BELCOURT, ND — When people from near and far gathered here for two days last week to celebrate the homecoming of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, it was members of the American Indian Movement who stood by to safeguard those in attendance.
‘Lekší’ Leonard, as he was frequently called, was never far from AIM members throughout the events at Sky Dancer Casino & Resort. Lekší is the Lakota word for uncle.
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'Day of victory'
Both Mitch Walking Elk and Leonard Peltier have been members of AIM for decades.
“It’s a day of victory,” Walking Elk said on Wednesday. “For Leonard (Peltier) and those of us who have been involved in the struggle with him for at least 40 or 50 years.”
Walking Elk traveled with his family to the Turtle Mountain Reservation all the way from his home in Oklahoma as a representative of his local AIM chapter.
“I’m an AIM member and this is historic for us,” Walking Elk said. “Why would you want to let this go by and not be here?”
In his bold red jacket, Walking Elk fit in well with the crowd of AIM members from all over Turtle Mountain. Also present were Minneapolis residents from the Many Shields Society, which followed in AIM's footsteps by providing protection to Indigenous community members in the Twin Cities.
AIM does everything it can to protect the community, Walking Elk said, whether that’s showing up at events like these or by working against legislative policies that would negatively impact Indigenous communities.
“In the beginning of AIM, they sat down and they identified the enemies of Indian people, who have been destroyers of our culture,” Walking Elk said. “They named alcohol, they named drugs, and they named colonization as a whole, but specifically the U.S. Government, religion — Christianity — and education.”
Leonard Peltier’s 1976 arrest for killing two FBI agents hit AIM members deeply. He always maintained his innocence and over the last 49 years Peltier’s incarceration has become synonymous with the struggle of Indigenous people against oppression.
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Once, Walking Elk visited Peltier in Leavenworth prison and did a concert for him with two other musicians,
“The funny thing about our going in, of course, was we had to go through a metal detector and we all had AIM shirts on,” Walking Elk said.
At first the AIM shirts were hidden under layers of clothing but, with each attempt through the metal detector, guards had them take off another layer.
“We tried not to let them see our AIM gear. Pretty soon we were all down to our socks and our (AIM) T-shirts,” Walking Elk laughed.
In the years since, he’s traveled the world and seen support for Leonard Peltier’s cause echoed everywhere. Figures from the Dalai Lama to Pope Francis have called for Peltier’s release over the decades.
Walking Elk never gave up hope for Peltier’s release.
When President Joe Biden announced the commutation of Peltier’s sentence on Jan. 20, Walking Elk was in a ceremony to pray for Peltier and the future of all Tribal Nations. Biden’s commutation means that Peltier will serve the rest of his life sentence in home confinement.
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“We’re living in perilously, potentially dangerous times,” Walking Elk said. “Especially with what the government is doing.”
The rights of Indigenous people are being threatened by federal budget cuts, changes to school curriculum that rewrite history and more, he said.
On Wednesday, Walking Elk gave Peltier a beaded beret and a good pair of socks as a welcome home present.
“It’s a beautiful day,” Walking Elk said. “I hope that Peltier’s homecoming is really good for the future of this reservation.”
Local ties
An enrolled member of the Red Lake Nation, Charlotte Monette jumped in her car as soon as she heard about the Peltier homecoming celebration.
“I’m so happy to see him liberated,” she said. Her husband was from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
As a delegate for her tribe, Monette brought a gift for Peltier: a buffalo-skin leather jacket with fringe made by the Red Clay People brand.
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“I think anybody that went through what he did has to be strong,” Monette said.
Her relative, Joseph Blake, never thought he’d live to see Peltier return home.
Joseph Blake was only 8 years old when Peltier was arrested for the murders of two FBI agents during a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwest South Dakota. An AIM member was also killed that day.
As a young boy, Blake watched his teenage cousin, his uncle and other AIM members leave Minneapolis to go to Pine Ridge frequently over the years.
Tensions were running high in Pine Ridge in the '70s. Reports from Pine Ridge during that time depict a war zone; between 1973 and 1975, there were 60 unsolved murders.
Peltier’s conviction came on the heels of the on the Pine Ridge Reservation. During the occupation, hundreds of activists gathered for a 71-day standoff with the U.S. government.
Allegations from AIM at the time painted the FBI as supporters of a violent tribal police department and a corrupt tribal government,
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Over the years, Blake’s family would bring back stories about what happened there, he said, and tell him how AIM hoped to help the people in Pine Ridge get better living conditions.
His cousin,
'I have more hope today than I’ve had in the rest of my life'
Minneapolis resident and Joseph Bester used to be on the AIM patrol, which would go around the streets of south Minneapolis and St. Paul to ensure Indigenous people were safe.
“Our women seem to have targets on them,” Bester said. “Not only our women, but all of our vulnerable people. It’s not quite as bad now, but at the time it was like it didn’t even register” for the police.
Indigenous people face high risks of assault, abduction and murder,
AIM took charge and began patrolling the area to help keep Indigenous people safe, Bester said, following the traditions of the generations before them to put the good of the community first.
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Mikey Defoe, a member of the Many Shields Society, said that his team drove to Belcourt to help keep the event safe for everyone. He stood along the far wall for most of the evening and watched over the crowd.
"I never, never thought I'd be down here, you know, in this capacity, helping out," Defoe said. "It's a great honor."
Bester has been part of the AIM sundance for years, which was started in the 1990s by one of AIM’s founders, Clyde Bellecourt.
“A sundancer dedicates his life to the people,” Bester said. “It was an honor to be asked … it was the hardest thing but the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It changed my whole life.”
Bester was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, he said, and for years he battled addiction and often had thoughts of suicide, he said, but his beliefs helped him handle those challenges.
Leonard Peltier’s homecoming is yet another example of the power of faith, he said.
“I can’t possibly remember all the thousands of prayers we’ve said for Leonard over the years. Every ceremony, it’s always on our minds,” Bester said. “And to have this day come … I have more hope today than I’ve had in the rest of my life.”
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