US Political Prisoners – some held for more than 25 years on false charges and witness lies

Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tacoma Leonard Peltier March and Rally Reportback

THE MAY 21ST REGIONAL LEONARD PELTIER MARCH AND RALLY IN TACOMA
March web site has photos http://leonardpeltiermarch.wordpress.com/

The sound of drums could be heard from miles around, as a few hundred marched for Leonard Peltier in Tacoma. Most of the marchers were Native people, many Puyallups and other Salish people, the Native Student Alliance, Portland America Indian Movement, other Native people and Tacoma, Puyallup and Portland Chapters of the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee. Along with non-Native allies from the Jericho Movement, Industrial Workers of the World, Jobs With Justice, peace and justice activists, labor activists and a few anarchists. Once the march reached downtown, the drums and the Leonard Peltier Honor song vibrated off the buildings. The march was a long one from Puyallup land to downtown Tacoma, with the all Native security team looking out for the well-being of all
the marchers.

The police were out in force, again, trying to make some kind of political statement against the march. They threaten anyone who lagged behind and to that I explained that we had a permit to arch, even those that might be a little slow. Even though, as we had done in the past, only marched in one lane of the street, the police blocked both lands. So those who were in cars that could not get by, only have the police to blame. Near the court house the police tired to move the march on to the sidewalk, but we marched around them. When they told me to move on to the sidewalk, I told
them we had a permit to march from Portland Ave. Park to the court house and that is what we were going to do and that is what we did. I heard reports of the police calling Native people “Chief” and “Tonto” and other harassing remarks. They gave out a number of traffic tickets, including to people who parked in two hour zones, some of them had been parked there for less than two hours. We just did what we came there to do and viewed the police actions as proving our point. …more