Incident at Oglala - The Leonard Peltier Story

Rating:
Summary: The Earth is Weeping
Review: 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 murdered'and 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 Peltier's illegal extradition from Canada, the first two defendants were determined to be not guilty of all charges'their 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 versa''to explain just one glaring inconsistency in the government's 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!

Rating:
Summary: INCIDENT AT OGLALA - THE LEONARD PELTIER STORY
Review: INCIDENT AT OGLALA IS AN EXCELLENT DOCUMENT AND A MUST SEE FOR ANYONE WANTING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LEONARD PELTIER AND THE MISTREATMENT OF AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE UNITED STATES. FBI MISCONDUCT WAS RAMPANT THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENT. CURRENTLY, LEONARD CONTINUES TO SET IN A CELL IN LEAVENWORTH WITH NO EVIDENCE TO PROVE THAT HE BELONGS THERE. MOREOVER, MUCH PROOF EXISTS THAT HE DOES NOT BELONG IN PRISON.
WATCH THIS AND GET INVOLVED WITH THE BUSINESS OF BRINGING LEONARD HOME. TWENTY EIGHT YEARS IS TOO LONG FOR JUSTICE TO NOT BE SERVED.

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: What we know and what we don't know
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: 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: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A great work of pure fiction!
Review: Typical Hollywood Left never let the truth get in the way of their extremist agenda. Peltier like the other extreme left poster boy Mumia kills a law enforcement officer(in Peltier's case 2 at point blank range) and because he's a minority he is the ultimate victim. Minortiies have suffered in this country from plenty of injustices and there are some that have been persecuted that you could focus on but Peltier isn't one of them. Finally, if you were looking for a good documentary you won't find it here just bad propaganda for the left.

Rating:
Summary: Should be REQUIRED Viewing in Schools
Review: Very well done documentary of the events on the Pine Ridge Reservation and the subsequent fallout. No matter what your views on the incident, this will give you a great overview of what happened. Definitely should be required viewing for any student of "American" History.