Peltier, 80, grew emotional as he addressed about 500 people who gathered at a festive event to welcome him home to North Dakota, Wednesday, Feb. 19, on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians' reservation.

Activists who have called for Leonard Peltier's release for nearly half a century welcomed him home Wednesday.

Native American activist Leonard Peltier, convicted of killing two FBI agents and incarcerated for nearly five decades while maintaining his innocence, was released from a Florida prison on Tuesday after former President Joe Biden commuted his sentence.

Leonard Peltier is on his return journey to Turtle Mountain. The Forum has a news team on site to document his return to North Dakota after 49 years in prison.

“Leonard Peltier is free!” Nick Tilsen, founder and chief executive at NDN Collective, said in the statement. “He never gave up fighting for his freedom so we never gave up fighting for him. Today our elder Leonard Peltier walks into the open arms of his people.”

"It's a day of victory for Leonard and those of us who have been involved in the struggle with him for 40 or 50 years," Mitch Walking Elk said. “I’m an AIM member and this is historic for us."

In his first interview since leaving prison, Leonard Peltier maintains his innocence and tells the Associated Press his release marks a new era in his fight for Indigenous rights. (AP