Dear Supporters:
All the best for the holidays and a healthy and happy New Year.
Please see the latest Editorial Essay #55. Introduction follows:
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#critical
The purpose of this editorial essay is to provide a detailed summary of the critical witnesses against Peltier; those who placed him at the scene of the crime. (There will be no discussion concerning Peltier’s actual guilt, which has been extensively covered elsewhere and is beyond any doubt.) The witnesses are presented in the order of appearance at trial and the complete transcripts (approximately 493 pages) are available and linked as follows: Michael Anderson, Wilford Draper, Norman Brown and Angie Long Visitor.
Also included for reference are the government and defense summations and the government’s rebuttal.
During the course of Peltier’s five-week trial (Fargo, North Dakota, March-April 1977 before U.S. District Court Judge Paul Benson) there were many witnesses who provided sworn testimony regarding the investigation into the murders of Special Agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams (Reservation Murders, or RESMURS) that occurred on the Jumping Bull property, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota on June 26, 1975.
The government’s evidence and testimony against Peltier covered a great many more details to support the elements of the charges against him, however, in this author’s opinion, the most critical evidence against Peltier was—in a manner of speaking—his own people, other Native Americans at Jumping Bull that day who helped provide the jury with a sense of the agents’ final moments.
Certainly, the government presented other significant evidence in addition to testimony from both sides that either supported or refuted statements made by the critical witnesses.
Peltier’s defense team had but one mission; to create within the jury’s mind that the government had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Peltier was afforded the presumption of innocence and the defense had to impeach those government witnesses who presented the most damaging testimony. Most of the critical witnesses were hostile (not totally cooperative to one side or the other, or sometimes both), and as noted below, some of the exchanges between the attorneys were contentious.
The jury was the trier of fact and it is not known what weight they ascribed to the testimony of each witness and whether the government or defense arguments to otherwise bolster or destroy the witnesses credibility was successful or not. But, in either instance, a few fundamental facts remained for the jurors to individually and collectively consider as they reached a unanimous decision concerning Peltier’s guilt.
However, in the end, the jury had to wade through a mire of often-conflicting testimony to determine the truth, as they perceived it. Sometimes those perceptions are indefinable, merely faint expressions or glimmers of truth or untruth, which they may not be able to articulate or explain but still provide a conscious recognition from each witness of the events of that day.
The jury’s decision, of course, along with the conduct and presentation of the government’s case and Peltier’s sentencing, led to numerous appeals so that every facet of the trial was ultimately analyzed in painstaking detail. The results of that voluminous and intense appellate review validated the jury’s finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The jury’s decision was final, but in the spirit of continuing debate it is now up to concerned readers to make their own judgment based on this review of the critical witnesses against Peltier.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
NPPA-Founder
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
PELTIER NEARS CLEMENCY...
Well, not quite. And before Leonard Peltier and the LPDOC get all giddy and start salivating over the President’s first pardons (December 3, 2010), let’s take a closer look at the list and compare them to Leonard’s crimes.
Of the nine, 77% had received probated sentences (in other words, no jail time) for crimes like illegal possession of government property, possession of cocaine, liquor violations, false statements, counterfeiting, and of all things, coin mutilation. Only two had received jail time (24 months for a military conviction) and a year-and-a-day for possession of cocaine and marijuana. Their average wait (spanning from as early as 1960 to 1999) was twenty-eight (28) years.
Within the backdrop of these pardons the President has received 3,389 new petitions and started 2010 with 4,716 pending petitions but denied 1,288 with another 842 being closed without any action taken (that’s about 2,000 if the LPDOC is keeping track).
What the list of recipients didn’t include was someone serving two life sentences (plus another seven consecutive years for an armed escape) who was convicted of murder and aiding and abetting in the brutal deaths of two federal agents, someone who has had more bites of the legal apple than possibly inmates on death row, twice reaching the U.S. Supreme court, and never having either his sentence or conviction overturned; someone who was the subject of sworn testimony (April, 2010) in federal court quoting him as saying one of the agents begged for his life but that he shot the---anyway, or in a public statement (February, 2010) announcing “And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do.” (Please see http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise for additional details.)
See the difference? These pardons, as they usually are, were granted to those who have served their sentences (as minor as some were), have reformed, and desired to have their debt to society removed and certain rights restored, like the right to vote, hold public office or own a firearm. Not a likely set of circumstances for Leonard Peltier.
On a scale of 1 to 1,000, where these nine pardons rate as a “1,” Peltier’s name wouldn’t appear on the list of those deserving even a cursory review for consideration.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Of the nine, 77% had received probated sentences (in other words, no jail time) for crimes like illegal possession of government property, possession of cocaine, liquor violations, false statements, counterfeiting, and of all things, coin mutilation. Only two had received jail time (24 months for a military conviction) and a year-and-a-day for possession of cocaine and marijuana. Their average wait (spanning from as early as 1960 to 1999) was twenty-eight (28) years.
Within the backdrop of these pardons the President has received 3,389 new petitions and started 2010 with 4,716 pending petitions but denied 1,288 with another 842 being closed without any action taken (that’s about 2,000 if the LPDOC is keeping track).
What the list of recipients didn’t include was someone serving two life sentences (plus another seven consecutive years for an armed escape) who was convicted of murder and aiding and abetting in the brutal deaths of two federal agents, someone who has had more bites of the legal apple than possibly inmates on death row, twice reaching the U.S. Supreme court, and never having either his sentence or conviction overturned; someone who was the subject of sworn testimony (April, 2010) in federal court quoting him as saying one of the agents begged for his life but that he shot the---anyway, or in a public statement (February, 2010) announcing “And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do.” (Please see http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise for additional details.)
See the difference? These pardons, as they usually are, were granted to those who have served their sentences (as minor as some were), have reformed, and desired to have their debt to society removed and certain rights restored, like the right to vote, hold public office or own a firearm. Not a likely set of circumstances for Leonard Peltier.
On a scale of 1 to 1,000, where these nine pardons rate as a “1,” Peltier’s name wouldn’t appear on the list of those deserving even a cursory review for consideration.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Saturday, November 6, 2010
LPDOC...Can't get the facts straight
Kudos to Delany Bruce in the LPDOC’s November 5, 2010 “Press Release” because she had the courage (unlike the rest at the LPDOC who hide behind a website), to put her name to the release. And yes, this is the same Delaney Bruce who just three years ago Peltier belittled and threatened, but she’s back.
(Please see http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#delaney)
There are several, but especially two glaring errors in her reporting on the Peltier front:
“Native Americans have eagerly awaited a sign that the U.S. has listened to their concerns about the Peltier case, but were disappointed to see no mention of it in the U.S. report.”
Native Americans? This is hardly close to accurate. Peltier and the LPDOC have looked around and can certainly recognize—even if they are loath to admit it—that the overwhelming population of Native Americans have seen Peltier and the disruption caused by AIM as a thing of the past and something that contributed nothing their cause. Peltier’s popularity and support is almost non-existent and those outside of the U.S. (who typically only use Peltier to further their hatred of America…{Elsie are you still out there?}) are meaningless and have absolutely no say in what happens here.
Is there any wonder there was no mention of Peltier in the report?
Delaney (and Peltier supporters) need to do one thing in regard to the following statement…for once, please, read the trial transcript and get the facts straight:
She said: “With no evidence whatsoever, the FBI decided to ‘lock Peltier into the case’. Government officials presented false statements to a Canadian court to extradite Peltier to the U.S. where prosecutors went judge shopping and venue hopping to secure a conviction. In a racially charged courtroom, prosecutors lied to the judge, ignored court orders, and made inappropriate statements to the jury. They intentionally hid evidence of Peltier’s innocence and instead manufactured a ‘murder weapon’. As the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has noted, ‘these facts are not disputed’.”
Peltier’s innocence? Remember, he wasn’t in Seattle that day.
(Please see: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise)
As for inappropriate statements to the Jury, please see the ones that defense attorneys Lowe and Taikeff made…some were outrageous. (There will be an NPPA editorial essay posted soon that will answer a number of these kinds of questions concerning the trial.)
Actually the correct quote was:
"Much of the government's behavior at the Pine Ridge Reservation and in its prosecution of Mr. Peltier is to be condemned. The government withheld evidence. It intimidated witnesses. These facts are not disputed."
This comes from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2003 when Peltier filed a motion for a Writ of Habeas Corpus seeking immediate release on parole and challenged the record before the U.S. Parole Commission. This decision, also denied, was far beyond Peltier’s criminal appellate process that had long since been resolved against him.
Please note some little details that Ms. Bruce, Peltier and the LPDOC seem to deliberately ignore…the reason they do this has to be obvious to even the most ardent supporter:
"Previous federal court decisions provided the (Parole) Commission with ample facts to support its conviction that Peltier personally shot Agent Coler and Williams." And further, "While Mr. Peltier, asserts 'the Commission identified no plausible evidence that [he] shot the agents after they were incapacitated, this statement is simply not true. The evidence linking Mr. Peltier to these crimes is enumerated above. The most damning evidence, the .223 shell casing found in Agent Coler's trunk, may be more equivocal after the surfacing of the October 2nd teletype, but it has not been 'ruled out,' as Mr. Peltier contends. There is no direct evidence that Mr. Peltier shot the agents because no one testified they saw him pull the trigger. But as we stated above, and restate here, the body of circumstantial evidence underlying the Commission's decision is sufficient for the purpose of rational basis review." (Emphasis added)
(See the entire decision here: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/tenth_circuit.html)
Lastly, everyone should have realized that Peltier’s latest claims of some legal revelations in his case had but one purpose; to lull the unsuspecting into thinking he has some legal remedies. He doesn’t. All the claims were either waived at trial or have been litigated and appealed to death. So the real purpose is to continue the scam…collect more money from the unwary…and Peltier, the LPDOC (and the former LPDC) have yet to come clean about their finances. Folks are being duped, but maybe they don’t really care.
(Please see http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#fraud)
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
(Please see http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#delaney)
There are several, but especially two glaring errors in her reporting on the Peltier front:
“Native Americans have eagerly awaited a sign that the U.S. has listened to their concerns about the Peltier case, but were disappointed to see no mention of it in the U.S. report.”
Native Americans? This is hardly close to accurate. Peltier and the LPDOC have looked around and can certainly recognize—even if they are loath to admit it—that the overwhelming population of Native Americans have seen Peltier and the disruption caused by AIM as a thing of the past and something that contributed nothing their cause. Peltier’s popularity and support is almost non-existent and those outside of the U.S. (who typically only use Peltier to further their hatred of America…{Elsie are you still out there?}) are meaningless and have absolutely no say in what happens here.
Is there any wonder there was no mention of Peltier in the report?
Delaney (and Peltier supporters) need to do one thing in regard to the following statement…for once, please, read the trial transcript and get the facts straight:
She said: “With no evidence whatsoever, the FBI decided to ‘lock Peltier into the case’. Government officials presented false statements to a Canadian court to extradite Peltier to the U.S. where prosecutors went judge shopping and venue hopping to secure a conviction. In a racially charged courtroom, prosecutors lied to the judge, ignored court orders, and made inappropriate statements to the jury. They intentionally hid evidence of Peltier’s innocence and instead manufactured a ‘murder weapon’. As the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has noted, ‘these facts are not disputed’.”
Peltier’s innocence? Remember, he wasn’t in Seattle that day.
(Please see: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise)
As for inappropriate statements to the Jury, please see the ones that defense attorneys Lowe and Taikeff made…some were outrageous. (There will be an NPPA editorial essay posted soon that will answer a number of these kinds of questions concerning the trial.)
Actually the correct quote was:
"Much of the government's behavior at the Pine Ridge Reservation and in its prosecution of Mr. Peltier is to be condemned. The government withheld evidence. It intimidated witnesses. These facts are not disputed."
This comes from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2003 when Peltier filed a motion for a Writ of Habeas Corpus seeking immediate release on parole and challenged the record before the U.S. Parole Commission. This decision, also denied, was far beyond Peltier’s criminal appellate process that had long since been resolved against him.
Please note some little details that Ms. Bruce, Peltier and the LPDOC seem to deliberately ignore…the reason they do this has to be obvious to even the most ardent supporter:
"Previous federal court decisions provided the (Parole) Commission with ample facts to support its conviction that Peltier personally shot Agent Coler and Williams." And further, "While Mr. Peltier, asserts 'the Commission identified no plausible evidence that [he] shot the agents after they were incapacitated, this statement is simply not true. The evidence linking Mr. Peltier to these crimes is enumerated above. The most damning evidence, the .223 shell casing found in Agent Coler's trunk, may be more equivocal after the surfacing of the October 2nd teletype, but it has not been 'ruled out,' as Mr. Peltier contends. There is no direct evidence that Mr. Peltier shot the agents because no one testified they saw him pull the trigger. But as we stated above, and restate here, the body of circumstantial evidence underlying the Commission's decision is sufficient for the purpose of rational basis review." (Emphasis added)
(See the entire decision here: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/tenth_circuit.html)
Lastly, everyone should have realized that Peltier’s latest claims of some legal revelations in his case had but one purpose; to lull the unsuspecting into thinking he has some legal remedies. He doesn’t. All the claims were either waived at trial or have been litigated and appealed to death. So the real purpose is to continue the scam…collect more money from the unwary…and Peltier, the LPDOC (and the former LPDC) have yet to come clean about their finances. Folks are being duped, but maybe they don’t really care.
(Please see http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#fraud)
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Saturday, October 23, 2010
"I was railroaded, victimized," "I'm innocent"
In Leonard’s September 6th statement it’s almost as if he’s calling his loyal supporters idiots. He must think that because even the most ardent follower…those who won’t be sidetracked or confused by the facts…can’t read. However, if they read just 10% of the legal history of this case they’d start asking Peltier some serious questions. But that’s not likely to happen and just how Peltier wants it…follow me he says, I was railroaded, I’m innocent, I was victimized. Drinking the full-dose Cool Aid, laced with all the mythology and folklore, is exactly what he wants his supporters to do…but don’t ask too many questions…and definitely don’t seek those pesky details. Just follow Peltier blindly into the forest.
“Staggering Constitutional violations?” (Peltier’s October 16, 2010 meeting with his “team of lawyers,” his “dream team” must have been quite a gathering.) Hardly. If there was one, let alone many, he still wouldn’t be sitting in Lewisburg. To think that at this stage there would be a legitimate basis for any procedural legal action is inane. But then that goes along with the grand Peltier plot that the entire government and the judiciary, right up to the U.S. Supreme court conspired, as he put’s it, to convict the last Indian standing for the brutal deaths of two FBI agents. Gee then, it must have been Mr. X.
And everyone knows Leonard lied about that little matter. (http://www.noparolepeltier.com/lie.html)
“But I was in Seattle that day.”
No, Leonard didn’t really say that, but for argument sake (again…) let’s repeat the twenty-seven (27) most important words—one single sentence—from the thousands of pages relating to this case: “I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile.” (ITOSH p.552; See also July 12, 2010 blog for a further explanation and http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#finished)
If those twenty-seven words were changed to: “I thought those agents were after me. I panicked and started shooting and other’s helped. But I had to kill them because dead men make poor witnesses,” their meaning and significance would not be any different.
“As a young man, all I wanted to do was make a positive difference in People’s lives.” He made a difference for sure, but Leonard came very late (about two years earlier) to the “movement” and any pretense of support for his “people.” Prior to that he was just getting by, and “When I was younger,” Leonard says, “I thought it was a lot of fun running around like that, shaking off all those wives. Now I’m older, I realize I hurt a lot of those women, and I feel very bad about it, I really do. I think about them all the time now, especially the ones that had my kids.” (ITSOCH p.533) Then he turned to murder and hijacked an otherwise proud native tradition.
If Leonard believes all this rhetoric…and he does…and because he’s no fool and is milking the only thing that has kept any light shinning on him (although the bright light has faded to a dim bulb) he needs to stand up and become the warrior he’s claimed to be…to use a colloquialism, he needs to find a backbone.
Stand up and show your remaining supporters where the money has gone (post yours and the LPDOC/LPDC’s tax returns), and if you’re not terrified about showing the whole story, link to the No Parole Peltier Association (NPPA) website.
If you won’t do that, then you remain the same coward you and the others were at Jumping Bull.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
“Staggering Constitutional violations?” (Peltier’s October 16, 2010 meeting with his “team of lawyers,” his “dream team” must have been quite a gathering.) Hardly. If there was one, let alone many, he still wouldn’t be sitting in Lewisburg. To think that at this stage there would be a legitimate basis for any procedural legal action is inane. But then that goes along with the grand Peltier plot that the entire government and the judiciary, right up to the U.S. Supreme court conspired, as he put’s it, to convict the last Indian standing for the brutal deaths of two FBI agents. Gee then, it must have been Mr. X.
And everyone knows Leonard lied about that little matter. (http://www.noparolepeltier.com/lie.html)
“But I was in Seattle that day.”
No, Leonard didn’t really say that, but for argument sake (again…) let’s repeat the twenty-seven (27) most important words—one single sentence—from the thousands of pages relating to this case: “I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile.” (ITOSH p.552; See also July 12, 2010 blog for a further explanation and http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#finished)
If those twenty-seven words were changed to: “I thought those agents were after me. I panicked and started shooting and other’s helped. But I had to kill them because dead men make poor witnesses,” their meaning and significance would not be any different.
“As a young man, all I wanted to do was make a positive difference in People’s lives.” He made a difference for sure, but Leonard came very late (about two years earlier) to the “movement” and any pretense of support for his “people.” Prior to that he was just getting by, and “When I was younger,” Leonard says, “I thought it was a lot of fun running around like that, shaking off all those wives. Now I’m older, I realize I hurt a lot of those women, and I feel very bad about it, I really do. I think about them all the time now, especially the ones that had my kids.” (ITSOCH p.533) Then he turned to murder and hijacked an otherwise proud native tradition.
