Dear President Obama

I just faxed this letter to the White House on behalf of Leonard Peltier. Why fax? No one faxes any more. The man gets 10,000 letters a week and more emails than that a day. I edited the text of an example letter @ http://www.freepeltiernow.org. One cannot be a whack job and get noticed. If you would like to use this letter as a template, feel free to make a few changes and call it your own. The result is what's important. Mahalo.

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Dear President Obama,

Like many registered voters who proudly voted for you, I'm concerned about the high rate of unemployment in our country. I'm particularly concerned about the highest rates of unemployment, as seen on Indian Reservations. I learned about the living conditions on reservations from the writings of Native American activist Leonard Peltier. It saddens me that not much has changed on the reservations in the past 30 years. Nothing much has changed for Leonard Peltier in that time, either.

I've read that the White House has recently begun to host special listening sessions with representatives of the First Nations. I'm grateful that you've taken this step to improve relations between the White House and the tribes. Thank you. Perhaps a session could be dedicated to discussing strategies that may help ease the effects of unemployment on the reservations? I'm thinking of the community gardens Mr. Peltier used to plant. Peltier knew that, with simple tools and proper resources, reservations could not only feed their residents, but improve their health and reduce health care costs.

Perhaps you will consider, though, that the most dangerous disease on reservations is hopelessness—a byproduct not only of unemployment and poor living conditions, but of the ill-treatment suffered by Indigenous Peoples for hundreds of years.

During your campaign you said, "The criminal justice system is not color blind. It does not work for all people equally, and that is why it’s critical to have a president who sends a signal that we are going to have a system of justice that is not just us, but is everybody... It requires some political courage, because oftentimes you are accused of being soft on crime."

Mr. President, you have the opportunity to show Native Peoples that the promise of "justice for all" applies to them. As a first step, please grant clemency to Leonard Peltier. Bring hope to Indigenous People across this great land. Heal the wounds of the past and uphold the constitutional values we Americans hold so dear.

Thank you for your consideration. Mahalo.

Sincerely,
Greg Jerrett