Friday of the Third Week of Advent
How fairly do we judge wrongdoings and alleged wrongdoings when the accused is not white? Isaiah alludes to this question repeatedly, particularly during Advent. And Psalm 7:11 reminds us that the Lord is a just judge. Too often, crimes are perceived to be of more danger if the accused is a person of color or an indigenous person. They are more of a threat to the fabric of our self-described perfect society.
One case is that of Leonard Peltier, a Native American who was convicted for the deaths of two FBI agents during a shoot-out on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. Despite numerous evidentiary and judicial irregularities, and a record number of petitions to free Mr. Peltier, after 45 years of incarceration he continues to languish in prison. Now 77 and in poor health, we advocate for Leonard's release back into his community. There, he may be treated and cared for according to his own heritage, and die in peace in the presence of his family.
Egregious as it is, the plight of Leonard Peltier is not unique. If we are to truly be the light we are longing for, we must educate ourselves about these individuals and the injustices they suffer at the behest of our own legal system, and commit firmly to pressing for justice.
-Meditation by Indigenous Solidarity Collective Member Mary Ann Reed.
The 2022 Advent Calendar is a project of CTA's Indigenous Solidarity Collective, a working group that addresses the Catholic Church's historical and current role in colonialization. To support more projects from working groups like this one, please consider making a contribution!
Call To Action's 2022 Advent Calendar, planned and written by the Indigenous Solidarity Collective, provides 27 days of prayer and study to lead into action and solidarity with Indigenous communities. Here is today's meditation.
Call to Action: 31-32
Justice
“31. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to provide sufficient and stable funding to implement and evaluate community sanctions that will provide realistic alternatives to imprisonment for Aboriginal offenders and respond to the underlying causes of offending.
32. We call upon the federal government to amend the Criminal Code to allow trial judges, upon giving reasons, to depart from mandatory minimum sentences and restrictions on the use of conditional sentences.”
December 16th, 2022
Further Reading about Leonard Peltier
The watercolor paintings featured on this calendar were created by Duane Yazzie, an artist of Hopi and Navajo ancestry. Yazzie creates artwork that reflects his Indigenous heritage and his childhood spent in the Southwest.