If Leonard believes all this rhetoric…and he does…and because he’s no fool and is milking the only thing that has kept any light shinning on him (although the bright light has faded to a dim bulb) he needs to stand up and become the warrior he’s claimed to be…to use a colloquialism, he needs to find a backbone.
Stand up and show your remaining supporters where the money has gone (post yours and the LPDOC/LPDC’s tax returns), and if you’re not terrified about showing the whole story, link to the No Parole Peltier Association (NPPA) website.
If you won’t do that, then you remain the same coward you and the others were at Jumping Bull.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Sunday, October 3, 2010
A "Dog-Dare" for Leonard Peltier: Where's the link?
A “dog dare” for Leonard Peltier
For the moment, to add just a slight measure of humor to an otherwise deadly serious situation, and to borrow an old Navy expression, this will be another shot across the bow for Leonard and the ever-changing stalwarts of the LPDOC. (Can we remember the LPDC and it’s multiple reincarnations and self-destruction? Sure, see Editorial Essays #18, #19, #20, #31, #34, #38, and #41. #41 relates to Peltier’s criticism of Delaney Bruce to “Cease and Desist,” yet, she is back again…)
Trying not to sound like a broken record (but that’s redundant in the Peltier argument because all they do is repeat the same false information…but that’s another story), this challenge has been launched to Peltier and his inner circle in the past, and ignored, but this time it’s very serious and directed not just at the LPDOC but any of the remaining Peltier supporters out in the field.
You’ve all heard and seen it before:
Since its inception on April 30, 2000 (that’s ten years and six months ago if anyone’s counting), there has been a link on the No Parole Peltier Association home page to Peltier’s website.
The message, repeated here for clarity, reads:
*For the concerned reader and researcher, the LPDOC can be found at www.whoisleonardpeltier.info. The FBI’s review of the case can be found at http://minneapolis.fbi.gov/history_peltier.htm. (It’s noted that Darelle (Dino) Butler has not been listed as a director/advisor of the LPDC or LPDOC).
The (*) asterisk was from the very first sentence on the home page directing readers to the link to the then LPDC, and now the LPDOC.
The link has been updated a number of times as it changed over the years, which shouldn’t be too surprising. The NPPA link, however, has remained, along with its message, consistent.
So there it is, from the very beginning asking anyone interested in the Peltier matter to go and see what Peltier and his network had to say and for them to come to their own informed decision about which side was presenting the accurate and factual history.
On this side of the fence there’s nothing to hide; matter of fact, from the inception of the NPPA all the relevant and critical court decisions were posted so people could read what happened for themselves, to review the real legal history of this case and not the out-of-context excerpts spun by Leonard and others.
So now we need to ask Leonard one very simple and straight forward question.
Let’s also ask Vivian Mendoza, Pamela Bravo, Jean Ann Day, Betty Ann Solano, Delaney Bruce, Peter and Barbara Clarke, John Gallagher, Arthur Miller, Lakoda and Kassandra Robideau (Regional organizers of the “International-Pacific Region which includes Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands [including Hawaii]) (Really, that’s quite impressive!), and all the TBA’s (the yet to be named, To Be Announced, phantom organizers):
What do you have to hide?
If, as you claim, Peltier is innocent, was railroaded because somebody had to pay for killing those two agents and there was a political agenda to dismantle the American Indian Movement, etc., etc., etc., then why hide half the story?
To make the point crystal clear let’s borrow a scene from the iconic modern American film classic, A Christmas Story, set in circa 1940 Cleveland, Ohio where there’s a schoolyard standoff between Schwartz, who’s daring Flick to stick his tongue to a metal pole on a cold winter’s day, while the other kids watch.
Lenny: Are you kidding, put a link on my website to the NPPA? That’s dumb!
Eddie: That’s cause you know you’ll lose whatever supporters you have left.
Lenny: You’re full of it!
Eddie: Oh yeah?
Lenny: Yeah!
Eddie: Well I double-DOG-dare ya!
(Narrator: “NOW it was serious. A double-dog dare. What else was there but a “triple dare you”? And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare.”)
Eddie: I TRIPLE–dog-dare ya!
(Narrator: “Eddie created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple dare and going right for the throat!”)
Well, Leonard, there it is, just as plain and simple as can be. If, and that’s a mighty big “IF” you want to salvage your dwindling support, then show some backbone and don’t be afraid to link to the NPPA. Really, what do you have to lose? If your message is the right one then you’re way ahead and will gain more supporters, otherwise you’re still the same coward you were at Jumping Bull.
So, I triple-dog-dare-you.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Eddie
For the moment, to add just a slight measure of humor to an otherwise deadly serious situation, and to borrow an old Navy expression, this will be another shot across the bow for Leonard and the ever-changing stalwarts of the LPDOC. (Can we remember the LPDC and it’s multiple reincarnations and self-destruction? Sure, see Editorial Essays #18, #19, #20, #31, #34, #38, and #41. #41 relates to Peltier’s criticism of Delaney Bruce to “Cease and Desist,” yet, she is back again…)
Trying not to sound like a broken record (but that’s redundant in the Peltier argument because all they do is repeat the same false information…but that’s another story), this challenge has been launched to Peltier and his inner circle in the past, and ignored, but this time it’s very serious and directed not just at the LPDOC but any of the remaining Peltier supporters out in the field.
You’ve all heard and seen it before:
Since its inception on April 30, 2000 (that’s ten years and six months ago if anyone’s counting), there has been a link on the No Parole Peltier Association home page to Peltier’s website.
The message, repeated here for clarity, reads:
*For the concerned reader and researcher, the LPDOC can be found at www.whoisleonardpeltier.info. The FBI’s review of the case can be found at http://minneapolis.fbi.gov/history_peltier.htm. (It’s noted that Darelle (Dino) Butler has not been listed as a director/advisor of the LPDC or LPDOC).
The (*) asterisk was from the very first sentence on the home page directing readers to the link to the then LPDC, and now the LPDOC.
The link has been updated a number of times as it changed over the years, which shouldn’t be too surprising. The NPPA link, however, has remained, along with its message, consistent.
So there it is, from the very beginning asking anyone interested in the Peltier matter to go and see what Peltier and his network had to say and for them to come to their own informed decision about which side was presenting the accurate and factual history.
On this side of the fence there’s nothing to hide; matter of fact, from the inception of the NPPA all the relevant and critical court decisions were posted so people could read what happened for themselves, to review the real legal history of this case and not the out-of-context excerpts spun by Leonard and others.
So now we need to ask Leonard one very simple and straight forward question.
Let’s also ask Vivian Mendoza, Pamela Bravo, Jean Ann Day, Betty Ann Solano, Delaney Bruce, Peter and Barbara Clarke, John Gallagher, Arthur Miller, Lakoda and Kassandra Robideau (Regional organizers of the “International-Pacific Region which includes Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands [including Hawaii]) (Really, that’s quite impressive!), and all the TBA’s (the yet to be named, To Be Announced, phantom organizers):
What do you have to hide?
If, as you claim, Peltier is innocent, was railroaded because somebody had to pay for killing those two agents and there was a political agenda to dismantle the American Indian Movement, etc., etc., etc., then why hide half the story?
To make the point crystal clear let’s borrow a scene from the iconic modern American film classic, A Christmas Story, set in circa 1940 Cleveland, Ohio where there’s a schoolyard standoff between Schwartz, who’s daring Flick to stick his tongue to a metal pole on a cold winter’s day, while the other kids watch.
Lenny: Are you kidding, put a link on my website to the NPPA? That’s dumb!
Eddie: That’s cause you know you’ll lose whatever supporters you have left.
Lenny: You’re full of it!
Eddie: Oh yeah?
Lenny: Yeah!
Eddie: Well I double-DOG-dare ya!
(Narrator: “NOW it was serious. A double-dog dare. What else was there but a “triple dare you”? And then, the coup de grace of all dares, the sinister triple-dog-dare.”)
Eddie: I TRIPLE–dog-dare ya!
(Narrator: “Eddie created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple dare and going right for the throat!”)
Well, Leonard, there it is, just as plain and simple as can be. If, and that’s a mighty big “IF” you want to salvage your dwindling support, then show some backbone and don’t be afraid to link to the NPPA. Really, what do you have to lose? If your message is the right one then you’re way ahead and will gain more supporters, otherwise you’re still the same coward you were at Jumping Bull.
So, I triple-dog-dare-you.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Eddie
Sunday, September 12, 2010
PELTIER SCORES...
65% on Vanity Self-Test…
Dear Supporters:
Peltier’s home page recently changed to an adulterated upside down American flag.
United States Code (4 U.S.C. § 8) states that a U.S. flag flown upside down is a sign of distress, and arguably Peltier is clearly in distress.
The U.S. Supreme Court (Texas v. Johnson) agrees that Peltier has the right to abuse the flag based on his First Amendment right to free speech. And no less ironic (as with other Peltier endeavors), he demeans the flag of the country he despises and ridicules yet at the same time wraps himself within the very protection it provides. As always, he wants it both ways.
(Please see Peltier’s flag at www.whoisleonardpeltier.info: We’re not afraid to link to Peltier’s website…more on that important point in a later blog.)
The new logo is framed with the words “The Bill of Rights…Just another broken treaty?”
That Peltier poses this as a question leads some to believe he’s not convinced…given, of course, his dozens of ventures into the courts, numerous appeals, etc. He’s had his right to due process, did not prevail, and his adulterated flag demonstrates that his First Amendment right to free speech is also very much intact.
There’s also that younger and defiant Peltier shown like in one of his self-portraits with an eagle flying out of his head. Or perhaps its just nesting…it’s hard to tell. Still, with all this symbolism, clutter and mixed metaphors of anti-America and Native America he can’t get the picture or message quite right.
(However, that wasn’t the face I saw at Lewisburg in July 2009; not by a long shot—no pun intended. He wouldn’t have the courage to use a picture of himself today. Face it Leonard, we’re all getting older…deal with it! 9/12/44)
Emblazoned on the red stripes (thankfully he did get the number of red and white stripes correct), are twenty-three—for lack of a better word, phrases or anecdotes representing Peltier’s self-description to his supporters. These are the questions about himself that Peltier is offering to anyone left out there who’ll listen. He is saying to the world; this is what I’m all about; this is who I am; this is Leonard Peltier.
Offering these is like a self-test of his own worth, an assessment of his own narcissism.
And to no one’s amazement, he failed.
The questions he answered correctly were: Native American, Indian (redundant and not politically correct…depending on the context), Anishinabe, Dakota, son, father, uncle, grandfather, brother, elder, prisoner, man and “wind chases the sun.” (Adopted from the probably never-to-be-released basement production of the same name by novice filmmaker, Preston Randolph, who has already demonstrated that he doesn’t want to be encumbered with the facts but is content to help perpetuate the myth. Prediction: Wind Chases will not even mention Mr. X and the infamous red pickup truck; which will in no way alter Peltier’s second biggest lie. Please see: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/lie.html)
And, we’ll give Peltier two more; poet and artist. But those are subjective…in the eye of the beholder as it were…and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. Although, one person’s art is another’s garage sale item.
Wrong answers:
Warrior: If viewed from the broader historical perspective as native warriors led by legitimate chiefs overwhelming Custer at the battle of the Greasy Grass, then Agents Coler and Williams were first surrounded and overwhelmed by a larger force, in this instance, Peltier, Robideau and Butler and a number of AIM teenagers (a teenager with a rifle can kill you just as quickly and easily as an adult). But the problem with this theory is that Peltier describes himself as a “political prisoner,” and, Coler and Williams were both first severely wounded and then shot in the face at point-blank range. That act alone makes Peltier not a warrior, but an assassin.
Victim & Scapegoat: Only in his own mind. A central element of the Peltier folklore has been that someone had to pay for killing the two agents and it may as well have been Peltier. That is so far beyond the facts of this case that it doesn’t register on the reality scale. For a complete review of Peltier’s actual and factual guilt, please see http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise
Icon: In all likelihood Peltier uses the definition of an icon that refers to—an object of uncritical devotion, and certainly there are those who look at Peltier that way. That number, however, is small, fragmented and marginalized while the overwhelming opinion of those who even care to think about Peltier see him as no more than an embarrassing cliché.
Hero: A hero? To whom ? AIM? Any serious analysis of how little the American Indian Movement contributed to the benefit of those they were allegedly helping would prove that there were no heroes in that group. Although the use and definition of the word hero has expanded in recent years, Peltier would fit none of them. If he’s a hero to the fringe myth worshipers, then so be it.
Teacher: If failure was the lesson, then Peltier was a teacher. Really, what did he accomplish other than setting the example that unbridled violence diminishes your cause and in this case led to a life behind bars?
Leader: More like the incompetent leading the uninformed, or worse yet, like leading Joe Stuntz to his death. To repeat perhaps the single most important quote of the entire Peltier saga—in or out of court; “I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk (Coler’s FBI jacket) and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile.” (ITSOCH p. 552: Please also see the blog entry below dated July 12, 2010). How obscene a scene was this; smiling with two mutilated dead bodies at their feet? Peltier cowered and ran as fast as he could for the hills, while Stuntz and others (at Peltier’s direction), shot at responding officers and agents. Leadership was hardly present that day because all Peltier did was place everyone in jeopardy. An inappropriate and criminal over-reaction to the presence of the agents at Jumping Bull put everyone’s lives at risk because Peltier believed the agents were after him. Great leadership…if you think the law is coming after you, shoot them.
Spirit: In every culture and religion there are good and bad spirits: draw your own conclusion about where Peltier stands…One day he will meet the Great Spirit and his eternal fate will then be sealed.
The Peltier myth is collapsing under the weight of its lies and the folklore is eroding to the point where Peltier will be no more than a footnote in Native American history.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
(Next parole reconsideration hearing, 2024)
Dear Supporters:
Peltier’s home page recently changed to an adulterated upside down American flag.
United States Code (4 U.S.C. § 8) states that a U.S. flag flown upside down is a sign of distress, and arguably Peltier is clearly in distress.
The U.S. Supreme Court (Texas v. Johnson) agrees that Peltier has the right to abuse the flag based on his First Amendment right to free speech. And no less ironic (as with other Peltier endeavors), he demeans the flag of the country he despises and ridicules yet at the same time wraps himself within the very protection it provides. As always, he wants it both ways.
(Please see Peltier’s flag at www.whoisleonardpeltier.info: We’re not afraid to link to Peltier’s website…more on that important point in a later blog.)
The new logo is framed with the words “The Bill of Rights…Just another broken treaty?”
That Peltier poses this as a question leads some to believe he’s not convinced…given, of course, his dozens of ventures into the courts, numerous appeals, etc. He’s had his right to due process, did not prevail, and his adulterated flag demonstrates that his First Amendment right to free speech is also very much intact.
There’s also that younger and defiant Peltier shown like in one of his self-portraits with an eagle flying out of his head. Or perhaps its just nesting…it’s hard to tell. Still, with all this symbolism, clutter and mixed metaphors of anti-America and Native America he can’t get the picture or message quite right.
(However, that wasn’t the face I saw at Lewisburg in July 2009; not by a long shot—no pun intended. He wouldn’t have the courage to use a picture of himself today. Face it Leonard, we’re all getting older…deal with it! 9/12/44)
Emblazoned on the red stripes (thankfully he did get the number of red and white stripes correct), are twenty-three—for lack of a better word, phrases or anecdotes representing Peltier’s self-description to his supporters. These are the questions about himself that Peltier is offering to anyone left out there who’ll listen. He is saying to the world; this is what I’m all about; this is who I am; this is Leonard Peltier.
Offering these is like a self-test of his own worth, an assessment of his own narcissism.
And to no one’s amazement, he failed.
The questions he answered correctly were: Native American, Indian (redundant and not politically correct…depending on the context), Anishinabe, Dakota, son, father, uncle, grandfather, brother, elder, prisoner, man and “wind chases the sun.” (Adopted from the probably never-to-be-released basement production of the same name by novice filmmaker, Preston Randolph, who has already demonstrated that he doesn’t want to be encumbered with the facts but is content to help perpetuate the myth. Prediction: Wind Chases will not even mention Mr. X and the infamous red pickup truck; which will in no way alter Peltier’s second biggest lie. Please see: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/lie.html)
And, we’ll give Peltier two more; poet and artist. But those are subjective…in the eye of the beholder as it were…and everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. Although, one person’s art is another’s garage sale item.
Wrong answers:
Warrior: If viewed from the broader historical perspective as native warriors led by legitimate chiefs overwhelming Custer at the battle of the Greasy Grass, then Agents Coler and Williams were first surrounded and overwhelmed by a larger force, in this instance, Peltier, Robideau and Butler and a number of AIM teenagers (a teenager with a rifle can kill you just as quickly and easily as an adult). But the problem with this theory is that Peltier describes himself as a “political prisoner,” and, Coler and Williams were both first severely wounded and then shot in the face at point-blank range. That act alone makes Peltier not a warrior, but an assassin.
Victim & Scapegoat: Only in his own mind. A central element of the Peltier folklore has been that someone had to pay for killing the two agents and it may as well have been Peltier. That is so far beyond the facts of this case that it doesn’t register on the reality scale. For a complete review of Peltier’s actual and factual guilt, please see http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise
Icon: In all likelihood Peltier uses the definition of an icon that refers to—an object of uncritical devotion, and certainly there are those who look at Peltier that way. That number, however, is small, fragmented and marginalized while the overwhelming opinion of those who even care to think about Peltier see him as no more than an embarrassing cliché.
