Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story

Rating:
Summary: WHAT IS JUSTICE?
Review: O.K., SO BUSH SUCKS. WHAT'S NEW? IRAQUIS, INDIANS, ALL THE SAME TO UNCLE SAM.

Rating:
Summary: Decent documentary, inconclusive case.
Review: Peltier is an otherwise forgettable Native American activist who ought to be grateful for the fame his incarceration has brought him through the years. Clearly, his voice prior to Pine Ridge has been amplified a million fold since Pine Ridge. Do I think he's innocent? No. Do I think he's guilty? Probably. Yeah, maybe he is "innocent" of the murders themselves, but sometimes if you're standing close to the burning building, and the fire marshall sees you with matches in your hands and the smell of petrol on your clothes, you're liable to go down for arson. Perhaps you didn't in fact burn the building, but man, what the hell are you doing there with matches and gasoline? Such is the Peltier case, and the politics and heated emotion surrounding this case make it almost impossible to examine impartially. Many cry that this is just another example of big bad government sticking it to the Indians. I'm not so sure. As Lincoln said of militant abolitionist John Brown, there can be no excuse for murder and treason, no matter how just the cause might be. If we forgive a guilty Peltier (or Abu-Jamal for that matter) of his crimes simply because we are sympathetic to his cause, what does that say about us, or our dedication to a just America?

Rating:
Summary: Decent documentary, inconclusive case.
Review: Peltier is an otherwise forgettable Native American activist who ought to be grateful for the fame his incarceration has brought him through the years. Clearly, his voice prior to Pine Ridge has been amplified a million fold since Pine Ridge. Do I think he's innocent? No. Do I think he's guilty? Probably. Yeah, maybe he is "innocent" of the murders themselves, but sometimes if you're standing close to the burning building, and the fire marshall sees you with matches in your hands and the smell of petrol on your clothes, you're liable to go down for arson. Perhaps you didn't in fact burn the building, but man, what the hell are you doing there with matches and gasoline? Such is the Peltier case, and the politics and heated emotion surrounding this case make it almost impossible to examine impartially. Many cry that this is just another example of big bad government sticking it to the Indians. I'm not so sure. As Lincoln said of militant abolitionist John Brown, there can be no excuse for murder and treason, no matter how just the cause might be. If we forgive a guilty Peltier (or Abu-Jamal for that matter) of his crimes simply because we are sympathetic to his cause, what does that say about us, or our dedication to a just America?

Rating:
Summary: The most powerful documentary I've ever seen.
Review: Perhaps the most instructive lesson on politics and power ever caught on film. The tragedy and injustice sufferred by "native" Americans over four centuries is crystallized and conveyed in a single event. The story is deftly "told" through flawless directing and each "side" is scrupulously given whatever time it feels it needs to make its case. If you wish to see what parts of the federal government will do when they think no one is watching, then get this film. A great caution in favor of civic participation.

Rating:
Summary: Further documentation of American political prisoners
Review: This documentary is an excellent telling of the ongoing struggle of American Indians in America, Leonard Peltier and AIM, as well as all other political prisoners. You thought political prisoners only existed in third-world dictatorships? Ha! Think again! ...

Rating:
Summary: Leonard Peltier is Innocent!!!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Leonard Peltier is Innocent!!!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Fine expose of a despicable government coverup
Review: This documentary of the disgraceful investigation and "trial" of Leonard Peltier proves that Washington still doesn't care about the rights and the plight of Native Americans. The families of the murdered agents still don't have justice and an innocent man rots behind bars, yet the feds only shrug. A must-see, but prepared to be outraged.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best documentaries produced
Review: This film presents the facts succinctly and harrowing about Leonard Peltier's situation. It truly portrays not only the egregious injustice of Peltier's imprisonment--not to mention the government agency who insists he's their man based on manufactured evidence and coerced testimony--as well as the saddening subjugation of Native American peoples not just in South Dakota but nationwide.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Documentary
Review: This is an excellent documentary of the events on the Pine Ridge Reservation that led to the imprisonment of Leonard Peltier. It does sn excellent job of showing the incident from the side ofPeltier and the other Native Americans. It could have done more interviewing with the government authorities who were there. The truth can be seen through the government's lies as shown in books such as "The Trial of Leonard Peltier" by Jim Messerschmidt, "Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement" by Ward Churchill, and "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse" by Peter Matthiessen. Those three and Leonard Peltier's book "My Life Is My Sundance" are all very highly reccomended for anyone interested in this subject.