Native American activist Leonard Peltier was defiant toward the government but grateful to his family and supporters as they welcomed him home to North Dakota, one day after his release from a Florida prison where he had been serving a life sentence

It's been 49 years straight in prison for something I didn't do,” Leonard Peltier said, close to tears. “I didn't think I was going to make it.”

Leonard Peltier spoke to supporters Wednesday afternoon at the Sky Dancer Casino in Belcourt, a day after his release from federal prison.

Mr. Peltier’s murder conviction and two life sentences, stemming from a 1975 shootout with F.B.I. agents on a reservation, have been widely criticized.

Tuesday is a historic day in the Native American community after well-known Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier​ was released from a Florida prison to serve out his sentence at home in North Dakota.

More than 50 years after a shootout on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation landed him in federal prison, Leonard Peltier remains defiant.

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