Hero: A hero? To whom ? AIM? Any serious analysis of how little the American Indian Movement contributed to the benefit of those they were allegedly helping would prove that there were no heroes in that group. Although the use and definition of the word hero has expanded in recent years, Peltier would fit none of them. If he’s a hero to the fringe myth worshipers, then so be it.
Teacher: If failure was the lesson, then Peltier was a teacher. Really, what did he accomplish other than setting the example that unbridled violence diminishes your cause and in this case led to a life behind bars?
Leader: More like the incompetent leading the uninformed, or worse yet, like leading Joe Stuntz to his death. To repeat perhaps the single most important quote of the entire Peltier saga—in or out of court; “I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk (Coler’s FBI jacket) and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile.” (ITSOCH p. 552: Please also see the blog entry below dated July 12, 2010). How obscene a scene was this; smiling with two mutilated dead bodies at their feet? Peltier cowered and ran as fast as he could for the hills, while Stuntz and others (at Peltier’s direction), shot at responding officers and agents. Leadership was hardly present that day because all Peltier did was place everyone in jeopardy. An inappropriate and criminal over-reaction to the presence of the agents at Jumping Bull put everyone’s lives at risk because Peltier believed the agents were after him. Great leadership…if you think the law is coming after you, shoot them.
Spirit: In every culture and religion there are good and bad spirits: draw your own conclusion about where Peltier stands…One day he will meet the Great Spirit and his eternal fate will then be sealed.
The Peltier myth is collapsing under the weight of its lies and the folklore is eroding to the point where Peltier will be no more than a footnote in Native American history.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
(Next parole reconsideration hearing, 2024)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Buddy can you spare a dime?
Dear Supporters:
The LPDOC is asking to give Peltier a helping hand for his upcoming 66th birthday by sending “funds” (no cash, checks or contraband please, just money orders) to his commissary account, c/o Federal Bureau of Prisons, Leonard Peltier #89637-132, P.O. Box 474701, Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001.
This raises two issues Peltier supporters should be wary of, and a challenge.
1) When will Peltier and the LPDOC come clean (as was promised years ago; remember there was supposed to be “transparency” concerning Peltier’s finances?),1 and tell his supporters how much money he has already scammed from unwitting supporters and how and where it was spent? The NPPA has been down this road with Peltier many times. Please see Editorial Essay #24, Peltier Donations: Scam, Fraud?2 Peltier supporters should not be shy about asking the same questions.
(By the way, any donations made are NOT tax deductible. Contrary to any opinions out there, Peltier is NOT a charity case.)3
2) It’s apparent that the money trough, along with Peltier’s support network, is dwindling and in very short supply if he has to revert to begging for commissary money. But that comes as no surprise.
Challenge: No, make it a double-dog dare (more on that in a later blog):
The NPPA will make a $500 donation to the LPDOC if:
They post on whoisleonardpeltier.info, Peltier’s last five years (2005-2009) of federal and state tax returns, and;
Federal and state tax returns for the LPDC (2005-2008) and the LPDOC (2009).
The check is waiting.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
1) Editorial Essay #19: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#free
2) Editorial Essay: Peltier Donations: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#fraud
3) Editorial Essay #18: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#shambles
The LPDOC is asking to give Peltier a helping hand for his upcoming 66th birthday by sending “funds” (no cash, checks or contraband please, just money orders) to his commissary account, c/o Federal Bureau of Prisons, Leonard Peltier #89637-132, P.O. Box 474701, Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001.
This raises two issues Peltier supporters should be wary of, and a challenge.
1) When will Peltier and the LPDOC come clean (as was promised years ago; remember there was supposed to be “transparency” concerning Peltier’s finances?),1 and tell his supporters how much money he has already scammed from unwitting supporters and how and where it was spent? The NPPA has been down this road with Peltier many times. Please see Editorial Essay #24, Peltier Donations: Scam, Fraud?2 Peltier supporters should not be shy about asking the same questions.
(By the way, any donations made are NOT tax deductible. Contrary to any opinions out there, Peltier is NOT a charity case.)3
2) It’s apparent that the money trough, along with Peltier’s support network, is dwindling and in very short supply if he has to revert to begging for commissary money. But that comes as no surprise.
Challenge: No, make it a double-dog dare (more on that in a later blog):
The NPPA will make a $500 donation to the LPDOC if:
They post on whoisleonardpeltier.info, Peltier’s last five years (2005-2009) of federal and state tax returns, and;
Federal and state tax returns for the LPDC (2005-2008) and the LPDOC (2009).
The check is waiting.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
1) Editorial Essay #19: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#free
2) Editorial Essay: Peltier Donations: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#fraud
3) Editorial Essay #18: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#shambles
Saturday, August 21, 2010
(Another Former) Peltier Supporter speaks...
Dear Supporters:
(Former Peltier supporters are welcomed to voice their opinions: please contact justice@noparolepeltier.com.)
Reprinted with permission:
On Aug 7, 2010, at 2:09 PM, Nessie wrote:
Hello Ed:
I enjoyed reading this from yet ANOTHER former supporter. I totally understand how she feels because as you know it took some searching and several emails before I finally waded through all the brainwashing the LPDOC pulled on me.
As you know my mother and aunts were treated very badly by "town folks" where they grew up because they were children of color (Cherokee) so I was very adamant that Peltier was another Native American that had been mistreated and wrongfully thrown in prison. I finally did the research and questioned the LPDOC, and all of their sister sites, until I was convinced that both LPDOC and Peltier would say or do whatever they thought it would take to solicit funds and support from anyone they came in contact with. They use some of the injustice that did occur in our history to their advantage.
Peltier did not run from the reservation that day to draw harm from "his" people and he could have cared less about the safety of the children living there. He ran because he knew he committed cold blooded murder and as he seemed to always do he ran because he was looking out only for one man--- Himself !!
I also wrote many letters protesting Peltier’s treatment and the injustice of his sentence to any official I could reach. I did not support the LPDOC with money but I did offer at one time my home for his sister and others to stay in if they needed to come to NC to fight for the release of information supposedly being held in NC.
There is not a doubt in my mind that I had been supporting the wrong person. Joe Stuntz died because he was an impressionable young man who probably believed he was doing the right thing by following directions from such an important(?) AIM member. He died because Leonard led him to death. I believe without a doubt Peltier is responsible for his death as well as the death of the two FBI agents. Needless to say when I withdrew my support I was dropped from the LPDOC mailing list rather quickly. If you want to really find out what they are all about just start asking questions about where the money is going and exactly what the contributions are for and who is in charge of this money and challenge anything they say and I assure you it wont be long before they drop you from their mailing list as well.
Supporters for the LPDOC are being lied to and used to support themselves and to support Leonard. Leonard is not a Native American Icon he is no more than any other convict who committed murder and is whining and begging for some way to get out of it. If he really cared about "his People" why are they still living in poverty; where's all the money going he's supposed to be helping them with? Peltier’s followers are dropping off more and more as they learn the truth and as more information gets out to the public. Soon he will be left without supporters sending money, buying paintings and listening to his whining and I have to wonder just how faithful will his defense team be without pay?
Vanessa
(Former Peltier supporters are welcomed to voice their opinions: please contact justice@noparolepeltier.com.)
Reprinted with permission:
On Aug 7, 2010, at 2:09 PM, Nessie wrote:
Hello Ed:
I enjoyed reading this from yet ANOTHER former supporter. I totally understand how she feels because as you know it took some searching and several emails before I finally waded through all the brainwashing the LPDOC pulled on me.
As you know my mother and aunts were treated very badly by "town folks" where they grew up because they were children of color (Cherokee) so I was very adamant that Peltier was another Native American that had been mistreated and wrongfully thrown in prison. I finally did the research and questioned the LPDOC, and all of their sister sites, until I was convinced that both LPDOC and Peltier would say or do whatever they thought it would take to solicit funds and support from anyone they came in contact with. They use some of the injustice that did occur in our history to their advantage.
Peltier did not run from the reservation that day to draw harm from "his" people and he could have cared less about the safety of the children living there. He ran because he knew he committed cold blooded murder and as he seemed to always do he ran because he was looking out only for one man--- Himself !!
I also wrote many letters protesting Peltier’s treatment and the injustice of his sentence to any official I could reach. I did not support the LPDOC with money but I did offer at one time my home for his sister and others to stay in if they needed to come to NC to fight for the release of information supposedly being held in NC.
There is not a doubt in my mind that I had been supporting the wrong person. Joe Stuntz died because he was an impressionable young man who probably believed he was doing the right thing by following directions from such an important(?) AIM member. He died because Leonard led him to death. I believe without a doubt Peltier is responsible for his death as well as the death of the two FBI agents. Needless to say when I withdrew my support I was dropped from the LPDOC mailing list rather quickly. If you want to really find out what they are all about just start asking questions about where the money is going and exactly what the contributions are for and who is in charge of this money and challenge anything they say and I assure you it wont be long before they drop you from their mailing list as well.
Supporters for the LPDOC are being lied to and used to support themselves and to support Leonard. Leonard is not a Native American Icon he is no more than any other convict who committed murder and is whining and begging for some way to get out of it. If he really cared about "his People" why are they still living in poverty; where's all the money going he's supposed to be helping them with? Peltier’s followers are dropping off more and more as they learn the truth and as more information gets out to the public. Soon he will be left without supporters sending money, buying paintings and listening to his whining and I have to wonder just how faithful will his defense team be without pay?
Vanessa
Saturday, August 14, 2010
PELTIER IN COURT(S): SILLY & VERY SERIOUS
Dear Supporters:
Yesterday, Friday the 13th was Leonard Peltier’s day in court, or according to the Peltier Blog, “Common Law Court, that is.” A court that by the LPDOC’s own admission has no jurisdiction over anyone, anywhere and lacks authority to do nothing more than pretend that it’s to be taken seriously. It’s like kids playing in the schoolyard (which will be the topic of an upcoming NPPA Blog).
In a brief email exchange Patricia Johnson-Holm Shupe (Chief Justice ;-), indicated that “The jury decision is that Peltier should be immediately released and to proceed with a Grand Jury to bring indictments on those involved, on multiple charges.” (Can anyone hear the theme song of the Twilight Zone playing in the background?)
At some point (or perhaps not), Peltier leadership and supporters will realize that trivializing Peltier in such a way renders his protestations of innocence all the more silly to everyone, especially the Native American public.
However, August 12th, one month shy of Peltier’s 66th birthday, was truly his bad luck day in court.
According to the Associated Press, Circuit Judge John Delaney will allow prior statements made by Peltier, bragging about the murder of Jack Coler and Ron Williams and threats by Peltier to AIM member Anna Mae Aquash, in the upcoming November trial of John Graham (who is accused of raping and murdering Anna Mae), and Thelma Rios for complicity in her death.
“These motives clearly are relevant and probative to the major theory of the state’s case—that an ‘order’ for Aquash’s murder was issued by members of AIM,” Judge Delaney wrote.
And what’s the significance of all this for Lewisburg inmate #89637-132?
What it means is that the final chapter in the brutal rape and murder of AIM member and suspected informant Anna Mae Aquash has yet to be written and some of that may still lead to the bars of Peltier’s cell.
Understandably, Peltier tried to distance himself very early from the Aquash murder (http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#right) and claimed that the 2004 conviction of Arlo Looking Cloud was more of a government witch hunt against his efforts for parole than finding justice.
Aside from the fact that his next parole reconsideration hearing isn’t until July 2024 (his self-imposed popularity is at an all-time low; Native America has rejected the abuses of AIM and the destruction it caused; that this administration will pay him little mind and scoff at his claims of innocence—they can read the record themselves), Peltier is scared to death of the entire Aquash matter. He knows there are those out there who know the whole story and who was also involved in ordering her death and helping to facilitate her murder, and hopefully the truth will be told one day.
Anna Mae and her family deserve nothing less.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Yesterday, Friday the 13th was Leonard Peltier’s day in court, or according to the Peltier Blog, “Common Law Court, that is.” A court that by the LPDOC’s own admission has no jurisdiction over anyone, anywhere and lacks authority to do nothing more than pretend that it’s to be taken seriously. It’s like kids playing in the schoolyard (which will be the topic of an upcoming NPPA Blog).
In a brief email exchange Patricia Johnson-Holm Shupe (Chief Justice ;-), indicated that “The jury decision is that Peltier should be immediately released and to proceed with a Grand Jury to bring indictments on those involved, on multiple charges.” (Can anyone hear the theme song of the Twilight Zone playing in the background?)
At some point (or perhaps not), Peltier leadership and supporters will realize that trivializing Peltier in such a way renders his protestations of innocence all the more silly to everyone, especially the Native American public.
However, August 12th, one month shy of Peltier’s 66th birthday, was truly his bad luck day in court.
According to the Associated Press, Circuit Judge John Delaney will allow prior statements made by Peltier, bragging about the murder of Jack Coler and Ron Williams and threats by Peltier to AIM member Anna Mae Aquash, in the upcoming November trial of John Graham (who is accused of raping and murdering Anna Mae), and Thelma Rios for complicity in her death.
“These motives clearly are relevant and probative to the major theory of the state’s case—that an ‘order’ for Aquash’s murder was issued by members of AIM,” Judge Delaney wrote.
And what’s the significance of all this for Lewisburg inmate #89637-132?
What it means is that the final chapter in the brutal rape and murder of AIM member and suspected informant Anna Mae Aquash has yet to be written and some of that may still lead to the bars of Peltier’s cell.
Understandably, Peltier tried to distance himself very early from the Aquash murder (http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#right) and claimed that the 2004 conviction of Arlo Looking Cloud was more of a government witch hunt against his efforts for parole than finding justice.
Aside from the fact that his next parole reconsideration hearing isn’t until July 2024 (his self-imposed popularity is at an all-time low; Native America has rejected the abuses of AIM and the destruction it caused; that this administration will pay him little mind and scoff at his claims of innocence—they can read the record themselves), Peltier is scared to death of the entire Aquash matter. He knows there are those out there who know the whole story and who was also involved in ordering her death and helping to facilitate her murder, and hopefully the truth will be told one day.
Anna Mae and her family deserve nothing less.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Friday, August 6, 2010
Former Peltier supporter: Beverly Brooks...speaks out
(Dear Supporters: Please see previous post)
To All The Leonard Peltier Supporters Who Are Left:
Want The Truth? Make Peltier Swear on the sacred pipe first then ask him if he murdered those agents, he knows he can not lie after touching the pipe. And read the book written by Joseph Trimbach and John Trimbach (his son), and read the testimony from an ex- AIM Member Richard Two Elk, what AIM was really about.
My name is Beverly Brooks, I am Native American and I was once a Leonard Peltier Supporter. Then as I was searching the internet, I came across a web site. I read how Peltier was shot down on his appeals and on parole and I couldn't figure out why, if all the evidence showed him innocent, but that did not stop me, I was hooked on LPDOC and Peltier’s lies. I wrote letters like all or most of you have done, I even sent money to Peltier, like I am sure most of you have, before I read evidence from the other side. I read statements from some of the people from the Pine Ridge Reservation, where supposedly Peltier was there to help them, to protect them from the "GOONS", when all along, it was for their own purpose. If he is innocent, why are they lying to their supporters? Why don't they say all the whole truth instead of only what they want us to hear? Why, because they don't want us to see his guilt. Where are all the changes they claim that he has done? After the shooting, they escaped and abandoned "His People". He was caught with the Agents weapons, but yet he claims he didn't kill them. Joe Stuntz had on the agents jacket when he was killed, supposedly by the FBI, but they only had a rifle and their pistols which could not reach where the AIMsters were, so how did Stuntz really die? Peltier stayed long enough to join in on the Sundance at which time he participated in the murder of Anna Mae Aquash, because they thought she was an informant for the FBI, later to find out that she wasn't. Peltier put a gun to her head and interrogated her and she told him she was not an informant. Peltier used the excuse that he fled to Canada because he would not get a fair trial, but yet the other two Dino and Robideau got a fair trial, he ran because he knew he was guilty. Why aren't the other names of people killed on their list that supposedly the FBI and GOONS killed, because they killed a lot of those people. There is no proof of any changes made by Peltier and the AIMsters, except that innocent people died and lives were turned upside down by them. Where are all his high ranking supporters, why have a lot of his supporters left, because they found out that he was guilty and they stopped supporting him. TV stations don't bother with him anymore either. The point that I am getting at is, research and go to NPPA and watch the videos and see for yourself that he is GUILTY and then tell others to do the same.
We are all more victims of his lies, help stop it.
"In The Spirit of Agents Coler and Williams"
Beverly Brooks
To All The Leonard Peltier Supporters Who Are Left:
Want The Truth? Make Peltier Swear on the sacred pipe first then ask him if he murdered those agents, he knows he can not lie after touching the pipe. And read the book written by Joseph Trimbach and John Trimbach (his son), and read the testimony from an ex- AIM Member Richard Two Elk, what AIM was really about.
