Source: Orange County Register
by James Ramos
“In the final hours of President Joe Biden’s term, he granted Leonard Peltier clemency through commutation, allowing him to serve his life sentence at home on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in North Dakota. This moment marks a significant step toward justice, but it also reflects the broader struggle for fairness and healing that Indigenous peoples have faced for centuries. Just as Peltier fought for the rights of his people, I too grew up on the San Manuel Indian Reservation, where I witnessed firsthand the challenges so many Native Americans still face today. As the first and only California Native American legislator, I carry with me the weight of my people’s history. The centuries of displacement, discrimination, and disenfranchisement we have endured. It is a history that continues to play out in the lives of Native American people across the country.” (01/22/25)