Statement: Leonard Peltier
We have lost a fighter
http://socialistworker.org/2009/02/25/we-have-lost-a-fighter
February 25, 2009
Robert Robideau--a longtime Indian rights activist and member of the
American Indian Movement (AIM)--died February 17 at the age of 61.
Robideau, alongside his cousin Leonard Peltier and other AIM
activists, took part in the 71-day occupation at Wounded Knee in
1973. AIM was a target of the infamous FBI COINTELPRO in the 1960s
and '70s, which attempted to "neutralize" the leadership of civil
rights and revolutionary political organizations.
In 1975, Robideau, Peltier and AIM activist Dino Butler became the
focus of one of largest manhunts in FBI history, which ended in their
arrest for the shooting of two federal agents at the Pine Ridge
Reservation. Robideau and Butler were found not guilty, but Peltier,
who had fled to Canada to avoid prosecution, was later extradited to
the U.S. and stood trial separately--he was found guilty of murder
and sentenced to life in prison.
Robert devoted his life to the fight to free Leonard Peltier through
the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee and the struggle for Native
American rights.
Here, Leonard Peltier honors this brave and tireless fighter.
--
Greetings my relatives!
It is with a real deep sense of loss that I write this. The loss of
my brother in the struggle for Indigenous rights who was also my
blood cousin and also a defendant in the Oglala shoot-out trials. I
am speaking of Robert Robideau, who we called Bob most of the time.
Bob was a tireless campaigner for my freedom and Indigenous rights
all over the world. I can't express enough how greatly his leaving
this level of existence will be missed.
Bob and I grew up together. We were involved in the '70s American
Indian Movement together. We were shot at together. We were on the
run together and over the 33 years of my imprisonment, Bob was a
person I could count on for a lot of reasons. We laughed together,
quarreled with one another, praised one another and had strong
disagreements at times. Bob was the one person I could truly count on
to tell me the straight of it, whether I liked it or not.
I didn't talk to Bob in person that often, as of late, but just the
thought of knowing it will be a while before I talk with him again,
causes a sense of missing him like never before. He was sometimes my
worst critic and sometimes my best support, but he was always my
brother and I loved him dearly. I wouldn't doubt that wherever he is
at, he's organizing a support group of some sort.
If I thought there was anything that I could say that would bring him
back to us, this statement would go on for as long as it took.
However, reality being what it is, I know Bob will appreciate our
concerns for the loved ones he left behind and want us to go on and
do the very best we can to make this a better and more free, more
just world we live in and he would surely remind us that we are the
guardians of the future and the keepers of today.
It is always difficult to address the loss of people you knew and
cared about, but every once in awhile, there is a loss that is deeper
than all the rest. In this loss, there is often a loss of words. It
is a time when the shock of the situation is so close that you just
don't know what to say. One thing I can say for sure is that the loss
of Bob Robideau is a loss to all. And to Bob, I don't know how long
I'll be here myself, but that doesn't matter. I look forward to
seeing you again my brother, some other time, some other place. May
the Creator be with you wherever you are and wherever you go.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Bob Robideau, Steve Robideau, Joe
Stuntz, Bobby Garcia, Roque Duenas, Nilak Butler, Anna Mae Aquash and
all the others who gave of themselves for our People.
Mitakuye oyasin
Leonard Peltier
--------
American Indian activist Robideau dies at 61
Associated Press
February 19, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. -- An American Indian activist who was acquitted of
killing two FBI agents in a 1975 shootout in South Dakota has died.
Robert Robideau had been living in Barcelona, Spain, where
authorities say his death Tuesday may have been related to seizures
caused by shrapnel left in his head from an accidental explosion. He
was 61 years old.
Robideau is a Portland native. He was the cousin of Leonard Peltier
and a member of the American Indian Movement who had occupied the
reservation town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, for 71 days in 1973,
two years before the shootout.
His son, Michael Robideau, says his father moved to Spain about 10
years ago and traveled widely in Europe speaking at universities on
political parties and movements.
Robert Robideau's body will be returned to Portland. Funeral
arrangements were pending.
--------
Wounded Indian activist Robideau dies
Feb. 19, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore., Feb 19, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- American Indian
activist Robert Robideau, who was wounded in a 1975 FBI shootout, has
died in Spain at the age of 61, Spanish authorities say.
Spanish authorities said Robideau, an American Indian Movement member
when the deadly shootout occurred in South Dakota, died this week as
an apparent result of seizures, The (Portland) Oregonian said.
The suspected seizures behind Robideau's death on Tuesday may have
been related to shrapnel the activist had in his head since a 1975 accident.
Robideau was wounded months after the deadly 1975 shootout at Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation when ammunition exploded inside a car he was driving.
Following the incident, Robideau was arrested and placed on trial in
the killing of two FBI agents on the Indian reservation in June 1975.
The Oregonian said Robideau, who was found not guilty on related
charges, is survived by his wife, Pilar; and two sons, Michael and Bobby.
--------
American Indian activist Robideau dies at 61
http://www.ktiv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9872461
February 19, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A man acquitted of killing two FBI agents in
South Dakota 34 years ago has died.
Robert Robideau (ROH'-buh-doo) died in Barcelona, Spain at the age of 61.
He and Leonard Peltier (pell-TEER') stood trial for the 1975 FBI
shootings on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Robideau was found
not guilty. Peltier was convicted and is serving two life sentences.
Both were part of the American Indian Movement that was active in the 1970s.
Michael Robideau said his father moved to Spain about 10 years ago
and traveled widely in Europe, speaking at universities about
political parties and movements.
Michael Robideau said his father's body would be returned to his
native Portland, Oregon.
--------
Obituaries in the news
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jj4yj37U9DWYfLMh8iNpt2MokknAD96F9VLO1
2/20/2009
Robert Robideau
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Robert Robideau, an American Indian activist
who was acquitted of killing two FBI agents in a 1975 shootout in
South Dakota, has died. He was 61.
Robideau, whose death Tuesday was confirmed by his son, had been
living in Barcelona, Spain. Authorities there said his death may have
been related to seizures caused by shrapnel left in his head from an
accidental explosion.
Robideau, a Portland native, was a member of the American Indian
Movement who occupied the reservation town of Wounded Knee, S.D., for
71 days in 1973.
In June 1975, two FBI agents followed a man wanted in the theft of a
pair of cowboy boots onto the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South
Dakota. The agents soon came under heavy rifle fire and were killed.
The FBI identified Robideau's cousin Leonard Peltier as a suspect in
the shooting and placed him on its most wanted list.
Months later, Robideau was driving Peltier's station wagon through
Kansas with other AIM members when ammunition in the car accidentally exploded.
Robideau, who was seriously injured, was arrested and tried for the
FBI agent killings, but he was acquitted. Peltier was convicted.
Robideau later became a painter, concentrating on tribal themes. He
served as director of the American Indian Movement Museum in
Barcelona, which displayed some of his paintings.
.
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