Blue Rodeo guitarist Greg Keelor is sending a CD to Justice Minister Allan Rock. It’s entitiled, Pine Ridge: An Open Letter to Allan Rock. The new CD features artists such as the Tragically Hip, Sarah McLauchlan and Jane Siberry.
Keelor said he was inspired after meeting an interesting guy in a ponytail. The guy happened to be Frank Dreaver, head of the Canadian chapter of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee.
Most people remember Peltier as the member of the American Indian Movement who became the fall guy after two FBI officers were killed during a shootout at Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
Peltier was extradited to the U.S. based on information that the U.S. government concedes was fabricated and false. Amnesty International recognizes Peltier as a political prisoner. He was denied parole most recently on March 18, 1996 because Peltier has never written a “a specific, factual account of (his) actions… consistent with the jury’s verdict of guilt,” yet Peltier continues to say he is Innocent of the charges brought against him. Courts agree with Peltier’s defense that the evidence was fabricated and at best circumstantial, but he remains in jail.
The profits from the new CD distributed by Warner Music will go to the Canadian chapter of the defense.
