Actors - John Trudell

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	Actors - John Trudell

John Trudell (born February 15, 1946 in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American author, a poet, musician and a former political activist.

Trudell is the son of a Santee Sioux father and a Mexican mother. He grew up around the Santee reservation near Omaha. He joined the Navy in 1963 and served in the Vietnam war. After getting out of the military he became involved in Indian activism and became the disc jockey for the All Tribes occupation of Alcatraz Island. He joined the American Indian Movement and,although not officially voted in, was its national Chairman from 1972 until 1979 after Carter Camp went to jail. In 1979, his mother-in-law, pregnant wife (Tina Manning), and three children were killed in a suspicious fire, a tragedy that led him to poetry. A meeting with Jackson Browne in 1979 introduced him to the musical world. His first album, originally made with brilliant (according to Bob Dylan) Kiowa guitarist Jesse Ed Davis and originally available only on cassette tape, was A.K.A Graffiti Man. In 1992 he remade A.K.A Graffiti Man; more recent endeavors include Blue Indians (1999) and Bone Days.

A collection of his writings and rants were created by editor Paola Iglori in the mid 1990's. STICKMAN is a fine book which documents with image, poetry and "rant" the essence of Trudell.

Trudell has also worked as an actor, with roles in Thunderheart (1992), On Dangerous Ground (1995) and Smoke Signals (1998). His most significant contribution to film was, however, in the production of "Incident at Oglala" a film produced by Robert Redford back in the mid 1990's. It is a documentary which traces the events which surrounded the arrest and sentencing of political prisoner, Leonard Peltier. Most importantly, it traces and reveals facts surrounding the shootout on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation which left two FBI agents dead, and one Indian man murdered (his murder has never been investigated). Trudell played a key role in keeping the movie true to fact/events of the times.

Trudell the Movie

Filmmaker Heather Rae has spent more than a decade making the documentary, entitled Trudell (2005). Her intent was to utilize Trudell's rich political and cultural life to create a relevant piece that reflected contemporary history and educated and inspired world citizens. This documentary premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. documentary competition.

Discography

1983 Tribal Voice
1986 Original A.K.A. Graffiti Man
1987 ...But This Isn't El Salvador
1987 Heart Jump Bouquet
1991 Fables and Other Realities
1992 Child's Voice: Children of the Earth
1992 A.K.A. Graffiti Man
1994 Johnny Damas & Me
1999 Blue Indians
2001 Descendant Now Ancestor
2001 Bone Days (produced by the actress Angelina Jolie
)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for John Trudell ]

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Actors - John Trudell

Trudell the Movie

Discography

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