168 of 177 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Earth is Weeping, June 7, 2002
This review is from: Incident at Oglala (DVD)
As you probably already know, this film concerns the blatantly unfair trail and conviction of Leonard Peltier, for the alleged crime of murdering two FBI agents at the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975. The documentary begins by putting the incident in its proper perspective by showing that the Pine Ridge Reservation, at that time, had one of the highest per capita murder rates in the entire US, with the vast majority of those crimes, even today, still filed as "unsolved" (Check out Ward Churchill's "Indians are Us" and Agents of Repression for a detailed account of the killings in question). In fact, from 1973 to 1976 at least 69 Aim members and supporters were murderedand not one person was ever convicted, or even investigated, for these brutally horrific crimes. Why were these deaths not investigated you may ask. It is because the victims were primarily American Indians involved with AIM who were actively involved in the struggle to retain the lands lawfully granted to them in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 against the federal gov't and the corrupt, unelected BIA administration of Dick Wilson. Many have openly claimed that Wilson and his so-called "goon squad" were responsible for these killings, but no investigation was ever conducted by State law enforcement officials or by the FBI; and yet the incident that led to the shooting that left two agents and one Indian dead, centered around an investigation concerning a pair of STOLEN COWBOY BOOTS. You can draw your own conclusions from that.
Although three men were originally charged with the murder of the agents in a separate trial preceding Peltiers illegal extradition from Canada, the first two defendants were determined to be not guilty of all chargestheir acts viewed as self defense. After this embarrassment the FBI decided that Peltier would be convicted at all costs and set about the task of constructing a case against him. After a trial marred by official perjury, witness intimidation and clearly manufactured evidence, Leonard Peltier alone was convicted, but then, only after the original judge was inexplicably removed from the case and replaced with one "friendly" to the FBI by a prejudiced jury of his white peers. This film shows the disturbing details surrounding how Peltier was ultimately convicted by this court presided over by an obviously prejudiced judge and jury on what amounts to a mountain of manufactured evidence, witness tampering, and lies.
As the film and the FBI's own evidence shows there is absolutely no proof that has not been exposed as fraud, that links Peltier to the murder weapon or the red van (Peltier drove a pickup truck) that the agents reportedly followed onto the reservation. The FBI goes so far as to argue that people in this part of the country call a pickup truck a van and vice versato explain just one glaring inconsistency in the governments case. The FBI's own statements are filled with inconsistencies and outright falsehoods, which resulted in the Federal Judge Edward McManus of the first trial harshly rebuking them for their shameful, reckless and unlawful behavior. In the video the FBI spokesman's dishonesty is clearly, if not painfully, apparent. Simply watch this video and decide for yourself. You will be surprised and certainly appalled by what you see.
Incident at Oglala is a vitally important document detailing a form of repression and cultural genocide that has continued, although in differing forms, since the arrival of Columbus, against Native Americans. The Dali Lama, Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, The European Parliament and Amnesty International have all urged that executive Clemency be granted to Peltier based on the facts of this case and the massive miscarriage of justice that it represents. This important film is a must see for anyone who cares about the ideals of freedom and justice in this country and the shameful realities that, all too often, hide behind those noble-sounding terms. For as long as men like Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abul-Jamal remain imprisoned, none of us are completely safe from the same treatment.
Mitakuye Iyasin!
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58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute, must-see!, July 4, 2000
I knew little about Leonard Peltier's situation which is why I wanted to watch this documentary. I can not believe this man is still in jail, over 20 years later. His situation is a perfect example of a government who would do what is necessary to "solve" a murder. Never mind that the case had a million holes in it that were never answered. This is the kind of thing that is not supposed to happen in America (event though it does all the time). This should be required viewing for every person in America (the land of the free!).
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50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Leonard Peltier is Innocent!!!, May 23, 2003
This documentary makes it painfully obvious how weak the government's case against Leonard Peltier really is. The fact that he was actually convicted scares me to death! Despite the fact that it was a tragedy that those two agents died that day, they had to have known the risk they were taking by storming onto a reservation, where the people lived in fear everyday that they could be killed. Regardless of what actually happened that day, and who was reponsible for those deaths, the fact of the matter is that the way the prosecution handled their case against Peltier, and the resulting conviction is a travesty of justice! Just about every claim, or piece of evidence mentioned by a government representative interviewed for this documentary was disproved by the defense, or even just plain fact. Reasonable doubt is an understatement here. And what about the fact that no one was ever tried for the death of Joe Stuntz? The government was so outraged that two of their agents had been killed, but they forgot that they are also sworn to defend and protect the residents of the Indian reservations as well! This documentary will be hard to watch, and it will make you angry that something like this can happen in the "Land of the Free", but as Americans, it is our duty to act on behalf of our fellow Americans when they are victimized in this way.
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