The new 'Free Leonard Peltier' film received a standing ovation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a special presentation by Leonard Peltier and Dino Butler. The film, which reveals the history of the movement, and exposes details previously unknown, shows today in Fort Collins, Colorado. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival and is available online beginning tomorrow from Colorado State University Libraries.
Speaking to the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival from his home on Turtle Mountain in North Dakota, Peltier said he joined the American Indian Movement in 1970 in Denver, which was created and born here in Minneapolis.
"It was one of the most powerful organizations in history for Native Americans. We fought to abolish the Termination Act, and all of the discrimination, and all of the evils that were created against Native people here in America," Peltier said.
"It has been a long fight, it is not over I'm sure, because we still have our enemies. I am an old man now and I can not get in the field to fight for you, but I can become a spokesperson, and I will become a spokesperson. I will continue to fight for our people for the rest of my life on earth."
The Minnesota Daily reports that the film set a powerful tone for the 44th MSP International Film Festival, sharing Peltier's words in the recorded broadcast that followed the film showing and Q&A with filmmakers in Minneapolis.
“We are sovereign nations, and we want our nationhood back,” Peltier said. “I’m pleading with you, please help us.”
Peltier told the audience he hoped they enjoyed the film, even though some parts were difficult to watch.
Free Leonard Peltier tells the long story, back from the beginning, of the injustice, the police beatings, lives stolen in boarding schools, and the 68 murders on Pine Ridge. It tells the story of the soft-spoken Leonard Peltier.
The images, from Alcatraz to the BIA takeover in Washington, to the Jumping Bull Camp, tell the story of those who were there and have always known what happened.
The film reveals one of the longest-running secrets in Indian country.
Continue reading Censored News article about the film, and the making of the film:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/02/free-leonard-peltier-film-for-people.html
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