My name is Beverly Brooks, I am Native American and I was once a Leonard Peltier Supporter. Then as I was searching the internet, I came across a web site. I read how Peltier was shot down on his appeals and on parole and I couldn't figure out why, if all the evidence showed him innocent, but that did not stop me, I was hooked on LPDOC and Peltier’s lies. I wrote letters like all or most of you have done, I even sent money to Peltier, like I am sure most of you have, before I read evidence from the other side. I read statements from some of the people from the Pine Ridge Reservation, where supposedly Peltier was there to help them, to protect them from the "GOONS", when all along, it was for their own purpose. If he is innocent, why are they lying to their supporters? Why don't they say all the whole truth instead of only what they want us to hear? Why, because they don't want us to see his guilt. Where are all the changes they claim that he has done? After the shooting, they escaped and abandoned "His People". He was caught with the Agents weapons, but yet he claims he didn't kill them. Joe Stuntz had on the agents jacket when he was killed, supposedly by the FBI, but they only had a rifle and their pistols which could not reach where the AIMsters were, so how did Stuntz really die? Peltier stayed long enough to join in on the Sundance at which time he participated in the murder of Anna Mae Aquash, because they thought she was an informant for the FBI, later to find out that she wasn't. Peltier put a gun to her head and interrogated her and she told him she was not an informant. Peltier used the excuse that he fled to Canada because he would not get a fair trial, but yet the other two Dino and Robideau got a fair trial, he ran because he knew he was guilty. Why aren't the other names of people killed on their list that supposedly the FBI and GOONS killed, because they killed a lot of those people. There is no proof of any changes made by Peltier and the AIMsters, except that innocent people died and lives were turned upside down by them. Where are all his high ranking supporters, why have a lot of his supporters left, because they found out that he was guilty and they stopped supporting him. TV stations don't bother with him anymore either. The point that I am getting at is, research and go to NPPA and watch the videos and see for yourself that he is GUILTY and then tell others to do the same.
We are all more victims of his lies, help stop it.
"In The Spirit of Agents Coler and Williams"
Beverly Brooks
(FORMER) PELTIER SUPPORTERS; WELCOME
Dear Supporters:
Former Peltier supporters speak out
During the past decade there have been a number of loyal Peltier supporters who attacked or criticized NPPA efforts to ensure the truth was available to all who were interested, that justice was served, and Peltier remained in prison.
Many of those supporters were challenged to debate or discuss the facts and many of them, after a willingness to at least listen to both sides of the issues, formed their own conclusions, recognized Peltier’s guilt and withdrew their support.
Of course, most of them preferred not to make that change of heart public, or at least not making a formal statement on the Internet, however, some have, and now all the others are certainly invited to submit an NPPA Blog entry to present their views.
Please contact justice@noparolepeltier.com
Please see the following from one former Peltier supporter who had the courage to explore both sides and come to an informed and independent conclusion concerning Peltier’s guilt and the complicity of the of the LPDOC.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Former Peltier supporters speak out
During the past decade there have been a number of loyal Peltier supporters who attacked or criticized NPPA efforts to ensure the truth was available to all who were interested, that justice was served, and Peltier remained in prison.
Many of those supporters were challenged to debate or discuss the facts and many of them, after a willingness to at least listen to both sides of the issues, formed their own conclusions, recognized Peltier’s guilt and withdrew their support.
Of course, most of them preferred not to make that change of heart public, or at least not making a formal statement on the Internet, however, some have, and now all the others are certainly invited to submit an NPPA Blog entry to present their views.
Please contact justice@noparolepeltier.com
Please see the following from one former Peltier supporter who had the courage to explore both sides and come to an informed and independent conclusion concerning Peltier’s guilt and the complicity of the of the LPDOC.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
SA Ronald A. Williams July 30, 1947 - June 26, 1975 R.I.P.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Williams family and all of Ron's friends and associates.
May he rest in peace.
"In the Spirit of Coler and Williams"
Ed Woods
May he rest in peace.
"In the Spirit of Coler and Williams"
Ed Woods
Sunday, July 25, 2010
WHAT? ANTI-SEMITE?
What? Anti-Semite too?
Since Blogs, by their very nature are more casual and conversational (unlike formal Editorial Essays), I have to toss this back at the LPDOC; those few amorphous folks remaining who think they speak the truth on behalf of “Political Prisoner” Leonard Peltier. You know, the same folks who hide behind the smoldering campfire and are afraid to put a name to their work product.
Aside from the fact they keep dropping my email address from their email list (or perhaps they just don’t send out “press releases” anymore), they responded to a recent NPPA Essay #54 (http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#finished) and it’s related Blog (July 12, 2010: and yes, it was post-dated to mark the one year anniversary of last year’s USP Lewisburg event where Peltier faced the music once again, http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#paroledenied).
As for dropping the NPPA email address, and a heads-up challenge to the Peltier cohorts, there’ll be more on that later….
The current issue surrounded correct quoting and the treatment of First Americans.
So, I’ll ask anyone to please reread the latest quote and simply ask a follow-up question of the anonymous LPDOC author…
I said, “This writer (me) subscribes to (noted historian) Ambrose’s conclusions; based on years of intelligent research, and properly summarize the devastation of the Native American historical experience.”
So, again, what part of “the devastation of the Native American historical experience” don’t you quite understand? The recognition of what happened should be clear, and the cause of what happened was placed in its proper historical perspective. The “world view” definition does not—repeat, does not—somehow redefine American history, especially from the likes of the ineffective and totally anti-American United Nations. There are political prisoners around the world; Leonard Peltier is not America’s.
The LPDOC continues to imply that based on nothing more that an extreme hatred for anyone who recognizes Peltier’s guilt (along with the sham and fraudulent fundraising, the adulteration of a proud Native American history, and the myth that Peltier’s murderous actions and conviction are somehow politically motivated), goes on to say:
“But Ed, no doubt is also a Holocaust denier.”
Holocaust denier? That’s their conclusion? Call Peltier guilty and you’re a racist and now an anti-Semite? Apparently “they” haven’t read much of what’s on the NPPA website…shame on them for that because an awful lot of other people have.
On a personal note, I have quite an extensive library in my study: on one of the several history related shelves there are (about 2 ½’ worth) of books related directly to Israel and the Middle East conflict. I have been an unwavering supporter of Israel for decades.
For those few who remain, if there’s any doubt about Peltier’s guilt and complicity (yes, aiding and abetting as well) please see paragraph #10 of the previous NPPA Blog entry dated July 12th. He’s as guilty as sin and many former Peltier supporters understand that.
Explain that damning little piece of fact straight from, in a manner of speaking, the horse’s mouth. Miraculously, and much to the chagrin of Peltier supporters, Peltier wasn’t in Seattle that day…go figure.
We can’t have a meaningful discussion on Peltier’s guilt (or feigned innocence) if the facts don’t matter. But then again, that’s what the folklore, myth and Peltier misinformation are all about.
So, anonymous writer, and the amorphous LPDOC, take ownership of your efforts on Peltier’s behalf, show a little backbone and take ownership of your advocacy.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
P.S. In preparation for the next NPPA Blog, please view the iconic modern American film classic, A Christmas Story.
(Next parole reconsideration hearing, July 2024)
Since Blogs, by their very nature are more casual and conversational (unlike formal Editorial Essays), I have to toss this back at the LPDOC; those few amorphous folks remaining who think they speak the truth on behalf of “Political Prisoner” Leonard Peltier. You know, the same folks who hide behind the smoldering campfire and are afraid to put a name to their work product.
Aside from the fact they keep dropping my email address from their email list (or perhaps they just don’t send out “press releases” anymore), they responded to a recent NPPA Essay #54 (http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#finished) and it’s related Blog (July 12, 2010: and yes, it was post-dated to mark the one year anniversary of last year’s USP Lewisburg event where Peltier faced the music once again, http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#paroledenied).
As for dropping the NPPA email address, and a heads-up challenge to the Peltier cohorts, there’ll be more on that later….
The current issue surrounded correct quoting and the treatment of First Americans.
So, I’ll ask anyone to please reread the latest quote and simply ask a follow-up question of the anonymous LPDOC author…
I said, “This writer (me) subscribes to (noted historian) Ambrose’s conclusions; based on years of intelligent research, and properly summarize the devastation of the Native American historical experience.”
So, again, what part of “the devastation of the Native American historical experience” don’t you quite understand? The recognition of what happened should be clear, and the cause of what happened was placed in its proper historical perspective. The “world view” definition does not—repeat, does not—somehow redefine American history, especially from the likes of the ineffective and totally anti-American United Nations. There are political prisoners around the world; Leonard Peltier is not America’s.
The LPDOC continues to imply that based on nothing more that an extreme hatred for anyone who recognizes Peltier’s guilt (along with the sham and fraudulent fundraising, the adulteration of a proud Native American history, and the myth that Peltier’s murderous actions and conviction are somehow politically motivated), goes on to say:
“But Ed, no doubt is also a Holocaust denier.”
Holocaust denier? That’s their conclusion? Call Peltier guilty and you’re a racist and now an anti-Semite? Apparently “they” haven’t read much of what’s on the NPPA website…shame on them for that because an awful lot of other people have.
On a personal note, I have quite an extensive library in my study: on one of the several history related shelves there are (about 2 ½’ worth) of books related directly to Israel and the Middle East conflict. I have been an unwavering supporter of Israel for decades.
For those few who remain, if there’s any doubt about Peltier’s guilt and complicity (yes, aiding and abetting as well) please see paragraph #10 of the previous NPPA Blog entry dated July 12th. He’s as guilty as sin and many former Peltier supporters understand that.
Explain that damning little piece of fact straight from, in a manner of speaking, the horse’s mouth. Miraculously, and much to the chagrin of Peltier supporters, Peltier wasn’t in Seattle that day…go figure.
We can’t have a meaningful discussion on Peltier’s guilt (or feigned innocence) if the facts don’t matter. But then again, that’s what the folklore, myth and Peltier misinformation are all about.
So, anonymous writer, and the amorphous LPDOC, take ownership of your efforts on Peltier’s behalf, show a little backbone and take ownership of your advocacy.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
P.S. In preparation for the next NPPA Blog, please view the iconic modern American film classic, A Christmas Story.
(Next parole reconsideration hearing, July 2024)
Monday, July 12, 2010
GENOCIDE...PELTIER'S NEARLY FINISHED
Peltier’s nearly finished…Blogging towards the end:
July 28, 2010
A recent blog response from the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC) to the No Parole Peltier Association (NPPA) reinforces the observation that his message to potential supporters continues to be, even on a good day, encumbered with half-truths that have proven to be the cornerstone of the Peltier legacy .
The July 2, 2010 LPDOC (“Ain’t Buyin’ What the G-Man’s Sellin’”) blog quotes the NPPA June 26th, 2010 (“Peltier’s confused history”) statement regarding the matter of genocide in Native American.
The problem with this quote, as with so many out-of-context and inaccurate quotes and conclusions from Peltier and the LPDOC, is that it is intentionally incomplete.
The entire quote from the NPPA follows (the italicized portions are what the LPDOC repeated):
It’s not difficult to separate truth from falsehood. It is totally irresponsible to state that the United States pursued a policy of genocide toward the Indians, to cite the Washita as an example. The United States did not follow a policy of genocide; it did try to find a just solution to the Indian problem. The consistent idea was to civilize the Indians, incorporate them into the community, make them part of the melting pot. That it did not work, that it was foolish, conceited, even criminal, may be true, but that doesn’t turn a well-meant program into genocide (Stephen Ambrose).
Missing, of course, from their quotation was the critical preamble which distinguishes truth from falsehood, and the all-important attribution to the original author, noted historian Stephen Ambrose. It must certainly be obvious (except perhaps to the LPDOC) that the Stephen Ambrose reference was there for a purpose; to appropriately source the noted historian’s conclusions concerning the perception of genocide.
However, the LPDOC’s anonymous author missed the key point; the reference from this noted historian places the matter in its proper historical context. No one, Mr. Ambrose, nor this writer, denied the history, quite the contrary, Mr. Ambrose recognized and acknowledged what had happened and clearly defined why. Finding a just solution was the goal; that it was carried out the way it was does not make it genocide.
But let me be clear. This writer subscribes to Ambrose’s conclusions; they are factual and accurate, based on years of intelligent research, and properly summarize the devastation of the Native American historical experience.
*
Another critical point, as Peltier has repeatedly done, the LPDOC is also not providing supporters with accurate details. Why is that? Simply put, because it is within the details that Leonard Peltier’s guilt is unequivocal. But, of course, they do not want to discuss the fine points.
But let’s do it here anyway.
Buried within the thousands of pages related to the Incident at Oglala is just one small sentence, twenty-seven words, that precisely defines Peltier’s complicity:
“I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile.” (Leonard Peltier)
For those out there, even among the most ardent Peltier supporters, picture this:
On the Jumping Bull property there are two late model government sedans. Peltier, Joe Stuntz and others are gathered around stealing whatever they can from the vehicles. Stuntz grabs agent Jack Coler’s FBI jacket from the trunk, and as Peltier tells us, smiles as he puts it on. Laying close to one another next to the vehicle—face down in the grass, were two dead FBI agents. Two dead FBI agents with their faces blown away, who had just been shot at point-blank range. Jack Coler was probably unconscious from a devastating arm injury but we know Ron Williams, although wounded three times, was conscious (from his defensive wounds) and probably begged for his life.
Follow the logic of this scene if you will…the dead FBI agents were both shot in the face, yet are laying—face down. How is that? This means that someone among the Peltier (AIM) group actually touched and moved their dead bodies, grabbing them, positioning them, and turning them over to face the ground. (We won’t dignify those actions with the concept of counting coup; that belongs to genuine Indian warriors of the past.)
Unmasked, Peltier’s raging guilt is unmistakable…his ramblings about his own connection to an otherwise proud and noble heritage is an insult to Native America.
*
As for the anonymous nature of the LPDOC, what very few there are left, please show the strength of your convictions and step out from behind the make-believe wall of the LPDOC. Have some courage and sign your name to your work. If you are incapable or afraid of doing that, then there is an alternate challenge for Peltier, a challenge that has been offered a number of times over the past ten years:
Since day one, April 30, 2000, the NPPA prominently posted on the home page a direct link to the LPDOC (and formerly LPDC) with an invitation for anyone interested to go and visit, Peltier, see what he has to say, come back, and then come to their own independent, informed and intelligent decision about his guilt.
If the LPDOC has nothing to hide, if they believe that the message is clear and unmistakable and Peltier is really innocent, then what do they have to hide? If the truth as you and Peltier claim is on your side, then demonstrate some moral fiber instead of repeating allegations and claims that have not, repeat—have not—held up to scrutiny over the past thirty-four years.
Link to the NPPA if you have any sense of conviction in the Peltier cause.
Otherwise, the LPDOC’s and Peltier’s scheme of deceit, fabrications, falsehoods, fraud and theft, will continue to pollute the legacy of a proud Native American heritage that Peltier has hijacked from that storied past.
On a personal note, the LPDOC Blog also said “A former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ed Woods…has made it his life’s mission to prevent Leonard Peltier’s release from prison…” Life’s mission? Hardly. I have a wonderful wife of forty-three years, two grown successful children, a princess of a granddaughter (spoiled, but that’s my job), a beautiful home, a productive and rewarding post-retirement career, a very active and full life, a hobby (not Peltier) and other interests, thank you.
Granted, I have devoted a good amount of personal time to Peltier, although it has been far less over the past several years (except for the Lewisburg parole hearing last year) as the entire matter is drifting into the sunset, fading with the twilight. No one really cares any longer because Peltier’s nearly finished. Those with some stamina to do some serious research soon turn away from Peltier as well.
The purpose is not to keep Peltier behind bars, but that certainly is the result of ensuring that justice continues to be served. It’s a mission then of honoring the dedication and sacrifice of two young men I never met and who were unnecessarily and brutally murdered in the line of duty at the hands of lawless AIM cowards led by Leonard Peltier. This effort entails the demystification of the Myth, laying waste to the folklore, and highlighting Peltier’s unquestioned and unrepentant guilt.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
(Parole reconsideration hearing, July 2024)
July 28, 2010
A recent blog response from the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC) to the No Parole Peltier Association (NPPA) reinforces the observation that his message to potential supporters continues to be, even on a good day, encumbered with half-truths that have proven to be the cornerstone of the Peltier legacy .
The July 2, 2010 LPDOC (“Ain’t Buyin’ What the G-Man’s Sellin’”) blog quotes the NPPA June 26th, 2010 (“Peltier’s confused history”) statement regarding the matter of genocide in Native American.
The problem with this quote, as with so many out-of-context and inaccurate quotes and conclusions from Peltier and the LPDOC, is that it is intentionally incomplete.
The entire quote from the NPPA follows (the italicized portions are what the LPDOC repeated):
It’s not difficult to separate truth from falsehood. It is totally irresponsible to state that the United States pursued a policy of genocide toward the Indians, to cite the Washita as an example. The United States did not follow a policy of genocide; it did try to find a just solution to the Indian problem. The consistent idea was to civilize the Indians, incorporate them into the community, make them part of the melting pot. That it did not work, that it was foolish, conceited, even criminal, may be true, but that doesn’t turn a well-meant program into genocide (Stephen Ambrose).
Missing, of course, from their quotation was the critical preamble which distinguishes truth from falsehood, and the all-important attribution to the original author, noted historian Stephen Ambrose. It must certainly be obvious (except perhaps to the LPDOC) that the Stephen Ambrose reference was there for a purpose; to appropriately source the noted historian’s conclusions concerning the perception of genocide.
However, the LPDOC’s anonymous author missed the key point; the reference from this noted historian places the matter in its proper historical context. No one, Mr. Ambrose, nor this writer, denied the history, quite the contrary, Mr. Ambrose recognized and acknowledged what had happened and clearly defined why. Finding a just solution was the goal; that it was carried out the way it was does not make it genocide.
But let me be clear. This writer subscribes to Ambrose’s conclusions; they are factual and accurate, based on years of intelligent research, and properly summarize the devastation of the Native American historical experience.
