Read Betty Ann Peltier Solano’s letter (scroll down for this letter) about her brother. Then let the Bureau of Prisons know that the public will hold them accountable for the safety and well being of Leonard Peltier.
Please include the following information in appeals for his safety:
Leonard Peltier #89637-132 USP-Canaan
U.S. Penitentiary
PO Box 300
Waymart, PA 18472

Express your outrage at the irresponsibility of BOP personnel in failing to provide for the safety of Leonard Peltier. (See the below letter from Leonard’s sister.)

Warden Ronnie R. Holt, Warden
USP-Canaan
U.S. Penitentiary
3057 Easton Turnpike
Waymart, PA 18472
Phone: 570-488-8000
Fax: 570-488-8130
E-mail address: CAA/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV

D. Scott Dodrill, Director
Northeast Regional Office
Federal Bureau of Prisons
2nd & Chesnut Streets., 7th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: 215-521-7301
E-mail: NERO/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV

Harley G. Lappin, Director
Bureau of Prisons
U.S. Department of Justice
320 First Street, NW, Room 654
Washington, DC 20534
Phone: 202-307-3250
Fax: 202-514-6878

Ask President Obama to investigate. Also urge Obama to immediately grant clemency to Leonard Peltier. Write to the President:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
E-mail: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

► URGENT! Leonard Peltier’s Safety in Jeopardy!
(Forwarded on behalf of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee)

Dear LP Supporters,

I am so OUTRAGED! My brother Leonard was severely beaten upon his arrival at the Canaan Federal Penitentiary. When he went into population after his transfer, some inmates assaulted him. The severity of his injuries is that he suffered numerous blows to his head and body, receiving a large bump on his head, possibly a concussion, and numerous bruises. Also, one of his fingers is swollen and discolored and he has pain in his chest and ribcage. There was blood everywhere from his injuries.

We feel that prison authorities at the prompting of the FBI orchestrated this attack and thus, we are greatly concerned about his safety. It may be that the attackers, whom Leonard did not even know, were offered reduced sentences for carrying out this heinous assault. Since Leonard is up for parole soon, this could be a conspiracy to discredit a model prisoner. He was placed in solitary confinement and only given one meal, this is generally done when you won’t name your attackers; incidentally being only given one meal seriously jeopardizes his health because of his diabetes. Prison officials refuse to release any info to the family, but they need to hear from his supporters to protect his safety, as does President Obama. His attorneys are trying to get calls into him now.

This attack on LP comes on the heels of the FBI’s recent letter, prompting this attack by FBI supporters as an attempt to discredit LP as a model prisoner. Anyone who has been in the prison system knows well that if you refuse to name your attackers or file charges against them, then you lose your status as a victim and/or given points against your possible parole and labeled as a perpetrator. It is not uncommon, in fact is quite common for the government to use Indian against Indian and they still operate under the old adage “it takes an Indian to catch an Indian”. In 1978, they made an attempt to assassinate him through another Indian man who was also at Marion prison with LP. But Standing Deer chose to reveal the plot to him instead of taking his life in exchange FOR A CHANCE AT FREEDOM. When Standing Deer was released in 2001, he joined the former Leonard Peltier Defense Committee as a board member. He also began to speak on Leonard’s behalf until his murder six years ago today. Prior to his murder, Standing Deer confided with close friends and associates that the same man who visited him in Marion to assassinate Peltier, had came to Houston, TX and told him that he had better stay away from Peltier and anything to do with him.

We are aware that currently, the FBI is actively seeking support for his continued imprisonment of Leonard Peltier and also also seeking support from Native People. So please be aware, and keep Leonard in your prayers. The FBI is apparently afraid of the impact we are having. If they will set him up to blemish his record just before a parole hearing, what will they do when it looks like his freedom will become a reality? We need to make sure that nothing happens to him again!

Please write the President, send it priority or registered mail. Email to Change.gov or email President Obama. Call your congressional representatives and write letters, not email, to them. Do what you can to get the word out to insure that LP is receiving adequate medical attention for his injuries.

I am asking you, supporters of Leonard and advocates of justice at this time to help. I don’t know what else to do. Please Help!

Thank you Betty Peltier-Solano Executive Coordinator Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee

Also call and request Leonard be treated with dignity and respect. Canaan Federal Prison 570-488-8000

—–

Time to set him free… Because it is the RIGHT thing to do.

Friends of Peltier
► http://www.FreePeltierNow.org

Native American Television was granted official press passes to cover everything from the Swearing In ceremony to Indigenous oriented parties, meetings and more that will coincide along all the D.C. insider balls and hoohaw. A wonderful turn for Natives in America! Here is the official NATV press release and link to their new website.

BREAKING NEWS:  As you know, this year’s Presidential Inauguration is a historic event, especially for our Native American community and the world.

NATV has the honor and privilege of being the first and only Native American news media source that is covering the Presidential Inauguration including the Swearing in Ceremony directly alongside the major networks.

Many other one time events that also require the press credentials provided by the Senate Radio/TV Gallery and the Presidential Inaugural Committee will be covered by NATV from a Native American perspective now confirmed to include the biggest of the officially sanctioned Inaugural Balls where the President of the United States will be in attendance.  Just as important is the coverage of Indigenous events that will be NATV exclusives.

The Inaugural events begin in days, and this year NATV will showcase Native America as an active community and relevant voice in the National media, as well as worldwide via the web.

New Website

Native American Television is also pleased to announce that we have another new website www.natvonline.org.  This website has been created to showcase content and current events and as of today it is under construction, but up and running with major changes slated for the very near future; especially the coverage of the Inaugural events!

NATV is a Federally Trademarked nonprofit, multimedia organization.  All information associated with NATV is proprietary and copyright protected.

