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| Leonard Peltier, for those of you who don't know, is a Native American who has been imprisoned for over a quarter century for a crime he did not commit. His only crime was being Indian and protecting women, children and Elders. Here is an excerpt from his book, "Prison Writings, My Life is My Sundance" "Out of death comes life. Out of pain comes hope. This I have learned these long years of loss. Loss, but never despair. I have never lost hope or an absolute belief in the rightness of my cause, which is my People's survival. I don't know how to save the world. I don't have the answers or The Answer. I hold no secret knowledge as to how to fix the mistakes of generations past and present. I only know that without compassion and respect for ALL of Earth's inhabitants, none of us will survive-nor will we deserve to. The future, our mutual future, the future of all the peoples of humanity, must be founded in respect. Let respect be both the catchword and the watchword of the new millennium we are now all entering together. Just as we want others to respect us, so we need to show respect to others. We are in this together-the rich, the poor, the red, the white, the black, the brown, and the yellow. We are all one family of humankind. We share responsibility for our Mother the Earth and for all those who live and breathe upon her. I believe our work will be unfinished until not ONE human being is hungry or battered, not a single person is forced to die in war, not one innocent languishes imprisoned, and no one is persecuted for his or her beliefs. I believe in the good in humankind. I believe that the good can prevail, but only with great effort. And that effort is ours, each of ours, yours and mine. We must be prepared for the danger that will surely come our way. Critics will attack us, try to distance us from each other and mock our sincerity. But if we are strong in our beliefs, we can reverse their assaults and grow even stronger in our commitments to Mother Earth, our struggles, and our future generations of children. Never cease in the fight for peace, justice, and equality for all people. Be persistent in all that you do and don't allow anyone to sway you from your conscience. Sitting Bull said, "As individual fingers we can easily be broken, but all together we make a mighty fist." The struggle is ours to win or lose. |
| Mitakuye Oyasin-All my relations |