[olympiaworkers] NW Regional International Day in Solidarity with Leonard Peltier and important petition

PLEASE POST WIDELY
From: The Office of the Northwest Regional Organizer of the Leonard Peltier Defense/Offense Committee and the Tacoma Chapter of the Leonard Peltier Defense/Offense Committee, P.O. Box 5464, Tacoma, WA 98415-0464 bayou@blarg.net

As individual fingers we can easily be broken, but all together we make a mighty fist. -- Sitting Bull

INTERNATION DAY IN SOLIDARITY

NW REGIONAL MARCH AND RALLY FOR CLEMENCY FOR LEONARD PELTIER

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY, 4, 2012, TACOMA, WA.

12:00 NOON: MARCH FOR JUSTICE Portland Ave. Park (on Portland Ave. between E. 35th & E. Fairbanks. Take Portland Ave. exit off I-5 and head east)
1:00 PM: RALLY FOR JUSTICE U.S. Federal Court House, 1717-Pacific Ave.

MARCH STATEMENT

“I have no doubt whatsoever that the real motivation behind both Wounded Knee II and the Oglala firefight, and much of the turmoil throughout Indian Country since the early 1970s, wasâ€"and isâ€"the mining companies’ desire to muffle AIM and all traditional Indian people, who soughtâ€"and still seekâ€"to protect the land, water, and air from their thefts and depredations. In this sad and tragic age we live in, to come to the defense of Mother Earth is to be branded a criminal.” --Leonard Peltier, Prison Writings â€"

Leonard Peltier (of the Anishinabe, Dakota, and Lakota Nations), long time Native Activist and member of the American Indian Movement. Leonard Peltier, an innocent man who was convicted for the 1975 shooting deaths of two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. U.S. prosecutors have repeatedly admitted that they did not and cannot prove Peltier's guilt, and the appellate courts have cited numerous instances of investigative and prosecutorial misconduct in this case. As late as November 2003, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that "…Much of the government’s behavior at the Pine Ridge Reservation and its prosecution of Mr. Peltier is to be condemned. The government withheld evidence. It intimidated witnesses. These facts are not disputed." The trial of the first two AIM members in this case were found not guilty for reason of self-defense.
  Behind the case of Leonard Peltier and the events that took place on the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota Reservation is the continuing theft of Native land for energy corporations. High grade Uranium was found in the northwest corner of Pine Ridge. It was well known that the Lakota people would be unwilling to sell their land because they refused payment for the Black Hills. So a plan was carried out to suppress the traditional Oglala Lakota people and their supporters from the America Indian Movement. This lead to the Wounded Knee II Occupation, over 500 AIM members being indited on charges, a two and a half year reign of terror against the Oglala Lakota people, and the firefight near Oglala, that Leonard was charged with, that took place at the same time that a corrupt tribal Chairman was illegally signing away the part of Pine Ridge with the Uranium. The firefight took place as a means to divert attention and to suppress AIM.
  Leonard has been in prison for over 35 years for a crime he did not commit and a crime that forces of greed were responsibly for. They have withheld medical care for Leonard and recently Leonard was placed in solitary confinement for 72 days and then sent to a high security prison in Florida, as far away from his lawyers and family as they could send him. Leonard is in bad health and they want Leonard to die in prison, alone and forgotten.  We will not let that happen.
   We are now organizing a new clemency for Leonard Peltier campaign and the regional marches on Feb, 4, 2012 are a very important part of that. Please help us raise money for it and get the word out everywhere.  Please. let us come together in the spirit of unity for Leonard and for the kind of justice and peace we want for our world. Thank you.

DONATIONS: Organizing this march has already costs us more than we have raised by donations. We are a grassroots movement, we get no outside funding and depend upon donations. Please make checks out to: The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee, (mark them for NW March) and mail them to: Tacoma Chapter, LPDOC, P.O. Box 5464, Tacoma, WA 98415-0464. Thank you.

Join Tacoma Chapter LPDOC on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100002154914197
Subcribe to: Northwest Peltier Support at: nwpeltiersupport-subscribe@lists.riseup.net  
For more information: www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

The Leonard Peltier Whitehouse Petition

The We the People/ official White House petition site - https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/fb/petition/petition/grant-clemency-native-american-activist-leonard-peltier-without-delay/LLWBZq1S
We still need over 2000 signatures to make it to the minimum threshold of 5000 signatures in 30 days. Please use every means possible of communicating with the public on this â€"flyers around town, canvassing and referring folks to the website, call in to broadcast and internet radio shows to promote the petition---be creative. This is an important opportunity and we need to surpass that 5000 mark to make an impressive showing. Many people have had difficulty completing the signature process--but in a nutshell--you register your name, email and zip code.Leave the website page open and open another window/tab to retrieve your email ...which will contain a passcode..you then go back to the website to sign in with your email address(user name) and the passcode. From LPDOC