An ailing Leonard Peltier returns home to N.D. with fanfare

BELCOURT, N.D. - Leonard Peltier crossed the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation line with a raised fist.

The 80-year-old Native American activist imprisoned for nearly 50 years in connection with the murders of two FBI agents waved to his sisters among the sea of supporters waiting in subzero temperatures Tuesday to welcome him home. It was a homecoming many thought wouldn't happen, but generations of supporters worldwide never stopped fighting to see it take place.

"I never thought he would ever be free," said sister Betty Ann Peltier Solano. "I thought the only way we were going to get him home before was when he dies."

Peltier's life sentence was commuted by former President Joe Biden in one of his last official acts in office, allowing him to serve the rest of his sentence on home confinement. FBI officials have long opposed his release and were outraged by Biden's 11th-hour decision.

Peltier was convicted of aiding and abetting murder in the 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He has maintained his innocence ever since.

His conviction has been questioned and called into doubt over the years. Two Native Americans arrested in connection with the murders were acquitted. Peltier argued the government lied and suppressed evidence during his 1977 federal trial in Fargo.

The AR-15 rifle recovered from a car carrying Peltier and several American Indian Movement members had a different firing pin than the rifle used to kill agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams. They were shot while driving separate vehicles pursuing a robbery suspect, then shot again at close range. Peltier admitted to firing from a distance but insists he didn't kill the agents.

An all-white jury found Peltier guilty, and he was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Kevin Sharp, one of his attorneys and a former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, said in a statement that, "Unquestionably, the death of two FBI agents and a young Native American was a tragedy, only further compounded by the nearly 50 years of wrongful incarceration for Leonard Peltier. Misconduct by the government in the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Peltier has been a stain on our system of justice."

The signs along U.S. Hwy 281 entering Belcourt read "50 years of resistance," and "About damn time" and "Welcome home Leonard Peltier." Kids wrapped in blankets held signs adorned with glitter spelling out "Welcome home grandpa." They waited to meet their grandfather for the first time, alongside nieces and nephews who were meeting an uncle they've only ever seen in photographs.

"I think this is the biggest thing that's happened around Belcourt," Peltier Solano said

Peltier Solano, 78, said Tuesday was the happiest day of her life. It was also a historic day, said sister Sheila Peltier, 60.

"That's the day he walks out of that penitentiary. That's very exciting for everybody, people all over the world," Sheila Peltier said.

Peltier's 2,000-mile journey home began after he was released from the federal prison complex in Coleman, Fla., northwest of Orlando early Tuesday.

"Leonard's step outside the prison walls today marks a step toward his long-overdue freedom and a step toward reconciliation with Native Americans," Sharp said.

By the time Peltier's caravan arrived in Belcourt to a parade of more than 100 people along the highway, the aging man in poor health was ready to go home to rest. The crowd waited for him at the Sky Dancer Casino to share his first requested meal of stew, but they carried on the celebration with song, drum circles and stories.

Clark Peltier wore a red Free Leonard Peltier T-shirt under his Carhartt jacket. While he waited for his distant cousin to come home, he drew a "d" on his shirt after the word free.

"He's freed," he said.

Peltier's words upon his release were quickly made into posters that hung around the casino's dining hall. "Today I am finally free! They may have imprisoned me but they never took my spirit."

At the time of the shootout, Pine Ridge was a site of intense conflict. Two years earlier the American Indian Movement occupied the reservation village of Wounded Knee over Indian rights, leading to a 71-day standoff with federal agents.

The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 1986 that evidence favorable to Peltier that was withheld by the prosecution likely wouldn't have changed the verdict.

That same year, the Human Rights Commission of Spain awarded him the International Human Rights Prize "because he was defending the historical and cultural rights of his people against the genocide of his race."

It was his first of many international honors, including seven Nobel Peace Prize nominations.

Paul O'Brien, executive director with Amnesty International USA, said in a statement that while they welcome Peltier's release, "he should not be restricted to home confinement."

"Leonard Peltier's release is the right thing to do given the serious and ongoing human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial, his nearly 50 years behind bars, his health and his age," O'Brien said.

Last summer, Peltier's most recent request for parole was denied. Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray submitted a statement urging the U.S. Parole Commission to reject parole for Peltier, noting he "has never expressed remorse for his ruthless actions."

His next opportunity for parole would have been June 2039.

At one point, Peltier resorted to seeking asylum in the then-Soviet Union.

"You've got to remember, over in Siberia a lot of the people are related to the Indian people over here. And the cold wouldn't bother me; I'm from North Dakota," Peltier told the Star Tribune in 1988. "I really don't want to leave my country. … I just don't want to stay in prison."

Peltier described the feeling of "false imprisonment" to that of being forced into a boarding school as a child.

"I have been a warrior since age nine," he penned in 2018.

Peltier's son Chauncey Peltier said he voted for Donald Trump in 2016, and the family was hopeful that Trump in his first presidential term would grant clemency.

"I prayed every day that he'd get out," Chauncey said. "I never thought Joe Biden would release him. Four presidents denied him."

Chauncey Peltier was 10 years old when his father was sent to prison. He's now 59 and living in Oregon. After Belcourt quiets down from the historic homecoming, he plans to visit his father in mid-March.

Sheila Peltier's daughter, Shannon Cartwright, 23, has never met her uncle. Cartwright said his homecoming was a culmination of "everyone who spoke about Leonard, everyone who gathered in his name, held rallies."

She said many will think her uncle's sentence being commuted to home confinement is a failure of justice that should never have happened.

"But let me tell you what is a failure of justice: the almost 50 years Leonard has spent behind bars, everything from the very prosecutor who convicted Leonard later saying his imprisonment is unjust in writing a letter to Biden saying such, to witnesses later saying they were threatened and intimidated by the FBI into testifying against Leonard. Even though Leonard is not pardoned and completely free, being granted clemency gives him the chance to experience some of the life he basically waited over half of his own to [experience]."

"With his age and health conditions, obviously he cannot enjoy to the extent that he wishes, which is a harsh reality. But now he will be able to experience the comfort and love of homecooked meals, a warm, comfortable bed, doing as he pleases within the comfort of his own home — a privilege many of us take granted every day."

A community celebration will take place Wednesday at the casino, which has no vacancies for the occasion.