A little history

In the late 1960's and early 1970's Leonard Peltier began traveling to different Native communities. He spent a lot of time in Washington and Wisconsin and was working as a welder, carpenter, and community counselor for Native people. In the course of his work he became involved with the American Indian Movement (AIM) and eventually joined the Denver Colorado chapter. In Denver, he worked as a community counselor confronting unemployment, alcohol problems and poor housing. He became strongly involved in the spiritual and traditional programs of AIM.

Eventually his AIM involvement would bring him to assist the Oglala Lakota People of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota in the mid 1970's. On Pine Ridge he participated in the planning of community activities, religious ceremonies, programs for self-sufficiency, and improved living conditions. He also helped to organize security for the traditional people who were being targeted for violence by the pro-assimilation tribal chairman and his vigilantes. It was here that the tragic shoot-out of June 26, 1975 occurred, leading to his wrongful conviction. Despite the harsh conditions of imprisonment, Leonard Peltier has continued to lead an active life.

A citizen of the Anishinabe and Lakota Nations Leonard Peltier is a father, a grandfather, an artist, a writer, and an Indigenous rights activist. He has spent more than thirty years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Amnesty International considers him a political prisoner who should be immediately and unconditionally released.

To the international community, the case of Leonard Peltier is a stain on America's Human Rights record. Nelson Mandela, Rigoberta Menchu, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights, the Dalai Lama, the European Parliament, the Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, and Rev. Jesse Jackson are only a few who have called for his freedom. To many Indigenous Peoples, Leonard Peltier is a symbol of the long history of abuse and repression they have endured. The National Congress of American Indians and the Assembly of First Nations, representing the majority of First Nations in the U.S. and Canada, have repeatedly called for Leonard Peltier's freedom.

When & Where

Since 1997 the Run for Freedom has been traveling by foot across the US and Canada spreading the message about the case of Leonard Peltier and other Prisoners of Conscience.

We invite all to come and participate weather you run, walk or bicycle for peace and justice.

This year we will gather on Saturday June 12th at 8:00am at Chief Little Turtle Statue in Covington KY and end on June 13th at Serpent Mound Park