Leonard Peltier, one of the surviving leaders of the American Indian Movement, has been in prison for 50 years following a contentious conviction. A new generation of Native activists is committed to winning his freedom before he dies.

Leonard Peltier remains a beacon of resilience against oppression for so many. In this in-depth, archive-rich exploration, Jesse Short Bull (LAKOTA NATION VS. THE UNITED STATES) and David France (HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, IFFBoston 2012) delve into Peltier’s imprisonment, the FBI actions that led to his controversial conviction, and the ongoing efforts to secure his release. Key figures from the American Indian Movement offer illuminating context alongside an archival interview with Peltier himself. Together they trace the events surrounding the 1975 Pine Ridge shoot-out, where he was convicted of killing two FBI agents—a charge he has denied for 50 years. Positioning Peltier’s struggle within a 500-year continuum of Indigenous resistance connects it to the U.S. government’s historical and ongoing abuses against Indigenous people, emphasizing that the fight for Peltier’s freedom is part of an enduring fight for overdue justice.

—Stephanie Owens, Sundance Film Festival guide