*
Another critical point, as Peltier has repeatedly done, the LPDOC is also not providing supporters with accurate details. Why is that? Simply put, because it is within the details that Leonard Peltier’s guilt is unequivocal. But, of course, they do not want to discuss the fine points.
But let’s do it here anyway.
Buried within the thousands of pages related to the Incident at Oglala is just one small sentence, twenty-seven words, that precisely defines Peltier’s complicity:
“I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile.” (Leonard Peltier)
For those out there, even among the most ardent Peltier supporters, picture this:
On the Jumping Bull property there are two late model government sedans. Peltier, Joe Stuntz and others are gathered around stealing whatever they can from the vehicles. Stuntz grabs agent Jack Coler’s FBI jacket from the trunk, and as Peltier tells us, smiles as he puts it on. Laying close to one another next to the vehicle—face down in the grass, were two dead FBI agents. Two dead FBI agents with their faces blown away, who had just been shot at point-blank range. Jack Coler was probably unconscious from a devastating arm injury but we know Ron Williams, although wounded three times, was conscious (from his defensive wounds) and probably begged for his life.
Follow the logic of this scene if you will…the dead FBI agents were both shot in the face, yet are laying—face down. How is that? This means that someone among the Peltier (AIM) group actually touched and moved their dead bodies, grabbing them, positioning them, and turning them over to face the ground. (We won’t dignify those actions with the concept of counting coup; that belongs to genuine Indian warriors of the past.)
Unmasked, Peltier’s raging guilt is unmistakable…his ramblings about his own connection to an otherwise proud and noble heritage is an insult to Native America.
*
As for the anonymous nature of the LPDOC, what very few there are left, please show the strength of your convictions and step out from behind the make-believe wall of the LPDOC. Have some courage and sign your name to your work. If you are incapable or afraid of doing that, then there is an alternate challenge for Peltier, a challenge that has been offered a number of times over the past ten years:
Since day one, April 30, 2000, the NPPA prominently posted on the home page a direct link to the LPDOC (and formerly LPDC) with an invitation for anyone interested to go and visit, Peltier, see what he has to say, come back, and then come to their own independent, informed and intelligent decision about his guilt.
If the LPDOC has nothing to hide, if they believe that the message is clear and unmistakable and Peltier is really innocent, then what do they have to hide? If the truth as you and Peltier claim is on your side, then demonstrate some moral fiber instead of repeating allegations and claims that have not, repeat—have not—held up to scrutiny over the past thirty-four years.
Link to the NPPA if you have any sense of conviction in the Peltier cause.
Otherwise, the LPDOC’s and Peltier’s scheme of deceit, fabrications, falsehoods, fraud and theft, will continue to pollute the legacy of a proud Native American heritage that Peltier has hijacked from that storied past.
On a personal note, the LPDOC Blog also said “A former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ed Woods…has made it his life’s mission to prevent Leonard Peltier’s release from prison…” Life’s mission? Hardly. I have a wonderful wife of forty-three years, two grown successful children, a princess of a granddaughter (spoiled, but that’s my job), a beautiful home, a productive and rewarding post-retirement career, a very active and full life, a hobby (not Peltier) and other interests, thank you.
Granted, I have devoted a good amount of personal time to Peltier, although it has been far less over the past several years (except for the Lewisburg parole hearing last year) as the entire matter is drifting into the sunset, fading with the twilight. No one really cares any longer because Peltier’s nearly finished. Those with some stamina to do some serious research soon turn away from Peltier as well.
The purpose is not to keep Peltier behind bars, but that certainly is the result of ensuring that justice continues to be served. It’s a mission then of honoring the dedication and sacrifice of two young men I never met and who were unnecessarily and brutally murdered in the line of duty at the hands of lawless AIM cowards led by Leonard Peltier. This effort entails the demystification of the Myth, laying waste to the folklore, and highlighting Peltier’s unquestioned and unrepentant guilt.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
(Parole reconsideration hearing, July 2024)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
June 26, 2010: Peltier's confused history...
Peltier’s June 26, 2010 statement asks what remains of his dwindling supporters (for those very few who even have American Indian roots) that they should never forget. “So don’t forget. Not ever,” he proclaims in yet another scamming metaphor as he continues to confuse and blur the correlation between a proud Native American history and his own criminal acts.
And, he uses the dreaded G-word yet again.
It’s not difficult to separate truth from falsehood. It is totally irresponsible to state that the United States pursued a policy of genocide toward the Indians, to cite the Washita as an example. The United States did not follow a policy of genocide; it did try to find a just solution to the Indian problem. The consistent idea was to civilize the Indians, incorporate them into the community, make them part of the melting pot. That it did not work, that it was foolish, conceited, even criminal, may be true, but that doesn’t turn a well-meant program into genocide (Stephen Ambrose).
Peltier prophetically and thankfully mentions two very important people in this saga, Anna Mae Aquash and Joe Stuntz.
Anna Mae is intoned by Peltier for one reason, and one reason only, to deflect guilt. Do we have to remind Peltier that her kidnapping and brutal rape and murder sits on the doorstep of the American Indian Movement? Anna Mae was suspected of being one of the “scouts” that Peltier erroneously compares to “an informant,” which has been proven not to be true. But AIM’s suspicions prevailed and without any benefit of a presumption of innocence she was sentenced to a horrible and demeaning death, and Peltier’s involvement will hopefully still come to light. That inquiry is still ongoing and her family anxiously awaits her final justice. AIM, on the other hand, was an abject failure, it accomplished nothing and only worsened the plight of those they allegedly claimed to help; the history of AIM is replete with examples.
Joe Stuntz, wearing a dead FBI agent’s jacket, was killed that June day while shooting at responding law enforcement.
Arguably one of the most important quotes of the entire Peltier matter comes from Peltier himself, and it is critical to place it in its factual context:
“I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile (ITOSH p.552).”
For those with some common sense, picture this: There are two government sedans, Peltier, Stuntz, and others are gathered around stealing whatever they can from the vehicles. Stuntz grabs agent Jack Coler’s jacket from the trunk and puts it on, smiling. Laying in the dirt next to them are two dead FBI agents. Both had been first shot and wounded and then had their faces brutally blasted away at point-blank range, while one even begged for his life. Since they were both shot in the face, someone there had to actually touch them and roll them over to face the ground. (We won’t dignify that act by even suggesting counting coup.)
These are the actions of brave warriors? In 1975? Hardly.
No, these were the actions of cowards led by Leonard Peltier.
Peltier’s confusion about the facts of his own case and how it does not tie into the history of Native America, reinforces the notion of how Peltier thinks others perceive him. It is clear that his life at Lewisburg has taken its toll and allows much time to reflect about his actions that day. Perhaps in fleeting moments of honesty—if he is even capable of that, it’s certain he would have acted differently. But that’s an immense stretch, as he looks at the bloated figure in the metal mirror on the wall of his concrete cell.
We can thank Leonard Peltier for the reminder, and no, we won’t forget the cowards of Jumping Bull. Peltier can rehearse his confused rhetoric and practice his scamming technique for those who blindly follow. Followers who don’t have the stamina or insight to seek out and understand the facts surrounding his guilt while he shamefully continues to denigrate what is otherwise a proud culture and heritage.
Real Native America understands that. Leonard Peltier never will.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
(Next Parole Reconsideration Hearing: July 2024)
And, he uses the dreaded G-word yet again.
It’s not difficult to separate truth from falsehood. It is totally irresponsible to state that the United States pursued a policy of genocide toward the Indians, to cite the Washita as an example. The United States did not follow a policy of genocide; it did try to find a just solution to the Indian problem. The consistent idea was to civilize the Indians, incorporate them into the community, make them part of the melting pot. That it did not work, that it was foolish, conceited, even criminal, may be true, but that doesn’t turn a well-meant program into genocide (Stephen Ambrose).
Peltier prophetically and thankfully mentions two very important people in this saga, Anna Mae Aquash and Joe Stuntz.
Anna Mae is intoned by Peltier for one reason, and one reason only, to deflect guilt. Do we have to remind Peltier that her kidnapping and brutal rape and murder sits on the doorstep of the American Indian Movement? Anna Mae was suspected of being one of the “scouts” that Peltier erroneously compares to “an informant,” which has been proven not to be true. But AIM’s suspicions prevailed and without any benefit of a presumption of innocence she was sentenced to a horrible and demeaning death, and Peltier’s involvement will hopefully still come to light. That inquiry is still ongoing and her family anxiously awaits her final justice. AIM, on the other hand, was an abject failure, it accomplished nothing and only worsened the plight of those they allegedly claimed to help; the history of AIM is replete with examples.
Joe Stuntz, wearing a dead FBI agent’s jacket, was killed that June day while shooting at responding law enforcement.
Arguably one of the most important quotes of the entire Peltier matter comes from Peltier himself, and it is critical to place it in its factual context:
“I seen Joe when he pulled it out of the trunk and I looked at him when he put it on, and he gave me a smile (ITOSH p.552).”
For those with some common sense, picture this: There are two government sedans, Peltier, Stuntz, and others are gathered around stealing whatever they can from the vehicles. Stuntz grabs agent Jack Coler’s jacket from the trunk and puts it on, smiling. Laying in the dirt next to them are two dead FBI agents. Both had been first shot and wounded and then had their faces brutally blasted away at point-blank range, while one even begged for his life. Since they were both shot in the face, someone there had to actually touch them and roll them over to face the ground. (We won’t dignify that act by even suggesting counting coup.)
These are the actions of brave warriors? In 1975? Hardly.
No, these were the actions of cowards led by Leonard Peltier.
Peltier’s confusion about the facts of his own case and how it does not tie into the history of Native America, reinforces the notion of how Peltier thinks others perceive him. It is clear that his life at Lewisburg has taken its toll and allows much time to reflect about his actions that day. Perhaps in fleeting moments of honesty—if he is even capable of that, it’s certain he would have acted differently. But that’s an immense stretch, as he looks at the bloated figure in the metal mirror on the wall of his concrete cell.
We can thank Leonard Peltier for the reminder, and no, we won’t forget the cowards of Jumping Bull. Peltier can rehearse his confused rhetoric and practice his scamming technique for those who blindly follow. Followers who don’t have the stamina or insight to seek out and understand the facts surrounding his guilt while he shamefully continues to denigrate what is otherwise a proud culture and heritage.
Real Native America understands that. Leonard Peltier never will.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
(Next Parole Reconsideration Hearing: July 2024)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
"10 Years Later" NPPA
Ten Years Later
This decade passed quickly, but it does seem like a long time ago when I met Jack Coler’s youngest son, which led to research and twenty-seven days later launching the No Parole Peltier Association and its website. Its purpose has remained consistent and successful.
Consider this: The LPDC was formed in 1977 (and up to April 2000, and for several years on the Internet up to that point), Peltier and the LPDC’s fabrications went unchallenged. They had been essentially the only voice about the Incident at Oglala. April 30, 2000 changed that by adding a consistent presence to diminish the myth of Leonard Peltier and the folklore that festered around him.
Consistent about Peltier’s version of what happened at Jumping Bull is that it was always changing and evolving into what the uninformed followers were willing to accept as gospel from the Peltier camp. Those followers, for any number of reasons, were incapable, disinterested or unwilling to educate themselves about the facts.
Peltier supporters have heard and accepted all the versions, stories, excuses and alibis: “Pancakes and hot coffee,” “old cowboy boots,” “self-defense,” “a family caught in the cross-fire,” “pre-planned government raid,” Robideau’s alleged admissions, and the decade-long whopper, the lie of Mr. X, that was bought into by Peltier’s (on the payroll) biographer, Peter Matthiessen, and the gullible Robert Redford, and of course, the old fall back argument describing himself as a “political liability.”
All his excuses are tired, worn and have become irrelevant.
Although Peltier and his attorneys have avoided these two dirty little words over the years, ambush and assassination; taking Peltier at face value in his “press-releases,” these two words are mentioned here only to highlight the distinction that his and the other AIM members actions that day were not calculated, but those of cowards.
Over the years one of the main NPPA challenges has been to confront Peltier supporters to remove emotion from the debate; the emotion that arises too often when Native American history and issues are brought into the discussions about Peltier’s guilt. Removing the Native American issues (that Peltier has consistently used as a crutch to excuse his own criminal actions), and by examining the facts surrounding his conviction—even to the casual observer, Peltier’s guilt is unequivocal.
Peltier is not going anywhere. So says the parole commission that has listened enough, and perhaps for the last time, to his tired self-serving rhetoric and falsehoods. The biennial parole-review hearings are administrative in nature and nothing short of a total health collapse would make any difference; but then there’s the prison hospital. His consecutive life sentences, roughly thirty years each, plus the seven consecutive years for the armed Lompoc escape put his exit point somewhere in the middle of this century and realistically long past the longevity of most of us who have been personally committed to this matter; Peltier and this writer especially.
Peltier’s only hope is clemency, and this President, who has demonstrated respect for the rule of law, is not likely to even consider Peltier once he examines the facts of the case and certainly understands how Peltier hijacked, diminished and discredited a proud Native American culture and tradition. Claiming, as Peltier did as recently as February 6, 2010, that, “I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do,” will not sit well with this President or those who later occupy that office.
As stated on the home page from the creation of the NPPA ten years ago, its goal will continue for as many years as necessary to “Honor the sacrifice of Special Agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams who were brutally murdered in the line of duty,” and to respond to the erroneous statements and allegations made by Peltier and his network; in other words, to continue to set the record straight by dismantling the folklore surrounding Peltier.
And along the way, following and exposing the money trail to curtail Peltier’s sham fund-raising and alleged charitable activities by preventing him from profiting from his crimes.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
This decade passed quickly, but it does seem like a long time ago when I met Jack Coler’s youngest son, which led to research and twenty-seven days later launching the No Parole Peltier Association and its website. Its purpose has remained consistent and successful.
Consider this: The LPDC was formed in 1977 (and up to April 2000, and for several years on the Internet up to that point), Peltier and the LPDC’s fabrications went unchallenged. They had been essentially the only voice about the Incident at Oglala. April 30, 2000 changed that by adding a consistent presence to diminish the myth of Leonard Peltier and the folklore that festered around him.
Consistent about Peltier’s version of what happened at Jumping Bull is that it was always changing and evolving into what the uninformed followers were willing to accept as gospel from the Peltier camp. Those followers, for any number of reasons, were incapable, disinterested or unwilling to educate themselves about the facts.
Peltier supporters have heard and accepted all the versions, stories, excuses and alibis: “Pancakes and hot coffee,” “old cowboy boots,” “self-defense,” “a family caught in the cross-fire,” “pre-planned government raid,” Robideau’s alleged admissions, and the decade-long whopper, the lie of Mr. X, that was bought into by Peltier’s (on the payroll) biographer, Peter Matthiessen, and the gullible Robert Redford, and of course, the old fall back argument describing himself as a “political liability.”
All his excuses are tired, worn and have become irrelevant.
Although Peltier and his attorneys have avoided these two dirty little words over the years, ambush and assassination; taking Peltier at face value in his “press-releases,” these two words are mentioned here only to highlight the distinction that his and the other AIM members actions that day were not calculated, but those of cowards.
Over the years one of the main NPPA challenges has been to confront Peltier supporters to remove emotion from the debate; the emotion that arises too often when Native American history and issues are brought into the discussions about Peltier’s guilt. Removing the Native American issues (that Peltier has consistently used as a crutch to excuse his own criminal actions), and by examining the facts surrounding his conviction—even to the casual observer, Peltier’s guilt is unequivocal.
Peltier is not going anywhere. So says the parole commission that has listened enough, and perhaps for the last time, to his tired self-serving rhetoric and falsehoods. The biennial parole-review hearings are administrative in nature and nothing short of a total health collapse would make any difference; but then there’s the prison hospital. His consecutive life sentences, roughly thirty years each, plus the seven consecutive years for the armed Lompoc escape put his exit point somewhere in the middle of this century and realistically long past the longevity of most of us who have been personally committed to this matter; Peltier and this writer especially.
Peltier’s only hope is clemency, and this President, who has demonstrated respect for the rule of law, is not likely to even consider Peltier once he examines the facts of the case and certainly understands how Peltier hijacked, diminished and discredited a proud Native American culture and tradition. Claiming, as Peltier did as recently as February 6, 2010, that, “I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do,” will not sit well with this President or those who later occupy that office.
As stated on the home page from the creation of the NPPA ten years ago, its goal will continue for as many years as necessary to “Honor the sacrifice of Special Agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams who were brutally murdered in the line of duty,” and to respond to the erroneous statements and allegations made by Peltier and his network; in other words, to continue to set the record straight by dismantling the folklore surrounding Peltier.
And along the way, following and exposing the money trail to curtail Peltier’s sham fund-raising and alleged charitable activities by preventing him from profiting from his crimes.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Ambush and Assassinations
Sometimes, Leonard Peltier makes it just too easy.
Based on a February 13, 2010 “press release” from Peltier’s prison cell at Lewisburg, he beats the drum, yet again, about being a “political prisoner.”
That there is confusion, anger and misinformation surrounding the myth of Leonard Peltier, makes it even more important to examine the facts and listen very carefully to those involved, particularly Leonard Peltier himself.
In a confusing twist, however, Peltier, who has denounced America continuously for decades, now (as he aligns himself yet again with another murderous soul, Wesley Cook*) claims “We are not terrorists! I love my country,” which is hardly consistent with his anti-America and AIM rants in the past.
He describes himself as a political liability and a “political prisoner in this ‘land of the free.’”
If, and it’s a tremendous “if,” his actions at Jumping Bull were “politically” motivated, then it does indeed sit on the mantle of terrorism.
