Leonard Peltier was a leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM). The government arrested him and charged him for the death of two FBI agents. Mary notes that they arrested him “not because there was a good case against him, but because he was a radical AIM leader and a thorn in the government's flesh.” In other words, Leonard Peltier was (and still is, as of 2021) a political prisoner. His imprisonment, which Mary argues is unjust, is evidence of the U.S. government’s intentions to eliminate Native American activists.
Get the entire Lakota Woman LitChart as a printable PDF.
Leonard Peltier Character Timeline in Lakota Woman
The timeline below shows where the character Leonard Peltier appears in Lakota Woman. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 13: Two Cut-off Hands
...the deaths of one Native American and two FBI agents. Annie Mae’s close friend Leonard Peltier was a wanted man after this incident, even though the evidence against him was flimsy....
(full context)
...Leonard Crow Dog at the time. Once they arrested Annie Mae, they questioned her about Peltier and other matters, all the while telling her that she would die—sooner or later—if she...
(full context)
Chapter 15: The Eagle Caged
...took Leonard in for questioning, during which they repeatedly asked him where a man named Peltier was hiding, a question that had no connection to what he was being arrested for,...
(full context)
The FBI eventually decided to charge a radical AIM leader named Leonard Peltier for the deaths of the two FBI agents. They threatened several "witnesses" into testifying, and...
(full context)