No, not ours, we wouldn’t want to bore you, nor wish to make you depressed, so instead we think you ought to read the year end review of someone who actually had a great year, that being one, Terrance J Houle, the scion of silly-awesome artwork.

“Hello everyone,

Its been a bit since I have posted anything and its now 2009. I thought I would just post a couple of updates and then go right into a year in review for those interested  in what I did.

Updates:

I will be doing an artist talk at the TRUCK GALLERY: On the Soap Box Series, January 21st/09, 7pm

link: http://www.truck.ca/index.php?action=view&exnumber=159

I will also be on tour in March/April/ May across Canada. dates will be posted in teh next couple weeks.

2008 Year in Review

So 2008 was a totally interesting year for myself, It was the first year I spent entirely working as a professional artist, creating work and exhibiting all over. Unlike most years I did not have my summer youth media gig and was lucky enough to do a wide range of works such as Don Coyote and Dewdney Avenue Project. plus some major traveling…”

To read on click here: T-Banger’s Boneriffic Blog!

The upcoming film and video festival will see New York City flooded with more Indigenous folks than a…wow, I can’t think of anything clever (read: non-smart ass) to insert here. If you can, email me!

This year’s guest selectors are Nanobah Becker, Chris Eyre, Fred Rickard, and Zezinho Yube.

The festival is worker friendly in that the screenings take place in the evenings and on the weekend. Also this time around there are 70 films and videos aas opposed to over 100 back in 2006. Less is more – more time for Q&A’s and Meet & Greets. The point of a festival like this is that it provides the opportunity to interact with the media makers and festival staff on an intimate level. So, mark your calendars!

Jude Norris @ HQ Gallery Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Photos: M Colon)

This past Friday, January 9th, was the opening reception for Canadian First nations artist Jude Norris’ Gratitude Code Root Mural exhibition at HQ Gallery on Grand Street in Williamsburg Brooklyn. The show runs from January 9th through March 1st.

I generally do not like attending art openings because there are too many people, which distracts me from engaging with the work. Actually most people who attend these things are there for free drinks and/or out of obligation for one reason or another. In this case I am glad I skipped the opening because the gallery turned out to be quite a small space. I imagine it must have been claustrophobically crammed with well-wishers and (free) drinkers on opening night.

Code: Detail

So I made my way down to Williamsburg on a sunny Sunday afternoon by walking from my apartment in Queens across the Pulaski Bridge into Brooklyn. It was cold, and the streets were icy, but it was a nice walk.

Once I arrived I was greeted by the gallery director, Jackson McDade, who was kind enough to speak to me about his relationship to Jude Norris (They’re fellow Canadians), his objectives for the gallery as a site specific space for artists to work through their conceptual ideas, and much more.

Please download podcast attached to hear the interview.

Honoring the Sundance Film Festival one Egyptian Cotton Tunic at a time!

It’s that time of year again when the Hollywood elite pretend to go “independent” out in the wilds of Park City, Utah. Yes, it’s time for the Sundance Film Festival to offer festival goers, or rather, film industry insiders and hangers-on, a glimpse of what they consider to be the latest in a long line of pseudo-independent film making talent.
Honestly, about the only truly independent filmmaking comes from the minority filmmakers who manage to get into the Sundance Institute’s minority friendly programs.

To prove this point I present you the cover of their latest “lifestyle” catalogue complete with a collage of images from festivals past, and you know, stylized shots of white chicks that are presumably filmmakers/women who dig independent film. You get two minority groups represented in one colorful sweep: women and Indians of both the dot head and feathered variety! On the other hand, that could be a Pakistani kid sitting next to the white chick in the movie theatre, but for our purposes, let’s just go with Eastern Indian.

So, how did I come across this catalogue (you are most likely not wondering)? Well, I did attend Sundance 2007 as a correspondent for NAICA online. My charge was to cover the Native Forum, which is no longer called the Native Forum, but something similar to that. So it stands to reason they’d put me on the catalogue list, no? As providence would have it, the answer is No, this catalogue was not addressed to myself, but rather, my Gay White Male American (Thanks Obama!) roommate! How freakin’ awesome is it that!

We were pretty shocked to see this catalog addressed to him, as he is the unlikeliest of Gays to give two shits about the “Sundance Independent” lifestylings found within it’s pages. The number one reason being that the shit for sale is specifically marketed to White women of means and/or White women with husbands (White or otherwise) of means. The second reason is that, ahem, not all highly educated New York City dwelling Homos are into barn tables and Murano glass chandeliers.  No, it would have made sense to send me this catalog if only because I am a woman, and I attended Sundance previously, not to mention, I get every other “lifestyle” catalog ever produced. We speculated as to how he might have come to be on their list, and the only thing we could come up with is that he is on a marketing list of educated Gays living in NYC who might have discretionary income to burn, and/or Ikea sold him out when he purchased a bed from them. Damn those Swedish furniture makers!

I’ll give the catalog producers a few props:
1. For the semi-gauzy photo effect that makes the slender limbed pale skinned ninnies look that much more pale, awash as they are in diaphanous light, and
2. For the quasi-Indian looking Native American chick that also manages to look like she is actually Native American, and more than likely she is, albeit in the preferred Pocahontas vein.
But, I’d like to point out that what is on offer in this catalog is not remotely related to independent cinema. That is an obvious point I know, but ole Redford would like us to believe otherwise. Come now, Robbie, do you really believe the poor souls who toil away producing works that may or may not be purchased for distribution by Miramax can afford a $320.00 pair of distressed leather work boots and a $185.00 broomstick pleated dress?

Pishaw, I say to you sir, Pishaw!