Iron Thunderhorse's Life - Essay Example

Iron Thunderhorse In the twenty first century Iron Thunderhorse is the that reflects the injustice and cruelty of the ities in a country, which claims to protect its citizens by fighting against terrorism. The life of Iron Thunderhorse is the tale of religious, social and political torture in the United States of America, which is ironically known to the rest of the world as the land of success and freedom. Iron Thunderhorse was born as Fred Capallo to an Italian man and an Indian woman (Gast, 2006). He is the Grand Sachem or the Chief medicine man of the tribe known as the Quinnipiac Renapi. The tribe is located on the bank of Quinnipiac River in Connecticut. The tribe believes itself to be the proud descendants of the first North American settlers on the English reservation in the beginning of the seventeenth century (Warrior, n.d.). As such, Iron Thunderhorse is the direct descendant of the last matriarch, Elizabeth Sakaskantawe Brown of Totoket (ACQTC, 2006). In his childhood Iron’s catholic schoolmates ridiculed him and abused him for his religion and long hair (ACQTC, 2006). However his troubles increased later when one day he decided to stop for a cup of tea at a local restaurant in Connecticut. Some local boys over there thought it would be fun to play tricks on him and to give him a haircut. Iron was used to the rough and tough guys at school. Being hardened by the construction work, Iron defended himself by fighting back. Because the boys were related to the influential people of the area and since luck was not in favor of Iron, the police arrested him. At the same time the defeated boys kept on looking for opportunities to take revenge for their defeat. One winter two of the boys chased Iron’s car off the road, which resulted in the death of his wife and young son. After this incident Iron started drinking heavily and went on the look for his enemies to take revenge of his wife’s and son’s death (Warrior, n.d.). Iron took his revenge from the boys but the police arrested him for aggravated assault. At the age of eighteen Iron was sent to Vietnam to participate in the war. Iron took part in the secret operations in Vietnam and South East Asia. Even under such circumstances Iron maintained his dignity and refused to obey the orders of the government that went against his conscience. As a result of which Iron and his men were sent back to California and were released from their duties. Once in California Iron studied law and became a street lawyer and helped everyone who needed justice without discriminating anyone. Iron became involved in the American Indian Movement (AIM) and came under the observation of COINTELPRO, a branch of FBI which aimed at eliminating the anti war and other social activities in the 60s (Warrior, n.d.). In 1976 there was an attempt made on his life due to which he decided to move to the Texas-Oklahoma border where he started a business with his Vietnam friends. His jail life began in 1977 when he was arrested in Texas and held incommunicado for approximately ten months. He was held responsible for the crimes committed by the local men who resembled him in appearance. Iron fought the wrong charges against him in propria personna and stood victorious in most cases. In 1978 he was severely beaten up on the orders of Assistant Warden. His head was shaved and his TRO, which prohibited the cutting of hair due to religious reasons, was also torn into pieces (Thunderhorse, 2006). In the 1980s he took his kidnapping charge to the Supreme Court and overturned it. It was only in 1997 he came to know that his kidnapping sentence of 5 years has been surprisingly changed to 99 years. At that time the Texas government had passed a law, which did not allow the inmates access to their files. Due to this law Iron was unable to prove the fact that 99 years was a mistake. In 1981 his testimony to make Texas jails less cruel resulted in six assassination attempts on him (ACQTC, 2006). Iron’s physical condition was perfect when he first went to the jail. However, the torture and the non-provision of the medical aid at the jail and fighting in self-defense have made him virtually blind. Iron has complained of having corneal dystrophy, cataracts and open angle glaucoma. Authorities have refused to allow him a proper wash and medical check up after the pepper spray attack. The authorities were well aware of the fact that Iron was suffering