Leonard Peltier Foundation
Leeuwarderstraat 14
Groningen, Netherlands, WY 9718 HX
To:Round Valley Community Support Coalition
From: Frits P. Terpstra
Company: Leonard Peltier Stichting
Address: Leeuwarderstraat 14
Groningen, WY 9718 HX
Fax#: *31 50 185068
Voice #: *31 50 185068
Message:
Herewith the letter we just sent to Fox Television. Please keep us
informed. We can be reached through E-mail: peltiernl@gn.apc.org
Stay strong
In the Spirit,
Frits F. Terpstra
LEONARD PELTIER FOUNDATION
Groningen, Netherlands
22 May 1995
Fox Television
Producers of "America's Most Wanted"
Washington D.C.
Fax: 202-895-3280
Re: Fatal shootings at Round Valley Indian Reservation, Covelo, Ca.
Dear Mr. or Mrs.
Our organisation recently became aware of the April 14th fatal shootings
at the Round Valley Indian Reservation in Covelo, California, resulting
in the death of three people and followed by a full scale, military-like
manhunt for an alleged cop-killer.
As we understood, your network will broadcast a reconstruction of the
events in an episode of "America's Most Wanted", on Saturday May 27.
We were informed that the reconstruction you did was based solely on
information obtained from "official" sources and that your network did
not consult any witness, such as, Cyndi Pickett, the widow of Leonard
Peters, who died in the same shooting as Deputy Bob Davis.
Considering the climate of fear and terror on the Round Valley Indian
Reservation, caused by dozens of heavily armed law enforcement officers
including a helicopter-supported Sonoma County SWAT team, FBI agents,
California Highway Patrol, and officers from nearby counties, cities and
state agencies, we herewith want to express our concern for the
(prejudicial) effect this item might have on the audience and the
residents of Round Valley.
Looking at the events following the shootings, Pine Ridge Reservation in
South Dakota comes to mind, where the U.S. government in the mid
seventies not only harassed the local residents in a similar way, they
also manipulated the media, and turned a relatively fair and impartial
judicial system into a tool of political repression against Native
Americans. The government was even willing to use evidence that was
tampered with, to secure the conviction of certain Native Americans.
"Through the U.S. Constitution, the Bill or Rights, and the structure of
its judicial system, the United States asserts that all persons within
its borders shall be protected against arbitrary arrest and shall be
ensured a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal." This
hasn't been always true for the Native American population.
We urge you not to stir up a hornets' nest and to stop the item being
broadcasted, until you have investigated all of the details.
The information we received from the Round Valley Community Support
Coalition, along with this letter, will be forwarded to the Dutch
Section of Amnesty International with the request to inform their office
in London.
Yours sincerely,
Frits F. Terpstra
(chairman)
cc: Amnesty International (Dutch Section)
NANAl (Dutch Actiongroup North American Indians)
NClV (Dutch Center for Indigenous Peoples)