Leonard Peltier remembers Bob Robideau

Greetings my relatives!
By Leonard Peltier

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 70’s 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