John Trudell, poet, activist for American Indian rights, dies at age 69
RIP John Trudell.
I’ll never forget hearing him speak 20 years ago in a basement hall at the University of Washington, at a time when the case of Leonard Peltier was getting renewed attention (which did not result in his pardon), and Trudell was able to be heard again.
It felt like a timeless gathering of curious souls just waiting to be in the presence of someone and hear them rap about life and society in a way which would make you think for days.
He came out, invited any FBI agents undercover among the crowd to relax and be part of things, and then spoke with no notes for at least 90 minutes to a completely rapt audience.
I was young and impressionable, but he truly seemed like a prophet that night.
His own story was tragic and yet he clung to his values and celebrated life. His spoken word was very powerful (I much preferred it straight up/ no chaser, over the records he made with rock musicians, which had a few good songs, but they do not capture his power in person).
By then, the FBI had built a 17,000-page dossier on him. “He’s extremely eloquent,” one FBI memo read, “therefore extremely dangerous.”
In 1979, while Trudell was demonstrating in Washington, D.C., his pregnant wife, Tina Manning, three children and mother-in-law were killed in a fire at her parents’ home on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada. The fire occurred hours after Trudell had burned an American flag at the FBI building in Washington.
Trudell and others said they suspected government involvement. But a cause was never determined.
…
The loss of his family impelled him to write, he said. His poetry was promoted by Dylan and others. Through the rest of his life, Trudell had a coterie of famous fans.
Robert Redford likened him to the Dalai Lama.
Jackson Browne, Val Kilmer, Bonnie Raitt and others offered praise.
– Bicoastal writer Daniel Housman works hard and enjoys the very best of both Los Angeles and New York.
From RIP John Trudell, Longtime Native American Activist; Hear Him Read One of His Poems in 1998
