Leonard Peltier

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/leonard-peltier

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Leonard Peltier born?September 12, 1944
2. Where was Leonard Peltier born?Grand Forks, North Dakota
3. What is the affiliation?American Indian Movement (AIM)
4. What is the sentence?Two consecutive life imprisonment terms
5. Who is Leonard Peltier?Leonard Peltier is a Native American activist who became a symbol for Indigenous rights. He was a member of the American Indian Movement and was convicted of two counts of first‑degree murder.
6. What happened on June 26, 1975?On that day a shootout occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation between AIM members and FBI agents. Two FBI agents were killed, and Peltier was later arrested for their murders.

Indigenous Rights: The rights of Indigenous peoples to their lands, cultures, languages, and self-governance.
Political Prisoner: A person imprisoned for their political beliefs or actions, often seen as unjustly detained.
Self-Determination: The right of a people to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.
Clemency: The power of an executive to reduce a sentence, grant a pardon, or commute a punishment.