Greeting My friends and Family
I write this to you with mixed feelings today. I cannot stop thinking of
the events at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut. If I had
the power to change only one event of this past year, to assure that
only one thing could be taken back, I would erase the events of that day
and see each of those beautiful children come home to their families as
if it had never happened. But I cannot change those things and can only
live with the knowledge that such things do happen in this world. And I
cannot help but be reminded by the violent deaths of those children, of
the murders of my own people, children included,on the winter banks of
Wounded Knee Creek, Sand Creek and on the Washita and so many other
places. Violence against children or women can never be acceptable to
any society…but it is part of history now and must not be forgotten.
We have to work toward a more humane and compassionate society.
My wish list is long and I will not bore you with all of it but I will
ask you to add your prayers to mine so that the Oglala people and others
who are working so hard to stop the XL Pipeline and protect our Mother
Earth will be strong and will feel the much needed support of more and
more others going forward. Anyone who looks at the pictures, the
evidence, will know at a glance that this is a careless and reckless
destruction of our precious natural world. We are the only ones who can
say the words out loud. The four legged and the winged beings and the
fish that swim are powerless to protect themselves. The very life’s
blood of our being, the water itself is being poisoned as we speak. We
have the technology to change our way of fueling our cars and heating
our homes. But it is greed and the thirst for money that keeps us from
using this technology. We have to do better. Life itself is at stake for
the coming generations.
And I wish for an end to all wars and that we will find a way to move
toward a more fair society that allows all people to work and provide
for their families. That is the least we can do.
And let me close by asking you to understand my need to express the
thoughts and feelings above and get back to the much more positive
reason for writing this letter.
I want to wish each of you the warmest of Holiday Greetings and pray
that you will have the Happiest and Healthiest of New Years.
I am grateful to all those who came together to drum and sing and play
and speak for me in New York City. I have heard that it was a wonderful
evening of love and music and that the audience was both multi-cultural
and ranged in age from 8 years old to two women from Massachusetts in
their 90’s. And of course I say Thank You to the ageless Pete Seeger and
Harry Belafonte who stayed with this idea and finally made it become
reality. And a personal Thank You to all who were there for me. The
names are too many to list and I am afraid I might forget someone so I
will just offer my thanks for all you.
I am deeply grateful to you and will not forget what you have done for me.
You have given me hope again. It has been twelve years since I have
allowed myself to have hope. I like the way it feels, but there is a
very long way to fall if it turns out to be un-fulfilled hope. I have
been here before and the very thought of it is frightening, but I know I
have to envision myself walking through the steel doors. I know that is
my part of this and I am doing that now.
I am willing and prepared to take that risk and hope that this will be
the year that I will get to know freedom again and will get to embrace
my family and friends again.
Thank You to all of you who have not forgotten me. Doksha !
Leonard Peltier
Contact:
LPDOC – PO Box 7488 – Fargo, ND 58106
(701) 235-2206 (Phone); (701) 235-5045 (Fax)
www.whoisleonardpeltier.info – http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info
contact@whoisleonardpeltier.info
Launched into cyberspace by the
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
PO Box 7488, Fargo, ND 58106
http://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info