Two prominent Indigenous leaders this week separately pressed President Joe Biden on why he hasn’t released Leonard Peltier from prison ― and signaled that tribal leaders and Native rights advocates plan to make this a priority issue in the 2024 presidential election.
Fawn Sharp, the president of the National Congress of American Indians, said in a Monday letter to Biden that he regularly talks about his commitment to strengthening the federal government’s relationship with Native communities. But lost in that commitment is doing anything about Peltier, the Indigenous rights activist the U.S. government put in prison nearly 50 years ago after a trial riddled with misconduct and lies.
“Enough is enough, Mr. President,” said Sharp. “After nearly five decades of imprisonment, this is now a matter of not only justice but mercy as well. We urge you to immediately commute the sentence for Leonard Peltier or support his petition for compassionate release.”
In a Wednesday…
