One of the most amazing things about Longboarding for Peace is that it connects
people in some truly remarkable ways. For example, I had no way of knowing that my idea about using skateboard graphics would morph into such a unique story.
Back Story:
Leonard Peltier is a Native American man who has been imprisoned for over 35 years, despite evidence that supports his being wrongfully convicted. He is a writer, an artist, a father, a grandfather and a warrior for human rights, peace and freedom. He is a man who stood up to protect innocent people within the Oglala Lakota community during a time of violence, lawlessness, and intimidation on their reservation. The case has become one of the most controversial in United States legal history and the focus of numerous books and Hollywood films. The story of Leonard Peltier encapsulates the story of generations of Native American people fighting for their basic civil and human rights and the survival of their culture. It plays out during a time in American history when standing up for freedom and truth was ignited in the hearts of people of all races; and took the form of protests and occupations, both violent and non-violent alike. Sadly, the stage set for those who stood for truth, justice and freedom was often violent and with tragic outcome.
In 1975, traditionalist members of the Oglala Lakota community on the Pine Ridge Reservation asked if the American Indian Movement; an organization which upholds Native American rights, would come to protect them from members of their own tribal government who were carrying out terrorist activity against the community. A heated confrontation between the FBI and AIM members broke out, and two FBI agents and a young Native American man were shot and killed. Leonard Peltier, a member of AIM, was convicted of murdering the agents in 1977. Leonard has never denied that he was at the shoot out on Pine Ridge, however, he has always maintained he did not kill the agents. Since then, the fight for Leonard’s freedom has continued.
There is no clear reason why the U.S. government has refused leniency to Leonard Peltier. Even after another AIM member, who was legally protected and could not be charged, confessed to the killing in 2004, and even after the US government stated they could not prove Leonard killed the agents. Amnesty International considers Leonard Peltier a political prisoner of the United States, he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize multiple times and his supporters range from the Dalai Lama, to Nobel Laureates, and Queen Elizabeth II.
During the first skateboard boom of the ‘60s, skateboard graphics were generally a logo on the bottom of the board. It wasn’t until the 1978 when Dogtown started to showcase Wes Humpston’s artwork that skaters started to understand the power of graphics under a deck. Things started to get very intriguing once politics were fused with skate graphics. A new book from Seb Carayol called Agents-Provocateur: The 100 Most Subversive Skateboard Graphics of All Time has just been published. It traces the history of board graphics and delves into the political and social implications behind the art.
As our movement of peace, balance and justice continues to move forward, I thought it might be appropriate to work with an artist to highlight a specific political issue that related to justice. It wasn’t long before I came upon the story of Leonard Peltier. His tribulations through the justice system might be unfamiliar to some readers but they are of vital significance. Quite coincidently, the moment I decided to feature Peltier’s story, an acquaintance emailed me to ask if I would be interested in working with an artist looking to get into skateboard graphics. This artist turned out to be Rachel Tribble, and what I didn’t realize was that she was quite connected to the plight of Native Americans. It was as if the stars had aligned.
Rachel’s connection to the Native American world was formed when a friend invited her to a sweat lodge a number of years ago; “I was pretty sure I wouldn’t connect with the sweat lodge; but my friend persisted and one cold winter night I went; and life was never the same” explains Rachel. “I found myself among proud people, surviving in a society that had been at war with them for hundreds of years.”
As Rachel listened to the stories of survival, she learned about AIM; the American Indian Movement. This was a group of Native American activists who had originally organized in the late 1960’s in response to horrific brutality inflicted upon Native people by the Minneapolis police.
Living in Minnesota, Rachel’s awe and respect for the Native people, their community and their ceremonies, grew. She was invited to a prayer ceremony on the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation in northern Wisconsin. Gangs had started to infiltrate the youth on the Reservation and a young man had been killed. “A call had gone throughout the community for help and I decided I wanted to go pray” recalls Rachel.
There was a man there who spoke strongly of Native rights and the importance of standing up for the people. “I was horrified as I learned of the broken treaties 
and going to jail because a man went fishing. The ceremonies I attended and languages I heard had been illegal until the 1970’s!”
Over a few years Rachel became friendly with the man who had been speaking in that house, and as they grew closer he introduced her to his family. “His grandparents, his mother, his father and his uncle; they were loving people and had been some of the original members of AIM.”
By the mid-1990’s Rachel had given up working as an artist and had fully dedicated herself to the Native American community. She went onto marry the man who had been speaking in that house.
In 1998 Rachel attended the Honor the Earth Pow Wow. It was the first time she had ever met the founding members of AIM or heard them speak; and it was the first time she heard about Leonard Peltier. Now, fast-forward 16 years later, and Rachel has created this artwork as a tribute to Leonard.