Editing Leonard Peltier (section)

===Part iv – Becoming Political===
Peltier writes about his entry into and work for Indigenous movements. Upon seeing Indigenous people being brutalized for trying to maintain and protect their rights, which are guaranteed under federal [https://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/ntreaty.asp treaties] and not upheld by the U.S. government, he began fighting for civil and Indigenous rights with [[American Indian Movement|AIM]]. He discusses how the U.S. government was primarily interested in taking Indigenous land through means of brutalization, murder, and wrongful incarceration for colonial and extractive reasons. As an AIM member, he participated in the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]] (BIA) takeover in November 1972, which began as a peace march called the "[[Trail of Broken Treaties]]" that escalated due to BIA and security officials attempting to forcefully remove protestors. He also worked with AIM to help find work for Indigenous people and worked in an alcohol rehab program, as well as spiritual work. In 1975, Peltier arrived at the [[Oglala]] nation to help protect the Indigenous people living there who were being murdered.<ref name="whoisleonardpeltier.info">{{Cite web |title=The Shootout {{!}} International Leonard Peltier Defense Committee |url=https://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/home/facts/shootout/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |language=en}}</ref> He and other AIM warriors were sent to defend the residents of the land, not as a para-military force.<ref name="whoisleonardpeltier.info"/> However, they were ambushed and forced to defend themselves with the small supply of defensive arms they had. Peltier reflects on how the government hid information and lied to place blame on him and AIM members as aggressors in the exchange.<ref name="book71" />