December 10, 2024

While aboard Air Force One, NCAI President Mark Macarro had a powerful conversation with President Biden regarding Leonard Peltier, a Turtle Mountain Ojibwe elder and one of the longest-incarcerated Native American political prisoners. During the flight, President Macarro urged President Biden to grant clemency to Peltier, who has spent nearly 50 years in prison for a crime the U.S. government has acknowledged it could not prove.

In an op-ed by Native News Online recounting this pivotal moment, Macarro shared his direct appeal to President Biden: "Mr. President, we are flying to Phoenix where you will apologize on behalf of the government for its role in Indian boarding schools. You need to know that there is an 80-year-old named Leonard Peltier, one of the oldest surviving Indian boarding school survivors, who is in prison. He attended the Wahpeton Indian School in North Dakota...Peltier has served five decades in federal prison for a crime that the government has admitted it could not prove.”

At 80 years old, Peltier’s health is rapidly deteriorating, and he continues to suffer under harsh conditions that no elder should endure. His case is a painful symbol of the systemic injustice faced by Indigenous Peoples, not just in the U.S., but around the world. With only 41 days left in the current administration, we encourage you to read the full op-ed and join us in calling for Leonard Peltier’s release as a necessary step toward healing for Indigenous communities everywhere.

Read Native News Online's op-ed here.