from allergic rhinitis and sebhorric dermatitis, which prohibited the use of pepper spray. They also confiscated his medical pass that prohibited him to be hand cuffed behind his back due to his crippled arm (Warrior, n.d.). Along with the problems mentioned above Iron suffers from high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, sleep apnea, and recurrent shingles. At the same time he has only one lung working. These problems were further worsened with the attempts on his life. Still he was not allowed to visit any doctor by the jail authorities. To further worsen the situation Iron was denied the right to use the regular medicines prescribed by the doctors for the above-mentioned problems (Warrior, n.d.). Although Iron is still alive his condition is very poor. The Assistant Warden has refused to allow him to buy a pair of reading and sunglasses for himself, which would help him in reading and relieving the pain in his eyes. The ranking officer had destroyed both in a pre-planned attack on him. He is also not allowed to visit an optometrist. At the same time he is not allowed to buy stamps for his legal mail. The warden has also refused to allow him to use his typewriter. The authorities have also not allowed any access to the mails or visits by the Native American spiritual leaders. His wife is allowed only two visits per month and her mail is also delivered to him with great delay, which delays the legal work (Thunderhorse, 2006). On one occasion his electric fan was also taken away from him and he was made to sweat in the 35-40 degree Celsius temperature in his cell (Thunderhorse, 2005). As we move towards the new year Iron is still without any hope for justice and waits for a miracle. Viewing all the atrocities done on Iron by the society and the authorities including the government it is important to raise voice against the social, political and cultural injustices against the minorities. The constitution of the USA allows every citizen the freedom of religion that has been denied to Iron Thunderhorse. His basic human rights as a prisoner, disabled and Native American have been denied to him. It appears that Iron became a victim of the anti Indian campaign that was very much active in the seventies decade. It is evident from the remarks made by the Attorney General of South Dakota, William Janklow (1996) as he said, “The only way to deal with the Indian problem in America, is to put a gun to the AIM leaders’ heads and pull the trigger.” Iron’s case should be properly tried at the courts without any discrimination and deliberate changes in the statements. It is only through free and fair trial that justice can be provided to Iron. An impartial court must decide how much guilty Iron is in the charges against him. It is the court that must decide after fair trial that Iron should stay in prison or be set free. References Gast, W. A. (2006), “Today from the Editor’s Desk”. We Support the Vets. Wesupportthevets.com. Retrieved on December 8, 2006 from http://www.wesupportthevets.com/gasttodaythunderhouse.htm “Iron Thunderhorse”, (2006). The Algonquian Confederacy of the Quinnipiac Tribal Council, ACQTC Inc. Retrieved on December 8, 2006 from http://acqtc.com/Profiles/IronThunderhorse Janklow, W. (January 1996). “Janklow Quote”, News from Indian Country, Pg 7A “Save Iron Thunderhorse”, (2006). The Algonquian Confederacy of the Quinnipiac Tribal Council, ACQTC Inc. Retrieved on December 8, 2006 from http://saveironthunderhorse.com/intro.html Thunderhorse, R. (2005). “An Appeal for Human Rights Legal Advocacy on behalf of Iron Thunderhorse”, OrbStandard Retrieved on December 8, 2006 from http://www.orbstandard.com/News/Thunderhorse/Appeal_for_Human_Rights_Legal_Advocacy_on_Behalf_of_Iron_Thunderhorse.html Thunderhorse, R. (2006). “Your Help is needed to keep Iron Thunderhorse Alive!”, Save Iron Thunderhorse, Retrieved on December 8, 2006 from http://saveironthunderhorse.com/Letters/Letter_From_Little_Owl_Urgent_Help_Needed.html Thunderhorse, I. (2006). “Discourse no. 3: Racial and Religious Intolerance in Texas Prisons”, Thunderhorse vs. Pierce et al. litigation in Progress, Freedom and Liberty Now, Retrieved on December 8, 2006 from http://saveironthunderhorse.com/Thunderhorse/ Warrior, T.B. (n.d.), “The Torture of Chief Iron Thunderhorse”. Orb Standard, Retrieved on December 8, 2006 from http://www.orbstandard.com/News/Veterans/Torture_of_Chief_Iron_Thunderhorse.html Read More