First, let’s not forget that Peltier himself said this was a random event that began over a pair of old cowboy boots and that he was innocently in the AIM camp and “could smell the wonderful smell of those pancakes,” when the shooting started. Hasn’t he repeatedly said that they acted in “self-defense” (yet another theory he has strangely distanced himself from**). And then, for more years than he wants to remember, Peltier blamed it all on their friend, Mr. X, who murdered the agents and escaped in the infamous red pickup truck. (A theory, of course, that died when Dino Butler publicly called both him and Robideau liars.) But then there’s the pre-planed government raid with “dozens, maybe hundreds of FBI, local lawmen, GOONS and white vigilantes out there” waiting for Peltier and the other AIM members to surface. But there has never been a shred of evidence or proof to support that outrageous claim.
What Peltier is offering by painting himself as a political prisoner, is that his own actions that day were then politically motivated. And lest there be no confusion on that point, Part IV, Chapters 19-26 of his autobiography are entitled “Becoming Political.”
If that was, according to Peltier, the situation at Jumping Bull, then Agents’ Coler and Williams were not searching for Jimmy Eagle at all, but must have been lured into an ambush to be assaulted and wounded and caught in a crossfire between Peltier, Norman Charles and Joe Stuntz from one direction, and Robideau, Butler and more AIM members from another.
Then, since the critically wounded Coler and Williams were shot in the face at point-blank range as an act of political defiance, Peltier is now clarifying another explanation and motivation for their murders. Speculation varies about those final moments (but a few fundamental facts do remain), but if we should accept Peltier’s latest public revelation at face value then there is no other explanation for the agent’s deaths other than, they were assassinated.
These are two words Peltier, his supporters and attorneys have cautiously avoided for many years. These are the two most powerful words that help clearly explain Peltier’s motivations that day at Jumping Bull.
I believe, though, it was the ultimate act of a coward; Matthiessen offered a simpleminded laundry list of possibilities; the government believed it was a spontaneous event, but maybe now we do have the truth from Peltier himself.
And, Peltier is ignorant of the facts surrounding the cold-blooded murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner (it certainly had nothing to do with race or political extremism) but he has happily jumped in bed with Mumia anyway, as well as with the sociopathic, domestic terrorist, McVeigh.
Finally, we can thank Peltier for the clarification and allowing America to see that he’s happy with his conclusions and with the company he keeps.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
*aka Mumia Abu Jamal. Please see the following links to Editorial Essays and Peltier’s solidarity with Jamal and terrorist and murderer, Timothy McVeigh:
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#10
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#standing
**In Peltier’s 2/6/2010 “Press Release” lamenting his 34th year of incarceration and inadvertently offering a confession to the “Incident of Oglala,” he never mentions that is actions were in “self-defense.” http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#confession
Based on a February 13, 2010 “press release” from Peltier’s prison cell at Lewisburg, he beats the drum, yet again, about being a “political prisoner.”
That there is confusion, anger and misinformation surrounding the myth of Leonard Peltier, makes it even more important to examine the facts and listen very carefully to those involved, particularly Leonard Peltier himself.
In a confusing twist, however, Peltier, who has denounced America continuously for decades, now (as he aligns himself yet again with another murderous soul, Wesley Cook*) claims “We are not terrorists! I love my country,” which is hardly consistent with his anti-America and AIM rants in the past.
He describes himself as a political liability and a “political prisoner in this ‘land of the free.’”
If, and it’s a tremendous “if,” his actions at Jumping Bull were “politically” motivated, then it does indeed sit on the mantle of terrorism.
First, let’s not forget that Peltier himself said this was a random event that began over a pair of old cowboy boots and that he was innocently in the AIM camp and “could smell the wonderful smell of those pancakes,” when the shooting started. Hasn’t he repeatedly said that they acted in “self-defense” (yet another theory he has strangely distanced himself from**). And then, for more years than he wants to remember, Peltier blamed it all on their friend, Mr. X, who murdered the agents and escaped in the infamous red pickup truck. (A theory, of course, that died when Dino Butler publicly called both him and Robideau liars.) But then there’s the pre-planed government raid with “dozens, maybe hundreds of FBI, local lawmen, GOONS and white vigilantes out there” waiting for Peltier and the other AIM members to surface. But there has never been a shred of evidence or proof to support that outrageous claim.
What Peltier is offering by painting himself as a political prisoner, is that his own actions that day were then politically motivated. And lest there be no confusion on that point, Part IV, Chapters 19-26 of his autobiography are entitled “Becoming Political.”
If that was, according to Peltier, the situation at Jumping Bull, then Agents’ Coler and Williams were not searching for Jimmy Eagle at all, but must have been lured into an ambush to be assaulted and wounded and caught in a crossfire between Peltier, Norman Charles and Joe Stuntz from one direction, and Robideau, Butler and more AIM members from another.
Then, since the critically wounded Coler and Williams were shot in the face at point-blank range as an act of political defiance, Peltier is now clarifying another explanation and motivation for their murders. Speculation varies about those final moments (but a few fundamental facts do remain), but if we should accept Peltier’s latest public revelation at face value then there is no other explanation for the agent’s deaths other than, they were assassinated.
These are two words Peltier, his supporters and attorneys have cautiously avoided for many years. These are the two most powerful words that help clearly explain Peltier’s motivations that day at Jumping Bull.
I believe, though, it was the ultimate act of a coward; Matthiessen offered a simpleminded laundry list of possibilities; the government believed it was a spontaneous event, but maybe now we do have the truth from Peltier himself.
And, Peltier is ignorant of the facts surrounding the cold-blooded murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner (it certainly had nothing to do with race or political extremism) but he has happily jumped in bed with Mumia anyway, as well as with the sociopathic, domestic terrorist, McVeigh.
Finally, we can thank Peltier for the clarification and allowing America to see that he’s happy with his conclusions and with the company he keeps.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
*aka Mumia Abu Jamal. Please see the following links to Editorial Essays and Peltier’s solidarity with Jamal and terrorist and murderer, Timothy McVeigh:
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#10
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#standing
**In Peltier’s 2/6/2010 “Press Release” lamenting his 34th year of incarceration and inadvertently offering a confession to the “Incident of Oglala,” he never mentions that is actions were in “self-defense.” http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#confession
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Sgt. Charles Windolph
Dear NPPA Supporters:
There are bright spots in the Peltier saga.
I recently received an email from a cousin of Sgt. Charles Windolph who came across a reference to him on the NPPA website.
In September 2004, and nearing the end of the trip to Jumping Bull and Pine Ridge, I happened across the Black Hills National Cemetery and Sgt. Windolph’s gleaming white headstone with gold lettering.
Sgt. Windolph’s cousin said she did not know where he was buried and I pointed out to her that I also had a photograph of his headstone on the website.
(Please see the Pilgrimage to Pine Ridge Editorial Essay for several references to Sgt. Windolph and the Medal of Honor http://www.noparolepeltier.com/pine.html)
I mentioned the cousin’s contact to a close NPPA advisor who told me that there was a book based on Sgt. Windolph’s experiences entitled “I fought with Custer; The story of Sergeant Windolph, Last Survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.” I ordered it from Amazon, it arrived in a couple of days later, was a very interesting story, and it is now part of my growing library on American history.
What was all that about “six degrees of separation?”
Anyway, within the Peltier saga there are some bright spots and I was certainly happy that Sgt. Windolph’s cousin would one day be able to visit his gravesite, and his wife who was buried next to him.
Now back to Leonard Peltier…the next Blog post will deal with “political prisoners,” ambush and assassination.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
There are bright spots in the Peltier saga.
I recently received an email from a cousin of Sgt. Charles Windolph who came across a reference to him on the NPPA website.
In September 2004, and nearing the end of the trip to Jumping Bull and Pine Ridge, I happened across the Black Hills National Cemetery and Sgt. Windolph’s gleaming white headstone with gold lettering.
Sgt. Windolph’s cousin said she did not know where he was buried and I pointed out to her that I also had a photograph of his headstone on the website.
(Please see the Pilgrimage to Pine Ridge Editorial Essay for several references to Sgt. Windolph and the Medal of Honor http://www.noparolepeltier.com/pine.html)
I mentioned the cousin’s contact to a close NPPA advisor who told me that there was a book based on Sgt. Windolph’s experiences entitled “I fought with Custer; The story of Sergeant Windolph, Last Survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.” I ordered it from Amazon, it arrived in a couple of days later, was a very interesting story, and it is now part of my growing library on American history.
What was all that about “six degrees of separation?”
Anyway, within the Peltier saga there are some bright spots and I was certainly happy that Sgt. Windolph’s cousin would one day be able to visit his gravesite, and his wife who was buried next to him.
Now back to Leonard Peltier…the next Blog post will deal with “political prisoners,” ambush and assassination.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
Friday, February 12, 2010
LPDOC...Issues & Rants
---What follows is a point-by-point response to the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee’s (LPDOC) blog entry concerning the No Parole Peltier Association (NPPA) blog on the subject of Leonard Peltier’s confession to the “Incident at Oglala.” Web logs, or blogs, are expressions of opinions, ideas and thoughts; they’re like conversations and an Internet chat mechanism. However, definitive statements concerning Leonard Peltier’s guilt are found in the Editorial Essays on the No Parole Peltier Association’s website, www.noparolepeltier.com.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods NPPA-Founder
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Former FBI agent falsely claims Peltier Confesses to "Incident at Oglala"
PELTIER CONFESSES TO “INCIDENT AT OGLALA”
The above headline was the sensationalistic title of a posting made by a former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ed Woods. Director of the No Parole Peltier Association (with an apparent membership of one), Woods used the title on that organization’s blog on February 6.
---This blog, as all other communiqués from the LPDOC (and the former LPDC) is unsigned. Apparently those who speak on Peltier’s behalf aren’t willing to stand up for their own rhetoric.
“An apparent membership of one?” For the LPDOC’s information, I was honored when asked by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI (a fraternal organization of former and retired FBI agents; numbering in excess of 8,000), and the FBI Agents Association (a non-governmental association numbering in excess of 12,000) to represent their interests at Peltier’s parole hearing at Lewisburg on July 28th, 2009. Add to that a thousand or more NPPA supporters and you may be able to understand why the LPDOC is a little off on this point. And, if there’s any doubt, please take a look at the previous NPPA blog entitled, Operation PayPal…A success.
What is clear to even the most casual of observers is that Woods used this title with Google indexing in mind, as well as Internet users’ short attention spans. His hope was that the posting would be widely circulated and that all folks would do is read (and believe) the title.
---That’s partially correct, but I give those Internet users more credit than just a headline and believe they would read the entry, ask more questions and go to the NPPA website for answers.
This likely was also a veiled attack on actor Robert Redford who was recently interviewed on Democracy Now! about the Peltier case and the documentary film, "Incident at Oglala," (produced and narrated by Redford). You can view the interview here.
---Likely…veiled? Sorry, did not know Redford was on Democracy Now. The term “Incident at Oglala” has been euphemistically used since the film came out as a generic description of the events of June 26, 1975 at Jumping Bull. Peltier and the LPDC had been using it for years and do not have an exclusive right to that phrase. But, the film was not a documentary, quite the contrary; it was literally a screenplay of Matthiessen’s, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. ITSOCH was a thorough but flawed work. Even the noted Alan Dershowitz said “…(and) not only fails to convince; he (Matthiessen) inadvertently made a strong case for Mr. Peltier’s guilt.” http://www.noparolepeltier.com/response.html#4
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/movie.html
Scandalous. Shame on you, Mr. Woods.
---Scandalous? Let’s see.
It was scandalous to post Editorial Essay #8 “Compliments to Leonard Peltier” which said in part “It is hopeful that many will follow Leonard's advice, and that those who do research his case will at least take the time to explore both sides of the Incident at Oglala. Understanding all the facts concerning his conviction could be the basis of greater understanding and a mechanism for change and progress.” (Incident at Oglala; there’s that pesky phrase again, and this was posted on April 30, 2001; coincidentally the NPPA’s first anniversary.) Had Peltier done anything else noteworthy of praise it would have been brought to light on the NPPA website. Sadly though, that was it.
How about Editorial Essay #10 “Reign of Terror-Many More Victims: By Paul Berg.” Yes that Paul Berg, LPDC spokesperson; a consummate gentleman, a man of character, integrity and intelligence who understood first-hand what life on Pine Ridge was all about and probably one of the best things that ever happened to Leonard Peltier. But as with so many who have joined his cause, Peltier’s hubris eventually pushes them all away.
And then there’s the link. From day one, April 30, 2000, on the NPPA home page is a link to the LPDOC (a link that has been updated a number of times over the years to keep it current with the many changes in the Peltier network): With an invitation for concerned people to go to Peltier’s website, see what he has to say, to compare, then judge for themselves and come to an informed conclusion. Why the link one should ask? Because the truth is on this side of the issue and we’re not afraid to show it. It would be a cold-day-in-hell indeed before the LPDOC or Peltier would ever consider linking to the NPPA. And why is that? Because that way Peltier can continue to hide behind the folklore…
“Scandalous. Shame on you Mr. Woods.” No, but shame on me then for being so open-minded.
First? It’s generally accepted that if people write in all caps on the Internet, it means they’re shouting. How rude!
---But maybe that’s just how Blogger.com sets up the headings. I’m pretty sure the LPDC used to use the same system. Besides, take a look at the LPDOC caption for this blog; big and nasty and offensive in bold and bright blue, and underlined too! Really, don’t get so excited, it’s just a title.
We could ignore Woods’ lack of manners, but we won’t ignore the lies in his critique of Leonard Peltier’s February 6 statement.
We challenge you to read Leonard’s statement (here) and find any instance where Leonard confessed to killing the agents.
---Leonard, as always, will receive a hard copy of everything posted to the NPPA website because it was apparent in the past that his network was not keeping him up to date. Posted soon will be Editorial Essay #52 entitled (yes…) Peltier Confesses to “Incident at Oglala.” In that essay there will be no doubt how and why this is Peltier’s (probably unintentional) confession.
Native American activist Leonard Peltier was wrongfully convicted in 1977 on the basis of fabricated and suppressed evidence, as well as coerced testimony. The United States Courts of Appeal have repeatedly acknowledged investigatory and prosecutorial misconduct in his case. The ballistics evidence withheld by prosecutors and the FBI alone should have mandated Peltier’s release from prison—at minimum, a new trial.
---Not even close to the facts…isolated statements without understanding the entire record has been the bedrock of Peltier folklore.
“Repeatedly?” No, actually there were two, and both followed with rebukes against Peltier;
1) "The use of the affidavits of Myrtle Poor Bear in the extradition proceedings was, to say the least, a clear abuse of the investigative process by the F.B.I." (Which was a footnote by the way); “This was conceded by counsel on the hearing in this court. It does not, however, follow that the testimony of this obviously confused and ‘unbelievable witness’ should have been permitted under any theory advanced by Peltier as hereinbefore set forth.” And, no less ironic and tucked away in the court record was Peltier’s own attorney’s opinion of Myrtle Poor Bear when they believed the Government would call Poor Bear as a witness. They characterized her as a “…witness whose mental imbalance is so gross as to render her testimony unbelievable.”
(The Canadian government, however, had the final say on the extradition issue: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/court.html)
2) This 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision was not on the merits of the case against Peltier, but Peltier challenging his record before the U.S. Parole Commission. “Much of the government’s behavior at the Pine Ridge Reservation and in its prosecution of Mr. Peltier is to be condemned. The government withheld evidence. It intimidated witnesses. These facts are not disputed.” This same court went on to say "Previous federal court decisions provided the (Parole) Commission with ample facts to support its conviction that Peltier personally shot Agent Coler and Williams." And further, "While Mr. Peltier, asserts 'the Commission identified no plausible evidence that [he] shot the agents after they were incapacitated,' this statement is simply not true.”
Ballistics evidence withheld? Then shouldn’t we remember the three-day evidentiary hearing? (A curious fact always conveniently omitted by Peltier, his supporters, and the LPDOC.) And what did the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals say about that ballistic evidence? “When all is said and done, however, a few simple but very important facts remain: the casing introduced into evidence had in fact been extracted from the Wichita AR-15. This point was not disputed; although the defense had its own ballistics expert, it offered no contrary evidence.”
And in yet another round of appeals the 8th Circuit said, “Peltier’s arguments fail because their underlying premises are fatally flawed.” The court of appeals also said, “…the direct and circumstantial evidence of Peltier’s guilt was strong.”
And there’s a whole lot more, but then it requires the LPDOC to get into the details and they really don’t want to go there. http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise
Currently imprisoned at the U.S. penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Leonard maintains his innocence, as he has for 34 years, but Mr. Woods uses this quote from Leonard’s February 6th statement as his alleged proof of a confession:
“I never thought my commitment would mean sacrificing like this, but I was willing to do so nonetheless. And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do.”
Let’s be clear. Leonard merely affirmed that he would—then and now—stand up for the survival of his People and fight for Indigenous Rights regardless of the consequences (known or unknown).
---Please see Editorial Essay #52 when it’s posted to the NPPA website. Everyone will receive an email at that time.
That is warrior way. Mr. Woods clearly knows little of Indigenous culture, despite his claim to the contrary.
---Perhaps not, but certainly more than some Peltier supporters I’ve dealt with over the past decade: The wannabe’s. I’m not a wannabe, never was or will be, even though my great-grandfather was a full-blood; what that provides me with is a greater sensitivity to Native American history and issues. But, please take a look at the NPPA home page, from the very first day, April 30, 2000, there has been a most important and prominent statement about “Correcting Wrongs of the Past” and Editorial Essays have restated this many times.
It’s also American way. Our liberties are always worth defending, we’re told.
