- Details
- By Levi Rickert
TURTLE MOUNTAIN INDIAN RESERVATION — Braving sub-zero temperatures on a late sunny afternoon, family, friends, and fellow tribal citizens lined both sides of Highway 281 at the reservation entrance to welcome home Leonard Peltier on Tuesday.
The crowd swelled to over 100 an hour before Peltier arrived in a white Jeep Wagoneer. Some signs read “Welcome Home, Grandpa,” one read “Welcome Back, Ojichidaa”—an Ojibwe word for warrior—another read “Welcome Home, Cuz,” and others read “Miigwech, Leonard Peltier” beneath an iconic image of him.
Fifteen minutes before Peltier arrived, a drum group appropriately began performing the American Indian Movement (AIM) anthem in honor of one of AIM’s most iconic members.
NDN Collective's Nick Tilsen and Leonard Peltier enter the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. (Photo/Levi Rickert)
As the caravan entered the reservation, the SUVs drove slowly through a sea of tribal members who gave Peltier a hero’s welcome. The crowd cheered, and car horns echoed through the cold air. Peltier waved to both side os the highway, often with his fist clutched.
Peltier, now 80, returned home after 49 years of incarceration—widely regarded as a case of American injustice. For nearly five decades, attorneys and advocates worked to secure his release. Finally, in the final moments of his presidency, President Joe Biden commuted Peltier’s sentence. Though it was not the full pardon many had hoped for, Peltier was at last free from prison.
Some argue that he is better known globally than he is in the United States. Around the world, Peltier has long been considered a political prisoner. To Native Americans, he has become a symbol of the oppression of Indigenous peoples throughout Indian Country.
Peltier was released from the Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman, Florida, and was driven to the Leesburg airport to be flown to North Dakota.
With great AIM warriors such as Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, and Eddie Benton-Banai having walked on to join the ancestors, Peltier remains. He will live out his life under house confinement at a home on the reservation.
On Wednesday, Peltier will be honored at a community gathering at the Sky Dancer Casino & Resort events center on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
More Stories Like This
Native News Weekly (August 25, 2024): D.C. BriefsUS Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians
Native News Weekly (August 4, 2024): D.C. Briefs
Native News Weekly (June 15, 2025): D.C. Briefs
Photographs of the Homecoming of the Three Fires Powwow
Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
