John Trudell
John Trudell
John Trudellwas a Native American author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist. He was the spokesperson for the United Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as Radio Free Alcatraz. During most of the 1970s, he served as the chairman of the American Indian Movement, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth15 February 1946
CountryUnited States of America
indian indigenous member nations western
I'm a member of the American Indian Movement, and I'm from the indigenous nations of the Western Hemisphere.
dealing solution understand
For decades, my identity was political, but I've come to understand that there's no political solution when you're dealing with someone else's rules.
oral particular poet society tradition
Because we are all of an oral tradition in our beginning histories, the voice of the poet in this particular society will be heard.
crops grow land somewhere took
They took all our land; I don't have any land to toil. My crops have to grow somewhere else.
activist happened interest liked musical result spoke whatever work
From activist stage, I just spoke and said whatever I had to say. When the writing started, I would just read it. Then I had the interest into going into musical aspects. When that happened in '86, I liked the result of work we did in the studio.
authentic indian politics preventing
All politics to me - Indian or white - is an illusion preventing us from being authentic because we're communicating through something that isn't real to us.
human trying understanding
I am just a human being trying to make it in a world that is rapidly losing its understanding of being human.
bull falling sitting
Before Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had dream of soldiers falling from the sky.
expected position
I was going mad. One day, I just started writing, and it was like therapy because I was in a position where I couldn't rage. I never expected to be a writer; it's a different world than I ever expected to be in.
electrical life physically project vibrate
What I view life like is about energy. Everything is about energy - everything. We physically are little units of electrical energy, and we vibrate and project electromagnetic thought.
freedoms males owned people
You go back and you read your Constitution. You read your Declaration of Independence. And you will see that the only people who could decide these freedoms were white males who owned property, and all the rest of us were excluded.
native-american years savages
Historically speaking, we went from being Indians to pagans to savages to hostiles to militants to activists to Native Americans. Its five hundred years later and they still cant see us. We are still invisible.
native-american people humans
We’re not Indians and we’re not Native Americans. We’re older than both concepts. We’re the people, we’re the human beings.
feelings understanding trying
I'm just a human being trying to make it in a world that is very rapidly losing it's understanding of being human.