“It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.” (Samuel Adams)
Mr. Woods has always made outrageous claims, but his current approach is downright insidious.
---Fine then, if that’s the LPDOC’s opinion, then please, be specific: Exactly where are the outrageous claims? Every Editorial Essay is sourced and footnoted appropriately and provides specific quotes. Conclusions are clearly identified as such. That’s one area where the little battles with Peltier supporters end; when pushed to get down to the details…the argument is over and they leave.
Former agents’ new stratagem is to save Leonard’s soul—bring him to God, so to speak. Woods and others literally evangelized at Leonard’s July 2009 parole hearing. Woods did the same in this latest blog posting. These are men, remember, who were once sworn to defend the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps they never read the First Amendment. They clearly have no respect for the spiritual beliefs of others—well, at least Indians.
---What was suggested is that one day Peltier will face The Creator (the entity, and The Pipe, he often invokes for sympathy), and it will be on that day he will answer for his lies and actions at Jumping Bull. And as for the specifics of July 28th, please see “Mission to Lewisburg.”
We notice that Mr. Woods refers to us as “our Indians” [emphasis added] in those newsletters of his, too, usually while bragging about “taking care of” our People on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Such comments remind us of those of former agent Norman Zigrossi who, in documentaries that have been made about Leonard’s case, has stated outright that the Indigenous Peoples of North America are “conquered people”.
---“our Indians?” Please find the source for that quote. It’s not correct. On the other hand, Mr. Zigrossi is entitled to his opinion but I do not share his views or the manner in which he expresses them.
Here are a few excerpts from what has been written on this subject. It would do the LPDOC well to analyze their own rhetoric and discover what someone really feels and stands for before they start pointing a finger in the wrong direction.
From just one Editorial Essay, Pilgrimage to Pine Ridge: “Backtracking I found a sign and then realized that on top of the hill I'd overlooked was the cemetery and marker for Wounded Knee. The massacre at Wounded Knee in the winter of 1890 was the defining event in the First American's long and painful history with the white man. It's significance no less crucial to later America than Pearl Harbor and 9/11. It sprang from a growing hysteria that the reservation-confined Indians were engaging in ceremonial activities that would lead to more bloodshed. The hatred on both sides from the Indian Wars was still simmering…On the same spot where I now stood a battery of army Hotchkiss cannons and Gatling guns were poised to force the surrender of the old and ill, Chief Big Foot, and his Miniconjou band of men, some elderly, and women and children. The prevailing belief is that the conflict started by accident, a misunderstood gesture or accidental discharge of a weapon, but it was all that was needed for the surrounding army to lay waste to everyone: When the killing ended, by later official government reports, 290 lay dead, including 200 women and children. A number of these were buried in a mass snowy grave…For those, especially in the mass grave, their frozen silence marked the end of most efforts to escape Reservation life. The government's efforts to contain the Indian once and for all seemed to be accomplished…The mass grave and its marker are surrounded by a fence and an archway of stone, brick, and wrought iron. The stone is decayed, chipped and defaced with graffiti, the wrought iron rusted, and the road leading to the top of the hill, rutted, and with the rain, now muddy. It was indeed a sad testament to such sacrifice…Driving back towards Pine Ridge the melancholy of the day and what I had just seen added to an already deep sense of compassion for those who struggled to survive at Pine Ridge. I also knew the statistics; the poorest county in the nation, the highest average unemployment rate at 80% plus, rampant poverty, endemic alcoholism and everything that disease fosters, and a general malaise and hopelessness of many of its residents… Ingrid's comment about Calvin still stuck with me. She seemed quite proud that Calvin taught college. It was abundantly clear to me that there should be every opportunity for education on the Reservation, that's the very least the taxpayers owed these residents. But here was Calvin, a college professor, living in what could not have been more than a two or three room home, a home that was much smaller than a detached garage in suburban neighborhoods back east. It just seemed unfair that he couldn't be rewarded more for his labor. But maybe he's happy and pleased with what he has; and who am I to judge him on material things anyway?...The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 established an enormous tract of land as the Great Sioux Reservation which included the most sacred place in Indian folklore and religion, the Black Hills. The Paha Sapa was where the Indians believed their ancestors came from, the birthplace of the Lakota Nation. Now it would be theirs, for all time, in perpetuity; their sacred, most holy place, was preserved as the Great Father in Washington had promised. Forever anyway, that is, until white men found gold; "the yellow metal that they worship and that makes them crazy" called off all bets; the U.S. Government and the Calvary would see to it. But at least Uncle Sam was consistent, of the 371 treaties with the American Indians; all were either broken or annulled. The Fort Laramie Treaty had a provision that excluded whites entering without permission and any land sold needed the consent of three-fourths of all adult Indian males. Unsuccessful in persuading the Indians to sell, the government did the next best thing and declared all those who refused to cooperate as "hostiles," and ordered them to surrender. The U.S. Army had their mission; Custer and the Little Bighorn just made it personal. The whole process essentially ended at Wounded Knee…As I was leaving I spent a little time perusing the granite carved list of the four hundred men who worked on the fourteen-year project. I didn't notice any Indian names. But then I wasn't surprised either…We level off at a few thousand feet and turn west. Below I see the now familiar Highway 79 leading south, Interstate 90 and the valley running north to Deadwood. I see all of Rapid City and the surrounding open plains…The RJ pitched-up again and slipped gently into the thickening overcast. South Dakota gradually faded from view, but not from my thoughts.”
Make no mistake about it. These sentiments are at the very root of everything that occurred on the Pine Ridge reservation in the 70s. Clearly not a great deal has changed since then. It’s the white man’s way or no way?
Whether merely thought or spoken, these are oppressor’s words. Mr. Woods would have us accept them.
---No, I would not; these are not my words but the spin the LPDOC and Peltier would like people to mindlessly believe. There has never been one instance where anything but a genuine and sincere concern for the history and welfare of Native Americans has been presented on the NPPA website or blog, and I challenge anyone to prove otherwise.
Our freedom is a blessing from Creator, not of men... We must therefore respectfully decline.
We’ll do things Indian way, thank you very much.
We will never give in. We will never yield to force. We will never yield to apparently overwhelming might.
We will never be “conquered people”.
And we will survive.
---And that’s indeed fine; but don’t miss the point again. This isn’t about Native history, that’s part of the myth of Leonard Peltier he would like everyone to swallow: it’s about cold-blooded murder and Peltier’s uncompromising guilt. "In the Spirit of Coler and Williams" EW
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods NPPA-Founder
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Former FBI agent falsely claims Peltier Confesses to "Incident at Oglala"
PELTIER CONFESSES TO “INCIDENT AT OGLALA”
The above headline was the sensationalistic title of a posting made by a former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ed Woods. Director of the No Parole Peltier Association (with an apparent membership of one), Woods used the title on that organization’s blog on February 6.
---This blog, as all other communiqués from the LPDOC (and the former LPDC) is unsigned. Apparently those who speak on Peltier’s behalf aren’t willing to stand up for their own rhetoric.
“An apparent membership of one?” For the LPDOC’s information, I was honored when asked by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI (a fraternal organization of former and retired FBI agents; numbering in excess of 8,000), and the FBI Agents Association (a non-governmental association numbering in excess of 12,000) to represent their interests at Peltier’s parole hearing at Lewisburg on July 28th, 2009. Add to that a thousand or more NPPA supporters and you may be able to understand why the LPDOC is a little off on this point. And, if there’s any doubt, please take a look at the previous NPPA blog entitled, Operation PayPal…A success.
What is clear to even the most casual of observers is that Woods used this title with Google indexing in mind, as well as Internet users’ short attention spans. His hope was that the posting would be widely circulated and that all folks would do is read (and believe) the title.
---That’s partially correct, but I give those Internet users more credit than just a headline and believe they would read the entry, ask more questions and go to the NPPA website for answers.
This likely was also a veiled attack on actor Robert Redford who was recently interviewed on Democracy Now! about the Peltier case and the documentary film, "Incident at Oglala," (produced and narrated by Redford). You can view the interview here.
---Likely…veiled? Sorry, did not know Redford was on Democracy Now. The term “Incident at Oglala” has been euphemistically used since the film came out as a generic description of the events of June 26, 1975 at Jumping Bull. Peltier and the LPDC had been using it for years and do not have an exclusive right to that phrase. But, the film was not a documentary, quite the contrary; it was literally a screenplay of Matthiessen’s, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. ITSOCH was a thorough but flawed work. Even the noted Alan Dershowitz said “…(and) not only fails to convince; he (Matthiessen) inadvertently made a strong case for Mr. Peltier’s guilt.” http://www.noparolepeltier.com/response.html#4
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/movie.html
Scandalous. Shame on you, Mr. Woods.
---Scandalous? Let’s see.
It was scandalous to post Editorial Essay #8 “Compliments to Leonard Peltier” which said in part “It is hopeful that many will follow Leonard's advice, and that those who do research his case will at least take the time to explore both sides of the Incident at Oglala. Understanding all the facts concerning his conviction could be the basis of greater understanding and a mechanism for change and progress.” (Incident at Oglala; there’s that pesky phrase again, and this was posted on April 30, 2001; coincidentally the NPPA’s first anniversary.) Had Peltier done anything else noteworthy of praise it would have been brought to light on the NPPA website. Sadly though, that was it.
How about Editorial Essay #10 “Reign of Terror-Many More Victims: By Paul Berg.” Yes that Paul Berg, LPDC spokesperson; a consummate gentleman, a man of character, integrity and intelligence who understood first-hand what life on Pine Ridge was all about and probably one of the best things that ever happened to Leonard Peltier. But as with so many who have joined his cause, Peltier’s hubris eventually pushes them all away.
And then there’s the link. From day one, April 30, 2000, on the NPPA home page is a link to the LPDOC (a link that has been updated a number of times over the years to keep it current with the many changes in the Peltier network): With an invitation for concerned people to go to Peltier’s website, see what he has to say, to compare, then judge for themselves and come to an informed conclusion. Why the link one should ask? Because the truth is on this side of the issue and we’re not afraid to show it. It would be a cold-day-in-hell indeed before the LPDOC or Peltier would ever consider linking to the NPPA. And why is that? Because that way Peltier can continue to hide behind the folklore…
“Scandalous. Shame on you Mr. Woods.” No, but shame on me then for being so open-minded.
First? It’s generally accepted that if people write in all caps on the Internet, it means they’re shouting. How rude!
---But maybe that’s just how Blogger.com sets up the headings. I’m pretty sure the LPDC used to use the same system. Besides, take a look at the LPDOC caption for this blog; big and nasty and offensive in bold and bright blue, and underlined too! Really, don’t get so excited, it’s just a title.
We could ignore Woods’ lack of manners, but we won’t ignore the lies in his critique of Leonard Peltier’s February 6 statement.
We challenge you to read Leonard’s statement (here) and find any instance where Leonard confessed to killing the agents.
---Leonard, as always, will receive a hard copy of everything posted to the NPPA website because it was apparent in the past that his network was not keeping him up to date. Posted soon will be Editorial Essay #52 entitled (yes…) Peltier Confesses to “Incident at Oglala.” In that essay there will be no doubt how and why this is Peltier’s (probably unintentional) confession.
Native American activist Leonard Peltier was wrongfully convicted in 1977 on the basis of fabricated and suppressed evidence, as well as coerced testimony. The United States Courts of Appeal have repeatedly acknowledged investigatory and prosecutorial misconduct in his case. The ballistics evidence withheld by prosecutors and the FBI alone should have mandated Peltier’s release from prison—at minimum, a new trial.
---Not even close to the facts…isolated statements without understanding the entire record has been the bedrock of Peltier folklore.
“Repeatedly?” No, actually there were two, and both followed with rebukes against Peltier;
1) "The use of the affidavits of Myrtle Poor Bear in the extradition proceedings was, to say the least, a clear abuse of the investigative process by the F.B.I." (Which was a footnote by the way); “This was conceded by counsel on the hearing in this court. It does not, however, follow that the testimony of this obviously confused and ‘unbelievable witness’ should have been permitted under any theory advanced by Peltier as hereinbefore set forth.” And, no less ironic and tucked away in the court record was Peltier’s own attorney’s opinion of Myrtle Poor Bear when they believed the Government would call Poor Bear as a witness. They characterized her as a “…witness whose mental imbalance is so gross as to render her testimony unbelievable.”
(The Canadian government, however, had the final say on the extradition issue: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/court.html)
2) This 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision was not on the merits of the case against Peltier, but Peltier challenging his record before the U.S. Parole Commission. “Much of the government’s behavior at the Pine Ridge Reservation and in its prosecution of Mr. Peltier is to be condemned. The government withheld evidence. It intimidated witnesses. These facts are not disputed.” This same court went on to say "Previous federal court decisions provided the (Parole) Commission with ample facts to support its conviction that Peltier personally shot Agent Coler and Williams." And further, "While Mr. Peltier, asserts 'the Commission identified no plausible evidence that [he] shot the agents after they were incapacitated,' this statement is simply not true.”
Ballistics evidence withheld? Then shouldn’t we remember the three-day evidentiary hearing? (A curious fact always conveniently omitted by Peltier, his supporters, and the LPDOC.) And what did the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals say about that ballistic evidence? “When all is said and done, however, a few simple but very important facts remain: the casing introduced into evidence had in fact been extracted from the Wichita AR-15. This point was not disputed; although the defense had its own ballistics expert, it offered no contrary evidence.”
And in yet another round of appeals the 8th Circuit said, “Peltier’s arguments fail because their underlying premises are fatally flawed.” The court of appeals also said, “…the direct and circumstantial evidence of Peltier’s guilt was strong.”
And there’s a whole lot more, but then it requires the LPDOC to get into the details and they really don’t want to go there. http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise
Currently imprisoned at the U.S. penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, Leonard maintains his innocence, as he has for 34 years, but Mr. Woods uses this quote from Leonard’s February 6th statement as his alleged proof of a confession:
“I never thought my commitment would mean sacrificing like this, but I was willing to do so nonetheless. And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do.”
Let’s be clear. Leonard merely affirmed that he would—then and now—stand up for the survival of his People and fight for Indigenous Rights regardless of the consequences (known or unknown).
---Please see Editorial Essay #52 when it’s posted to the NPPA website. Everyone will receive an email at that time.
That is warrior way. Mr. Woods clearly knows little of Indigenous culture, despite his claim to the contrary.
---Perhaps not, but certainly more than some Peltier supporters I’ve dealt with over the past decade: The wannabe’s. I’m not a wannabe, never was or will be, even though my great-grandfather was a full-blood; what that provides me with is a greater sensitivity to Native American history and issues. But, please take a look at the NPPA home page, from the very first day, April 30, 2000, there has been a most important and prominent statement about “Correcting Wrongs of the Past” and Editorial Essays have restated this many times.
It’s also American way. Our liberties are always worth defending, we’re told.
“It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.” (Samuel Adams)
Mr. Woods has always made outrageous claims, but his current approach is downright insidious.
---Fine then, if that’s the LPDOC’s opinion, then please, be specific: Exactly where are the outrageous claims? Every Editorial Essay is sourced and footnoted appropriately and provides specific quotes. Conclusions are clearly identified as such. That’s one area where the little battles with Peltier supporters end; when pushed to get down to the details…the argument is over and they leave.
Former agents’ new stratagem is to save Leonard’s soul—bring him to God, so to speak. Woods and others literally evangelized at Leonard’s July 2009 parole hearing. Woods did the same in this latest blog posting. These are men, remember, who were once sworn to defend the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps they never read the First Amendment. They clearly have no respect for the spiritual beliefs of others—well, at least Indians.
---What was suggested is that one day Peltier will face The Creator (the entity, and The Pipe, he often invokes for sympathy), and it will be on that day he will answer for his lies and actions at Jumping Bull. And as for the specifics of July 28th, please see “Mission to Lewisburg.”
We notice that Mr. Woods refers to us as “our Indians” [emphasis added] in those newsletters of his, too, usually while bragging about “taking care of” our People on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Such comments remind us of those of former agent Norman Zigrossi who, in documentaries that have been made about Leonard’s case, has stated outright that the Indigenous Peoples of North America are “conquered people”.
---“our Indians?” Please find the source for that quote. It’s not correct. On the other hand, Mr. Zigrossi is entitled to his opinion but I do not share his views or the manner in which he expresses them.
Here are a few excerpts from what has been written on this subject. It would do the LPDOC well to analyze their own rhetoric and discover what someone really feels and stands for before they start pointing a finger in the wrong direction.
