Leonard Peltier Warns of Ongoing Threats as Trump Administration Advances Policies Affecting Indigenous Rights

Former activist Leonard Peltier, whose sentence was commuted by President Joe Biden, appeared on *Democracy Now!* to mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day. He declared that Native Americans “are not free yet” and face danger from the incoming administration. Peltier asserted that the government is seeking to dismantle reservations, treaties, and tribal sovereignty, and he pledged that Indigenous peoples will remain and continue to resist.

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The Trump administration has pursued several initiatives that affect tribal lands and services:

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• Advancement of a border wall in Arizona that cuts through the ancestral territory of the Tohono O’odham Nation, accompanied by drone surveillance and masked agents monitoring tribal members.

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• Plans for a similar barrier in Texas’ Big Bend region.

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• Reduction of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah, removing federal protections for culturally significant landscapes.

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• Proposed cuts to federal funding for tribal colleges and universities.

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• Draft changes to the 2030 census that would eliminate race and ethnicity questions, potentially decreasing the visibility of Native Americans in federal data and affecting funding, voting rights, and civil-rights enforcement.

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These actions are presented by the administration as part of broader border-security and regulatory reforms.

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Tribes across the United States are confronting the described policies. The Tohono O’odham Nation opposes the Arizona wall that threatens sacred sites and water resources. Communities linked to the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments have voiced condemnation over the loss of protected lands. Tribal colleges face uncertainty as funding reductions loom, and the census proposal raises concerns about future allocations of resources and political representation for Indigenous peoples.

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• “We’re not free yet. We are in danger,” — Leonard Peltier, the Indigenous activist

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• “We just want to be left alone,” — Leonard Peltier, the Indigenous activist

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