Who Is Leonard Peltier? ‘Incident at Oglala’ Has What You Need To Know

On January 19, 2025, former U.S. President Joe Biden commuted the prison sentence of Leonard Peltier, allowing the Native American activist to spend the rest of his days at home. The subject of the unanimously praised 1992 documentary Incident at Oglala, Peltier was convicted of murdering two FBI agents in 1975 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Claiming innocence since his arrest, Peltier will serve the remainder of his life sentence under house arrest.

Narrated by screen legend Robert Redford, Incident at Oglala is one of the most important American documentary films released in the past three decades. The film has an unblemished 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, ranking with The Thin Blue Line as a sobering account of the American justice system. Now that Peltier is set to return home on February 18, 2025, his story deserves more attention.

Incident at Oglala

Release Date

May 8, 1992

Runtime

89 minutes

Director

Michael Apted

Producers

Arthur Chobanian

Who Is Leonard Peltier?

Miramax Films

Leonard Peltier is an 80-year-old Native American who joined the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1972 to advocate and raise awareness for equal rights for the indigenous population. Peltier partly joined AIM after learning about the turmoil in South Daktoa’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where a division was sowed among its various constituents. Some reservation members supported the elected chair, Richard Wilson, while others clung to long-held Lakota tribe customs.

In 1975, Peltier joined an envoy of AIM activists to eliminate racial discrimination and political persecution and curb the widespread violence plaguing Pine Ridge. On June 26, 1975, a massive shootout occurred at Pine Ridge, resulting in the death of FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, and Native American AIM member Joe Stuntz. When the smoke cleared, three men were arrested for the fatal shootings, including Robert Robideau, Dino Butler, and Leonard Peltier. The case was the subject of Incident at Oglala, a social justice documentary still relevant today.

Although Butler and Robideau were acquitted during their murder trial, Peltier was tried separately after being extradited from Canada. Due to his past legal troubles, Peltier was a wanted fugitive before visiting Pine Ridge, charged with evading police after being accused of attempting to kill an off-duty Milwaukee police officer. Despite maintaining his innocence and providing multiple alibis, Peltier was named on the FBI’s Most Wanted List in December 1975 and was arrested for murdering FBI agents Coler and Williams on February 6, 1976. In April 1977, Peltier was convicted of murder and given two consecutive life sentences.

‘Incident at Oglala’s Engaging Subject

Miramax Films

Directed to great acclaim by Michael Apted, Incident at Oglala closely examines what transpired at Pine Ridge on June 26, 1975. Robert Redford narrates the legal case, providing the contextual violence plaguing Pine Ridge before the deadly shootout. At Pine Ridge, the division between traditional Lakota tribe members and younger, Americanized Dakota natives resulted in multiple drive-by shootings. To prevent such, AIM was asked to visit Pine Ridge to espouse traditional customs.

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The title Incident at Oglala refers to the shootout in Lakota territory at Pine Ridge, presided over by tribal chair Richard Wilson. Oglala also held AIM’s headquarters at Calvin Jumping Bull’s property. The incident was sparked by a pair of stolen boots by teenage AIM member, Jimmy Eagle, prompting an FBI investigation. When agents Coler and Williams approached Eagle to discuss the stolen boots, they followed a vehicle they believed to be entering the AIM settlement, and a brutal shootout ensued. Coler and Williams were shot dead, as was AIM member Joe Stuntz.

With a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, Incident at Oglala traces the legal trial Peltier withstood following the deadly shootout at Pine Ridge. Narrated by Robert Redford, who has advocated Peltier’s innocence since 1980, helped to absolve Peltier’s legal guilt and prove he was framed and persecuted for being a native. While the documentary helped raise awareness about Peltier’s wrongful conviction, he was denied parole in 1993.

Peltier’s Journey to Clemency & Commutation

Miramax Films

After being denied parole in 1993, Peltier spent the next 31 years in prison. In 1999, he wrote a memoir titled Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance, in which he admitted that, while he was involved in the shootout at Pine Ridge, he did not kill FBI agents Coler and Williams. Evidence pointing to Peltier’s guilt included possessing Coler’s handgun, which, along with a thumbprint, was left in an RV that Peltier evaded from police on foot.

With conflicting evidence throughout the trial and a 1979 prison escape, proving Peltier’s innocence has not been easy. However, 25 years after penning his memoir and nearly 50 years since his arrest, Peltier’s prison sentence was officially commuted by 46th U.S. President, Joe Biden. The commuted sentence allows Peltier to serve the remainder of his consecutive life sentences from home under house arrest.

Peltier’s commutation comes after filing for clemency in 2023, one of many legal attempts to absolve his guilt. At one point, President Bill Clinton considered commuting Peltier’s sentence. After being denied parole again in July 2024, President Biden commuted Peltier’s prison sentence on his final day in office. Peltier is expected to return to his Turtle Mountain Band tribe and live in a home on their reservation in North Dakota.

For fans of documentaries that make a real difference in daily life, Incident at Oglala joins Errol Morris’ The Thin Blue Line as a powerful film that can change public perceptions and result in true justice.

Incident at Oglala is available to rent on AppleTV & Amazon Prime Video

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