Feb. 6, 1976: AIM Organizer Leonard Peltier Captured

In June 1975, a shootout broke out between FBI agents and American Indian Movement (AIM) activists on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. AIM had been present at the Pine Ridge Reservation since early 1973, when they were asked to provide protection to Native residents leading up to the occupation of Wounded Knee.

American Indian Movement organizer Leonard Peltier is led across Oakalla Prison to a waiting helicopter, on Dec. 17, 1976, on Burnaby, British Columbia. Source: Bettmann Archive/NBCNews

During the shootout, two FBI agents were killed and an ensuing international manhunt eventually led to the arrest of three AIM members. One of those three, Leonard Peltier, was captured on February 6, 1976 in Hinton, Alberta, Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and subsequently extradited to the United States. While the other two captured AIM members were acquitted on self-defense, Peltier was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the deaths of the two FBI agents. Peltier remained imprisoned for nearly 50 years, and he maintains his innocence.

In 1999, Peltier published a memoir from prison, Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance. He has also become a prolific artist and painter during his decades of incarceration. This is one of Peltier’s paintings that has been featured in the annual Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar:

This painting by Leonard Peltier was featured in the 2024 Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar. Source: Certain Days

Free Leonard Peltier campaigns were ongoing for decades, and international human rights leaders like Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, and the Dalai Lama called for his release. Amnesty International created the video below, calling on outgoing President Joe Biden to grant clemency to the aging and ailing Peltier, which Biden historically did on January 20, 2025 (meaning Peltier would serve out the remainder of his life sentences under home confinement).

The Official Ad Hoc Committee to Free Leonard Peltier Now, the official support site for the campaign to free Leonard Peltier.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Story of Leonard Peltier and the FBI’s War on the American Indian Movement by Peter Matthiessen (Penguin Books)

Incident at Oglala, a documentary by Michael Apted about Peltier’s conviction.

Watch the Democracy Now! 2024 special on Leonard Peltier, Imprisoned for 50 Years: Amnesty Calls for Leonard Peltier’s Freedom as He Turns 80 Behind Bars, below.

This post was written by the Certain Days: Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar collective, which is an educational and fundraising project founded in 2001 to raise awareness and funds for political prisoners held in North America. The collective was formed by Black Liberation Army political prisoners Herman Bell and Robert Seth Hayes and white anti-imperialist political prisoner David Gilbert — all of whom have since gained their freedom after decades of incarceration — and outside supporters.