From just one Editorial Essay, Pilgrimage to Pine Ridge: “Backtracking I found a sign and then realized that on top of the hill I'd overlooked was the cemetery and marker for Wounded Knee. The massacre at Wounded Knee in the winter of 1890 was the defining event in the First American's long and painful history with the white man. It's significance no less crucial to later America than Pearl Harbor and 9/11. It sprang from a growing hysteria that the reservation-confined Indians were engaging in ceremonial activities that would lead to more bloodshed. The hatred on both sides from the Indian Wars was still simmering…On the same spot where I now stood a battery of army Hotchkiss cannons and Gatling guns were poised to force the surrender of the old and ill, Chief Big Foot, and his Miniconjou band of men, some elderly, and women and children. The prevailing belief is that the conflict started by accident, a misunderstood gesture or accidental discharge of a weapon, but it was all that was needed for the surrounding army to lay waste to everyone: When the killing ended, by later official government reports, 290 lay dead, including 200 women and children. A number of these were buried in a mass snowy grave…For those, especially in the mass grave, their frozen silence marked the end of most efforts to escape Reservation life. The government's efforts to contain the Indian once and for all seemed to be accomplished…The mass grave and its marker are surrounded by a fence and an archway of stone, brick, and wrought iron. The stone is decayed, chipped and defaced with graffiti, the wrought iron rusted, and the road leading to the top of the hill, rutted, and with the rain, now muddy. It was indeed a sad testament to such sacrifice…Driving back towards Pine Ridge the melancholy of the day and what I had just seen added to an already deep sense of compassion for those who struggled to survive at Pine Ridge. I also knew the statistics; the poorest county in the nation, the highest average unemployment rate at 80% plus, rampant poverty, endemic alcoholism and everything that disease fosters, and a general malaise and hopelessness of many of its residents… Ingrid's comment about Calvin still stuck with me. She seemed quite proud that Calvin taught college. It was abundantly clear to me that there should be every opportunity for education on the Reservation, that's the very least the taxpayers owed these residents. But here was Calvin, a college professor, living in what could not have been more than a two or three room home, a home that was much smaller than a detached garage in suburban neighborhoods back east. It just seemed unfair that he couldn't be rewarded more for his labor. But maybe he's happy and pleased with what he has; and who am I to judge him on material things anyway?...The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 established an enormous tract of land as the Great Sioux Reservation which included the most sacred place in Indian folklore and religion, the Black Hills. The Paha Sapa was where the Indians believed their ancestors came from, the birthplace of the Lakota Nation. Now it would be theirs, for all time, in perpetuity; their sacred, most holy place, was preserved as the Great Father in Washington had promised. Forever anyway, that is, until white men found gold; "the yellow metal that they worship and that makes them crazy" called off all bets; the U.S. Government and the Calvary would see to it. But at least Uncle Sam was consistent, of the 371 treaties with the American Indians; all were either broken or annulled. The Fort Laramie Treaty had a provision that excluded whites entering without permission and any land sold needed the consent of three-fourths of all adult Indian males. Unsuccessful in persuading the Indians to sell, the government did the next best thing and declared all those who refused to cooperate as "hostiles," and ordered them to surrender. The U.S. Army had their mission; Custer and the Little Bighorn just made it personal. The whole process essentially ended at Wounded Knee…As I was leaving I spent a little time perusing the granite carved list of the four hundred men who worked on the fourteen-year project. I didn't notice any Indian names. But then I wasn't surprised either…We level off at a few thousand feet and turn west. Below I see the now familiar Highway 79 leading south, Interstate 90 and the valley running north to Deadwood. I see all of Rapid City and the surrounding open plains…The RJ pitched-up again and slipped gently into the thickening overcast. South Dakota gradually faded from view, but not from my thoughts.”
Make no mistake about it. These sentiments are at the very root of everything that occurred on the Pine Ridge reservation in the 70s. Clearly not a great deal has changed since then. It’s the white man’s way or no way?
Whether merely thought or spoken, these are oppressor’s words. Mr. Woods would have us accept them.
---No, I would not; these are not my words but the spin the LPDOC and Peltier would like people to mindlessly believe. There has never been one instance where anything but a genuine and sincere concern for the history and welfare of Native Americans has been presented on the NPPA website or blog, and I challenge anyone to prove otherwise.
Our freedom is a blessing from Creator, not of men... We must therefore respectfully decline.
We’ll do things Indian way, thank you very much.
We will never give in. We will never yield to force. We will never yield to apparently overwhelming might.
We will never be “conquered people”.
And we will survive.
---And that’s indeed fine; but don’t miss the point again. This isn’t about Native history, that’s part of the myth of Leonard Peltier he would like everyone to swallow: it’s about cold-blooded murder and Peltier’s uncompromising guilt. "In the Spirit of Coler and Williams" EW
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
Saturday, February 6, 2010
PELTIER CONFESSES TO "INCIDENT AT OGLALA"
PELTIER CONFESSES TO “INCIDENT AT OGLALA”
February 6, 2010
In a statement today celebrating the anniversary of his arrest in Canada and the beginning of his thirty-four year incarceration, Leonard Peltier confesses to his crimes at Jumping Bull.
But as always, and with self-serving drivel, he couches it in terms of himself—the perpetual victim of circumstances.
Peltier laments Joe Stuntz; as well he should, the young Indian probably thought he was doing the right thing by following the older leaders and not realizing he was being led down a dark path by Leonard himself. After agents’ Coler and Williams were executed, young Joe Stuntz (who perhaps even witnessed the murders), helped ransack their vehicles, stole and wore Jack Coler’s FBI raid jacket and then shot at agents and officers responding to Jumping Bull—until a law enforcement bullet stopped him.
Peltier, not the tough guy anymore, whines like a baby “it isn’t fair,” “I don’t deserve this,” “I have cried so many tears,” and is still not willing to accept or understand that this is the price he pays for his feigned hubris.
“I never thought my commitment would mean sacrificing like this, but I was willing to do so nonetheless. And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do.”
In other words he never gave any serious consideration to what his actions really meant or what price would be paid for those decisions. If his decisions were made “nonetheless” then they were made out of ignorance of the consequences like most common criminals.
Peltier telling whomever will listen that he’d do it all over again because it was the right thing to do, clearly establishes one critical element of his crime for this moment, and his next parole hearing:
Peltier knows better than anyone that two human beings were brutally attacked, severely wounded and then summarily executed that day. That’s what happened at Jumping Bull…and now there are no other excuses from Peltier. From his own words, gone is the lie of self-defense, and what remains is an admission of complicity and guilt.
To reinforce the notion of unrepentant culpability he assures us that given the same circumstances he would “…do it all over again.” What he fails to realize is that he’s making the case that he is still a danger to society. He reaffirms there has been no rehabilitation for him over the past thirty-four years.
Every breath he takes denigrates the sacrifice of two young agents who died a violent and horrible death. He raises money on their destroyed faces trying to convince the ignorant or enamored of some historic legitimacy as he maligns an otherwise proud Native American tradition. He is an affront to every genuine warrior from that rich past and when Peltier does meet The Creator, a judgment will be made as he answers for his crimes at Jumping Bull and against the proud heritage he’s hijacked from the past.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
NPPA
February 6, 2010
In a statement today celebrating the anniversary of his arrest in Canada and the beginning of his thirty-four year incarceration, Leonard Peltier confesses to his crimes at Jumping Bull.
But as always, and with self-serving drivel, he couches it in terms of himself—the perpetual victim of circumstances.
Peltier laments Joe Stuntz; as well he should, the young Indian probably thought he was doing the right thing by following the older leaders and not realizing he was being led down a dark path by Leonard himself. After agents’ Coler and Williams were executed, young Joe Stuntz (who perhaps even witnessed the murders), helped ransack their vehicles, stole and wore Jack Coler’s FBI raid jacket and then shot at agents and officers responding to Jumping Bull—until a law enforcement bullet stopped him.
Peltier, not the tough guy anymore, whines like a baby “it isn’t fair,” “I don’t deserve this,” “I have cried so many tears,” and is still not willing to accept or understand that this is the price he pays for his feigned hubris.
“I never thought my commitment would mean sacrificing like this, but I was willing to do so nonetheless. And really, if necessary, I’d do it all over again, because it was the right thing to do.”
In other words he never gave any serious consideration to what his actions really meant or what price would be paid for those decisions. If his decisions were made “nonetheless” then they were made out of ignorance of the consequences like most common criminals.
Peltier telling whomever will listen that he’d do it all over again because it was the right thing to do, clearly establishes one critical element of his crime for this moment, and his next parole hearing:
Peltier knows better than anyone that two human beings were brutally attacked, severely wounded and then summarily executed that day. That’s what happened at Jumping Bull…and now there are no other excuses from Peltier. From his own words, gone is the lie of self-defense, and what remains is an admission of complicity and guilt.
To reinforce the notion of unrepentant culpability he assures us that given the same circumstances he would “…do it all over again.” What he fails to realize is that he’s making the case that he is still a danger to society. He reaffirms there has been no rehabilitation for him over the past thirty-four years.
Every breath he takes denigrates the sacrifice of two young agents who died a violent and horrible death. He raises money on their destroyed faces trying to convince the ignorant or enamored of some historic legitimacy as he maligns an otherwise proud Native American tradition. He is an affront to every genuine warrior from that rich past and when Peltier does meet The Creator, a judgment will be made as he answers for his crimes at Jumping Bull and against the proud heritage he’s hijacked from the past.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed Woods
NPPA
Friday, January 29, 2010
OPERATION PAYPAL...
Operation PayPal
Dear supporters:
We are engaging in a program to persuade PayPal (AGAIN) to enforce their Acceptable Use Policy and remove the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC) from their system.
1) Please email and write PayPal, and Scott Thompson, PayPal President at:
compliance@paypal.com
sthompson@paypal.com
Mr. Scott Thompson, President, PayPal
2211 N. First Street, San Jose, CA 95131
2) Please see the letter below to Mr. Thompson.
3) Please don’t cut and paste like Peltier supporters do; summarize your concerns and provide them with factual information and a request for PayPal to enforce their own Acceptable Use Policy (see the AUP on paypal.com; search for acceptable use policy).
4) If you know or discover other avenues to contact PayPal with our concern, please do so.
5) Please spread-the-word and share this request with others and any relevant organizations for assistance.
6) Additional background information concerning Peltier’s finances and questionable fundraising activities, conviction(s) and guilt, can be found at:
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#fraud
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise
7) Please bcc me with any correspondence.
As always, thank you for your continued support honoring the memory and sacrifice of Agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams and to prevent Leonard Peltier from continuing to capitalize on their brutal murders.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed
Mr. Scott Thompson
President, PayPal
2211 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95131
Re: Compliance Violation
Leonard Peltier Defense
Offense Committee (LPDOC)
Dear Mr. Thompson:
I have attempted on numerous occasions to bring a serious violation of PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy to the attention of PayPal’s compliance department concerning “the financial exploitation of a crime” and illegally “collecting donations as a charity or non-profit organization.”
Leonard Peltier is serving consecutive life sentences for the 1975 murders of two FBI agents. He also received an additional seven-year consecutive sentence for an armed escape from Lompoc penitentiary in 1979. Peltier’s case has received more appeals and legal reviews than perhaps most inmates, twice reaching the U.S. Supreme Court and each time his conviction has been upheld. The legal history of his case can be seen here: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/court.html
In June, 2004 PayPal recognized Peltier’s violation of the Acceptable Use Policy and removed the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (LPDC) from the PayPal system because Peltier was “notorious for committing murderous acts.” As a result, Peltier called upon his supporters to boycott PayPal, Amazon and eBay.
The LPDC has since reorganized as the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC) and is a PayPal subscriber, and although their name and location have changed, their purpose has not.
The LPDOC is a North Dakota non-profit corporation, however, they have repeatedly solicited unlawful donations; according to their website “As with any nonprofit, your donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed,” which is contrary to state laws concerning charitable organizations. They have recently removed that language quite possibly because of IRS actions. The LPDOC also claims that their 501(c)3 exemption is “pending,” (for almost two years now), however they have already solicited allegedly tax-deductible donations and their application will most certainly not be approved because a “donation” cannot go the benefit of one individual. The fact that the LPDOC is acting as a Political Action Committee (PAC) on behalf of Peltier should also be an issue.
Peltier and the LPDOC attempt to hide their purpose behind the guise of providing educational information concerning the case of Leonard Peltier, however, they clearly state on their website whoisleonardpeltier.info that “All proceeds benefit Leonard’s defense fund.”
It would not be possible that the LPDOC has been able to comply with PayPal’s requirements to “authenticate the status of (their) account” or to prove their “tax-exempt status or registration under the applicable country specific regulatory body or laws, and to conduct due diligence,” as PayPal requires.
The fact that the LPDOC is a North Dakota, non-profit corporation is irrelevant because they have not secured charitable, tax-deducible status and are not 501(c)3 approved, and never can be; they are violating the law and using PayPal as their mechanism for collecting these funds for the benefit of a convicted murderer.
I hope you have the time to address this serious matter and abuse of PayPal’s policy.
Sincerely,
Ed Woods
Dear supporters:
We are engaging in a program to persuade PayPal (AGAIN) to enforce their Acceptable Use Policy and remove the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC) from their system.
1) Please email and write PayPal, and Scott Thompson, PayPal President at:
compliance@paypal.com
sthompson@paypal.com
Mr. Scott Thompson, President, PayPal
2211 N. First Street, San Jose, CA 95131
2) Please see the letter below to Mr. Thompson.
3) Please don’t cut and paste like Peltier supporters do; summarize your concerns and provide them with factual information and a request for PayPal to enforce their own Acceptable Use Policy (see the AUP on paypal.com; search for acceptable use policy).
4) If you know or discover other avenues to contact PayPal with our concern, please do so.
5) Please spread-the-word and share this request with others and any relevant organizations for assistance.
6) Additional background information concerning Peltier’s finances and questionable fundraising activities, conviction(s) and guilt, can be found at:
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#fraud
http://www.noparolepeltier.com/debate.html#concise
7) Please bcc me with any correspondence.
As always, thank you for your continued support honoring the memory and sacrifice of Agents Jack Coler and Ron Williams and to prevent Leonard Peltier from continuing to capitalize on their brutal murders.
“In the Spirit of Coler and Williams”
Ed
Mr. Scott Thompson
President, PayPal
2211 N. First Street
San Jose, CA 95131
Re: Compliance Violation
Leonard Peltier Defense
Offense Committee (LPDOC)
Dear Mr. Thompson:
I have attempted on numerous occasions to bring a serious violation of PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy to the attention of PayPal’s compliance department concerning “the financial exploitation of a crime” and illegally “collecting donations as a charity or non-profit organization.”
Leonard Peltier is serving consecutive life sentences for the 1975 murders of two FBI agents. He also received an additional seven-year consecutive sentence for an armed escape from Lompoc penitentiary in 1979. Peltier’s case has received more appeals and legal reviews than perhaps most inmates, twice reaching the U.S. Supreme Court and each time his conviction has been upheld. The legal history of his case can be seen here: http://www.noparolepeltier.com/court.html
In June, 2004 PayPal recognized Peltier’s violation of the Acceptable Use Policy and removed the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee (LPDC) from the PayPal system because Peltier was “notorious for committing murderous acts.” As a result, Peltier called upon his supporters to boycott PayPal, Amazon and eBay.
The LPDC has since reorganized as the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC) and is a PayPal subscriber, and although their name and location have changed, their purpose has not.
The LPDOC is a North Dakota non-profit corporation, however, they have repeatedly solicited unlawful donations; according to their website “As with any nonprofit, your donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed,” which is contrary to state laws concerning charitable organizations. They have recently removed that language quite possibly because of IRS actions. The LPDOC also claims that their 501(c)3 exemption is “pending,” (for almost two years now), however they have already solicited allegedly tax-deductible donations and their application will most certainly not be approved because a “donation” cannot go the benefit of one individual. The fact that the LPDOC is acting as a Political Action Committee (PAC) on behalf of Peltier should also be an issue.
Peltier and the LPDOC attempt to hide their purpose behind the guise of providing educational information concerning the case of Leonard Peltier, however, they clearly state on their website whoisleonardpeltier.info that “All proceeds benefit Leonard’s defense fund.”
It would not be possible that the LPDOC has been able to comply with PayPal’s requirements to “authenticate the status of (their) account” or to prove their “tax-exempt status or registration under the applicable country specific regulatory body or laws, and to conduct due diligence,” as PayPal requires.
The fact that the LPDOC is a North Dakota, non-profit corporation is irrelevant because they have not secured charitable, tax-deducible status and are not 501(c)3 approved, and never can be; they are violating the law and using PayPal as their mechanism for collecting these funds for the benefit of a convicted murderer.
I hope you have the time to address this serious matter and abuse of PayPal’s policy.
Sincerely,
Ed Woods
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Obama's invisible apology
Posted with permission of the author. The NPPA agrees with Rob Capriccioso’s assessment except for any consideration by the President regarding clemency for Leonard Peltier. Peltier does not deserve that consideration and will never receive it.
A sorry saga
Obama signs Native American apology resolution; fails to draw attention to it
By Rob Capriccioso
The version signed by Obama became watered down, not making a direct apology from the government, but rather apologizing “on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native peoples by citizens of the United States.”
Even with the more general language, the apology is historic, but the White House has made no announcements to date about it. Nor has Obama expressed an apology to any tribes or Indian citizens, despite saying on the presidential campaign trail that he thought an apology was warranted.
The resolution Obama signed specifically “urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States against Indian tribes in the history of the United States in order to bring healing to this land.”
So, by signing the document as part of the defense spending bill, did Obama fulfill the resolution? Or, does he have an obligation to say the apology out loud and to let tribes know he signed the resolution?
[White House spokesman Shin Inouye] confirmed that a press release was issued by the White House regarding the president’s signature of the defense appropriations bill, but not one on the apology resolution--nor did the defense release mention that the apology was part of that legislation.
When other countries have apologized for travesties against their own indigenous populations, their leaders have been more up front than the Obama White House to date.
Comment: This tallies with what we've seen of Obama the candidate and president. He's probably offered more symbolic gestures to Indians than any presidential politician. But as president, he's doing the bare minimum to mollify Indians while not alienating anyone else.
Examples: Talking about settling the West and dissolving tribes in his Inaugural Address. Appointing a Republican Mormon to oversee Indian gaming. Holding a tribal summit that accomplished nothing but a promise of more consultations. Settling the Cobell case for pennies on the dollar. Not signing the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights or addressing Leonard Peltier's case (yet). And burying the US apology to Indians and not mentioning it.
We're still waiting for the first case of Obama's saying or doing something that will clearly please Indians but displease non-Indians. We may have a long wait.
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