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Myrtle Poor Bear
Mr. Leonard Peltier was arrested in Canada
on February 6,1976.* He was extradited from Canada in
December on the basis of an
affidavit signed by Myrtle Poor Bear, a Native American woman
known to have serious mental health problems.
False Affidavits
Poor
Bear claimed to have been Leonard Peltier’s girlfriend at the time of the shootings,
and to have been present
during the shoot-out and witnessed the killings.
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POOR BEAR AFFIDAVITS |
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Affidavit 1, dated
February 19, 1976. |
Affidavit 2, dated
February 23, 1976. |
Affidavit 3, dated
March 31, 1976. |
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Affidavit 1. Here, Special Agents David Price
and William Wood have
Myrtle Poor Bear recount how it was she who overheard the planning of the
Northwest AIM group to lure Special Agents Coler and Williams to their
deaths in an ambush. Note that there is no claim Poor Bear witnessed
the shoot-out, but that she heard Leonard Peltier order the agents killed
beforehand, and that he later "confessed to her." |
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Affidavit 2. With this affidavit, Price
and Wood have Poor Bear present
herself as being Peltier's "girl friend," and as overhearing
planning for an ambush. However, with this affidavit, Poor Bear is now presented as
having witnessed Peltier killing the agents. Details on an escape
route apparently were designed to explain away the Bureau's embarrassing
inability to apprehend suspects at the scene of the shoot-out. Also
note how the method of killing corresponds to the FBI's contrived
"execution" scenario. |
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Affidavit 3. This
affidavit was eventually submitted to the Canadian courts.
Here, the agents totally abandoned the notion of Poor
Bear's having overheard planning for an ambush. Instead
they have her provide considerable detail as an
"eyewitness." Note also the absence of any alleged
confession on the part of Leonard Peltier. |
Government Admission
Leonard Peltier was extradited from Canada to
the United States.
Today, the government concedes that, in fact, Myrtle Poor Bear did not
know Leonard Peltier, nor was she present at the time of the shooting. She
later confessed she had given false statements after being pressured
and
terrorized by FBI agents. Myrtle Poor Bear
sought to testify in this regard at Leonard Peltier’s trial. However, the
judge barred her testimony on the grounds of mental incompetence.
In addition to being a violation
of Leonard Peltier's rights, the United States government committed
fraud on the court during the extradition proceedings and
violated the sovereignty of Canada. The U.S. government has
made no attempt to correct this
wrong and, to date, the illegal extradition has not been
corrected by the Canadian Court.
*When Mr.
Peltier was arrested in Canada, Frank Blackhorse was also arrested. Blackhorse was
listed in FBI documents as a key suspect in the shoot-out. A
warrant had already been issued for Blackhorse's arrest in
connection with Wounded Knee II, as well. Yet,
while Leonard Peltier was extradited and tried, Mr. Blackhorse was
allowed to disappear never to be heard from again. |
