John Trudell - Take back the Earth
John Trudell (February 15, 1946 – December 8, 2015) was 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.
After his pregnant wife, three children and mother-in-law were killed in 1979 in a suspicious fire at the home of his parents-in-law on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada, Trudell turned to writing, music and film as a second career. He acted in three films in the 1990s. The documentary Trudell (2005) was made about him and his life as an activist and artist.
After his pregnant wife, three children and mother-in-law were killed in 1979 in a suspicious fire at the home of his parents-in-law on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada, Trudell turned to writing, music and film as a second career. He acted in three films in the 1990s. The documentary Trudell (2005) was made about him and his life as an activist and artist.