SUMMER 2026
to Lek̄ṡi Leonard Peltier
A poem by Robert Harold Bordeaux
Leonard Peltier in Belcourt, N.D, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)
Leonard Peltier, the American Indian Movement activist imprisoned for nearly five decades over the 1975 deaths of two FBI agents—a conviction supporters have always called a frame—was released to home confinement in early 2025. You can learn more about the movement to bring him home here.
This poem, by Robert Harold Bordeaux, is a companion to The Answer is in the Hills.
tonight’s sunset glimmers over the snowy horizon
the sky and all she holds never forgot your name
the first in 49 years outside prison walls -15 degrees
but a warmth here that transcends our winter coats
I close my eyes and see those who came before now with us in spirit
who gave their breath to this fight to bring you home
this is a victory a word implying there was an injustice to overcome
you overcame the people overcame
I had a dream you came home and the people danced what a feeling
in a procession for once that was not a funeral
we crossed the rez line into Turtle Mountain
-15 degrees people waiting to welcome you home
standing outside of cars drum and song held in the air by frozen breath
and just like in my dream I witnessed the people dance
Robert Harold Bordeaux is a member of the Siċaƞġu Lak̇ot̄a Oyat̄e (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), writer, and activist from Spearfish, South Dakota. Growing up disconnected from his Lak̇ot̄a family, his life has been a journey of finding his way home to the Rosebud Reservation to share space and grow in relationship with his tiwahe (family).
In his writing, he touches on this journey connecting with his Lak̇ot̄a roots as he learns from Uƞc̄i i Mak̇a what it means to be a good relative and ancestor. He shares openly about his life through his books, content shared online, and speaking. Outside of writing, Bordeaux is active in carrying on his ancestors’ legacy of fighting for sovereignty through his activism around the abolition of harmful colonial systems. He currently works as the graphic and content designer for the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.
Bordeaux is a board member of the South Dakota State Poetry Society. His latest collection of poems, Prairie Bones (Wiyounkihipi Productions), was released Spring 2025.
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