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February 3, 2011
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse – NHCC American Indian Students speak for Leonard Peltier in Washington DC
National Writers Conference gives Native students – and imprisoned activist – a voice
By Ana Davis
Cassondra and Sonny Vizenor, two American Indian students from North Hennepin Community College, Brooklyn Park, MN, recently traveled to Washington DC to speak on behalf of imprisoned American Indian activist Leonard Peltier with faculty members from their college and National Geographic editor, writer and biographer Harvey Arden. The students’ trip was funded by the college’s Center for Liberal Arts and Diversity Council.
The Vizenors’ presentation, “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse: The Writings of Leonard Peltier,” was part of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs annual conference, one of the largest literary events in North America, and coincided with the 35th anniversary of Peltier’s controversial incarceration for the murder of two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in North Dakota in 1975.
Honoring Peltier
Peltier has always maintained his innocence and, for Sonny and Cassondra, who are both majoring in Criminal Justice, it was an important opportunity to honor him and raise awareness about Peltier’s continued imprisonment by reading his words from Prison Writings: My Life is My Sundance to an audience of writers.
Peltier, now 66, is held in maximum security US-Penitentiary Lewisburg, PA, despite significant concerns about the fairness of his 1977 trial due to withheld and questionable evidence by the prosecution, coercion of witnesses by the FBI, and the disallowance by the judge of crucial testimony for the defense. Indeed, at Peltier’s appellate hearing in 1993, special prosecutor Lynn Crooks admitted that the government does “not know who shot the agents.”
However, despite repeated calls for presidential clemency from supporters across the globe, including the European, Italian and Belgium parliaments, dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and human rights’ champion Amnesty International, Peltier remains behind bars, and is now suffering from serious health issues.
Guilty of being Indian
Sonny, 26, a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe who grew up on the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota, said that he felt proud and honored to speak for Peltier.
“The only thing he has ever been guilty of,” he said, “is being Indian and trying to protect his people. We were his voice that day, and I think his voice was heard loud and clear.”
Cassondra, a 23-year old Ojibwe Band member of White Earth, who is part of NHCC’s TRIO program, a federally funded initiative for first generation, low income or disabled students, concurred.
“I feel that the continued incarceration of Leonard Peltier is a tragedy,” she said. “I can’t believe that he is still being caged, and is dying slowly, for a crime that he did not commit. He should have been set free long ago. I also feel that his incarceration reflects badly on the American government and goes against all it stands for and promises to uphold under the US Constitution. My heart aches for Leonard and his family.”
Arden, a longtime friend of Peltier’s and editor of Prison Writings, reiterated how important it is to keep Peltier at the forefront of people’s consciousness – and consciences.
“I always enjoy reading his words,” he said, “and sounding his voice from beyond those prison walls. It was also a privilege to share the experience with these two young people.”
One-in-a-lifetime opportunity
For the two students, who are childhood sweethearts, the trip to Washington was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as neither had been out of Minnesota, flown on an airplane before, or given a public presentation. In addition to seeing some of the capitol’s famous landmarks such as The White House, Capitol Hill and the National Museum of the American Indian, Cassondra and Sonny were also able to attend other conference events, notably a reading by acclaimed Indian poets Susan Deer Cloud, Black Bear and Monty Campbell Jr.
“I experienced a lot of firsts,” laughed Sonny, also a TRIO student, “like traveling on a plane, going to Washington D.C., and speaking in public at such an important event. The highlights for me were sharing Peltier’s inspirational words with others, and getting to meet great writers like Harvey Arden, Susan, Black Bear, and Monty.”
Cassondra, who is the President of NHCC’S Native American Nations Association (NANA), also loved the chance to listen to and learn from other indigenous writers.
“There were so many things that happened,” she smiled, “that it’s hard for me to mention just one. I had the honor of meeting so many wonderful writers, who were such amazing and genuine people. Also, during our panel, a Lakota man stood up and sent a prayer to Peltier. Hearing him speak in his Native language really touched me.”
Conference spotlights native writers
Campbell, a citizen of the Cayuga Tribe of the Six Nations, whose first collection of poetry A Large Dent in the Moon, will be published this month, agreed that the emphasis on Native writers at the AWP conference gave him hope for the future.
“Spending time with Cassie and Sonny and other indigenous writers,” said the Rochester, NY, poet – also a Peltier supporter, “was the highlight of my time at AWP this past year. They brought such positivity and hope for the future of natives and aspiring native writers alike. I think a sad and negative stigma is placed on the native struggle, but these two students shake that stigma and turn it completely around. That is so important in the social and literary worlds, and it’s wonderful that AWP includes many indigenous writers.”
Campbell’s fellow panelists Deer Cloud and Black Bear also enjoyed meeting the Vizenors and were impressed by their enthusiasm and dedication to their studies, as well as their desire to help others.
“I saw in Sonny and Cassie deep knowledge illuminated by equally deep feeling,” said Deer Cloud, editor of recent native poetry collection I Was Indian. “They spoke with heart and from the heart and with a beautiful intelligence. They told me how there is not as much for the younger people at White Earth Reservation and how some day they want to return and help out the younger ones coming up. This made me feel hopeful and happy.”
American Indian education and community collaborations at NHCC
Back at college, Sonny and Cassondra will bring their Washington DC experience to life at North Hennepin this April with a campus-wide presentation and a reading of Black Bear’s poem Indian Man by Sonny as part of a collaborative Pow Wow and Feast with Osseo Junior High on April 29 and 30th.
“I am honored,” said Black Bear, a potter and poet from Montana who also does suicide prevention and intervention among Native American youth, “that Sonny will read my poem at this gathering. He told me that he could relate to many of the experiences I share in it. The arts, including poetry and prose, can help young people express their experiences and emotions. We need to listen to all our young people and embrace them, and let them know we care.”
Student Success
NHCC employees are delighted with the Vizenors’ tremendous accomplishments, and that they have been such wonderful ambassadors for the college.
“Sonny and Cassie are great symbols of student success at NHCC,” said TRIO program director Shelly Siegel. “We are all so proud of their efforts and look forward to celebrating their graduation next year.”
Cassondra and Sonny say that they will never forget this experience, and that it has given them greater confidence in themselves – and their ability to help others after graduating.
“This has changed me for the better,” said Sonny, “because I feel that I have more confidence now in speaking publicly for my people. North Hennepin Community College has given me the opportunity to experience things that I never thought were possible and do things that I never thought I could. I also learned that I can do whatever I put my mind to and, with a little hard work and dedication, nothing is impossible. Now I want to help others in any way that I can.”
Cassondra, who plans to work with juveniles with the hopes of making a positive impact on young people’s lives, agrees.
“I faced two of my fears,” she said, “flying and speaking in public. I never would have imagined doing both in the same week. I have learned that keeping an open mind to new things can have a positive outcome that can change my life and have the potential to open doors to so many other amazing opportunities. I feel like this opportunity can show other NHCC students that if I can do it, they can too.”
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