Incident à Oglala

When I first saw this film, I was not terribly informed re the Peltier case. As soon as the credits rolled, I knew that I would have to own this film, if only so that I could lend it to everyone I knew. As I had known would happen, each new person I showed it to became angry and incredulous: how can Leonard Peltier still be in prison? The snow job this soft-spoken, good-humored Ojibwa was given by the U.S. government makes me feel ashamed to be an American. It becomes painfully clear that the FBI popped Leonard because they needed to pop an American Indian, preferably an AIM Indian - and Leonard was there. But if you ask me, no justice has even been done for the 2 dead FBI agents Peltier's conviction was intended to avenge; jailing the wrong man - KNOWING he is the wrong man - is far worse, I feel, than not jailing anyone at all. I think Coler and Williams are still waiting for their killer(s) to be brought to justice; by the same token, Leonard Peltier's supporters are still awaiting justice for Leonard himself. This film clearly shows the mockery made by the U.S. government of its own judicial system; any self-respecting American - of any ethnic background - should cringe at some of the statements made, freely and willfully, by government staff and spokespeople in this film. I hope they all watched this, and could see just how ignorant, unconscionable, and utterly hateful they sounded, with no regard whatsoever for true justice. The bottom line? Watch this film. Then show it to everyone you love. If we continue to raise awareness, then maybe someday, Leonard will find justice - and peace.

FREE LEONARD!!!

Leonard Peltier is still in prison to date for a crime he didn't commit. He was railroaded with government lies and used as a scapegoat. Injustice still reigns in America. See how the FBI fabricated evidence and coerced and strong armed people during the trial. This movie shows how the US Government can bend justice to suit them at any time. If you sit in your safe warm homes without empathy for the Native American people then you are the problem. Not part of the problem but all of the problem. People need to get involved and stand up against such tyranny and make it into a true democracy. For the people, for all the people and not just the rich white powers that be.

It's unbelievable that Leonard Peltier remains sitting in prison to this very day. A classic example of extreme oppression and injustice dealt out by the federal government. Though this film was originally released in 1992, it's no less riveting today. The documentary makes its case clearly and logically, unraveling the intricate details like a thriller. This film is not slick--and that is precisely its strength. Without using cheap visual gimmicks, it relies on the power of story and truth.

Few documentaries can match the intense content of this story. Every American needs to see this film to realize exactly what's happening in this country. The war waged against native people continues from centuries ago. You'll also see how this injustice was only a warm-up for the current Green Scare campaign against political activists and ordinary citizens defending earth from destruction. Learn more about the Green Scare in articles by journalists Dean Kuipers and Will Potter.

With "Incident at Oglala", Robert Redford and Michael Apted exposed how American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier was unjustly convicted of murder. It was obvious that the whole thing was politically motivated. And regardless of who committed the murders, they were intimidating the Indians. And anyway, the white people stole the Indians' land to begin with, so the Indians had every right to stand up for themselves.

The point is that any time that the US government talks about freedom and democracy, it's pure hypocrisy. An innocent man sits in jail while thugs rule the White House. This is an important documentary for everyone.

Incident at Oglala (1992)

*** (out of 4)

Documentary about the June 26, 1975 shooting at the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in Oglala, South Dakota where two FBI agents chased a truck onto the property and minutes later they were shot dead. Two people were found not guilty but a third, Leonard Peltier, was found guilty and sentenced to prison but much evidence shows that he wasn't the man pulling the trigger. I had never really heard of this case, although Apted's THUNDERHEART is loosely based around the events here and my main reason for watching this was because of the director as well as narrator/producer Robert Redford. I think those already familiar with the case are going to be the ones who really benefit from this film. As someone not overly familiar with it, I found the documentary to try and show every side of the debate and quite often the stories got mixed together and were rather hard to follow. This hard to follow stuff is perhaps due to the actual case, which seemed to be all over the place in terms of what really happened. Every witness seems to be telling a different story and many of them have changed their stories over the years. The evidence showing that Peltier is pretty interesting but at the same time you have those who are dead certain that he was guilty. The film clearly wants to show him as an innocent victim but I guess it will always be a mystery as that what really happened and in what ordered the events occurred. Director Apted does a very good job at getting many of the original people together for this, including Peltier, who is still in prison.