As I've noted before, I'm working on an historical research project about Indian activism on the High Plains. With that in mind, I'd like to note this article from The Washington Post:
Calvin Jumping Bull was away at college when the shootout at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation left three people dead and became part of the storied battle between federal agents and the American Indian Movement in the 1970s.
Jumping Bull, 75, now lives on the reservation where tension between the FBI and Indian activists escalated on June 26, 1975. That was the day agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler were shot in the head at point-blank range after being injured in a shootout.
Also killed in the shootout was AIM member Joseph Stuntz. The Justice Department concluded that an FBI sniper killed Stuntz, who was clad in Coler's FBI jacket when his body was found.
Three decades later, questions remain about the fatal shootout and about Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of murder for the agents' deaths. Peltier, 60, who is serving life in prison, has claimed the FBI framed him. The agency denies that. ...
Before President Clinton left office in January 2001, he considered granting Peltier clemency. Among those who urged Clinton to keep Peltier behind bars: then-FBI Director Louis Freeh, former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle and former Gov. Bill Janklow, who flew to Washington and had a lengthy meeting with Clinton at the White House.
Lately, there's been some developments in the Peltier case:
In April [15, 2005], a federal judge [Donovan W. Frank] in St. Paul, Minn., admonished the FBI for withholding documents on Peltier's case but denied a request by Peltier's lawyers for quicker access to information used to convict him.
And most recently, at a hearing this month in Fargo, Peltier's lawyer Barry Bachrach argued the government had no right to send Peltier to prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Schneider said the claim is frivolous and the only way Peltier could get back in court. A ruling is expected within months.
Although it has been Peltier and his lawyers who have drawn the most attention to the case, federal prosecutors have introduced a possible link between Peltier and the 1975 slaying of another AIM member _ Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, whose body was found in February 1976 on the Pine Ridge reservation.
Tomorrow will be the 30th anniversary of the shootout.
Unrelated Footnote: Readers may have noticed that posts have been light lately and that Profs. Schaff and Blanchard haven't been posting in a couple weeks. Both are currently attending a conference, so this has left Quentin and I carrying the ball for a few more days. Rest assured, both will be returning shortly.
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