Peltier, << pehl TEER, >> Leonard (1944-…), is a Native American activist who was convicted of murdering two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in 1975. A great deal of controversy has surrounded the arrest, prosecution, and continued imprisonment of Peltier, who continues to maintain his innocence. Many of his supporters consider him a symbol of the abuses and injustices suffered by Native Americans.
Peltier was born on Sept. 12, 1944, in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He is of Chippewa, Sioux, and French ancestry. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Peltier became involved with the American Indian Movement (AIM), a Native American civil rights organization. As an AIM member, he traveled to various Native American communities and participated in a variety of activities. He also joined protests that called for increased self-determination—that is, the right of Native Americans to control their own land and their own affairs without interference from U.S. government agencies.
In 1975, Peltier went to the Pine Ridge Sioux reservation in South Dakota, where the conflict between Native Americans—especially members of AIM—and the government had become increasingly violent. During a gun battle on the reservation on June 26, 1975, FBI agents Jack R. Coler and Ronald A. Williams were shot dead. Peltier was one of several AIM leaders present at the scene. The other leaders were acquitted, but in a separate trial, Peltier was convicted of the murders and sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.
Peltier’s supporters and the FBI have long disagreed over the quality of the evidence that led to Peltier’s conviction. Peltier and his supporters, although they admit Peltier was at the scene of the crime, claim that the murders were committed by someone else. Following a hearing in 1985, prosecutors stated that they could not prove that Peltier killed the agents, but that he was an aider and abettor (helper). Peltier has appealed his conviction a number of times but has failed to have it overturned.
