Waiting for the announcement of clemency for Leonard Peltier was the one thing that got me through all the Clinton administration sell-outs. To say that it was a disappointment that justice was not finally done by Bill Clinton is an amazing understatement. The power of the FBI was in ample evidence as they demonstrated aginst the clemency order -- it makes us wonder if ther were threats lodged against someone soon to be in the public sector! The history of the FBI's questionable conduct in this and many other cases has been illustrated many times over, yet they continue to remain as powerful as ever,and as teflon coated! As dealers in American Indian arts, we have followed this travesty since 1976, at one time exhibiting his original paintings to help raise funds for his defense fund.

I really believe that his case is the single largest failing of both our justice department and of the citizens who would allow the imprisonment to continue. The facts, statements, commentary and general file information has been available for years, at one time even attracting the notice of the trend-driven "Hollywood" crowd, due to Peter Mattheissen's book, and the Val Kilmer movie Thunderheart, that has been mentioned above.

The truth is, anyone who has an interest in protecting our freedoms should see the threat to us all that this case represents. There have been sad disappointments all along, through the appeals process and the parole hearings, which, despite a lot of light being shed on the government's corrupt case, has left him aging behind bars instead of with his family and his people. It is sadly telling, that several years ago when we attempted to get the NY Times to cover our exhibition of his artwork, the repsonse was that "it's not news anymore, besides, Indian issues aren't really trendy anymore." Unfortunately, the media leads the way in this nation, where if it's "not at the shopping mall", chances are that we really don't need it! I really hope that this discussion will prompt people to write letters to their representatives and pressure the government we elected to set him free at last.