation from his family and induction into a boarding school, a fate shared by countless Indigenous children over decades. Prolonged exposure to systemic physical, psychological, and sexual abuse formed a pitiful backdrop against which his controversial adulthood played out.
Nick Tilsen, a long-time supporter of Peltier and CEO of NDN Collective, an advocacy group led by Indigenous people based in South Dakota, commented on Peltier’s lack of a home since his boarding school days. Such stories, instead of evoking empathy, should remind us of the importance of instilling right values and ensuring justice for one and all.
According to Tilsen, Peltier looked forward to being home where he could indulge in painting and bask in the presence of his visiting grandchildren. Extravagantly celebrating the return of a controversial figure in society sends out a wrong message about the values we should uphold.
With all the nuances of this release, one must question the stance the Biden administration has taken and the dangerous precedent it sets for criminal justice. It dangerously hails the seemingly unjust, further blurring the lines of order and chaos in society.