Indigenous activist John Trudell remembered through music, art
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Dec. 8 marks one decade since Native American activist, poet, musician and actor, John Trudell, died.
An event will be held Saturday night in Minneapolis at The Cedar Cultural Center to remember Trudell. Friends and community members will gather for a night of mixed activities, including music, artmaking and a meal.
Born to a father from the Santee Sioux Nation and a Mexican mother, Trudell was born Feb. 15, 1946, and grew up near the Santee Sioux Reservation in Nebraska. He died of cancer at the age of 69.
After his service in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, he rose to public attention as spokesperson for Indians of All Tribes during the occupation of Alcatraz. The group of Native American activists occupied the small island and former prison for nearly two years from 1969 to 1971.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
The occupation is seen as a major event in contemporary Native American history, bringing awareness to the treatment of Native Americans by the United States government.
In the following years, Trudell served as the national chair for the American Indian Movement, which began in Minneapolis, until 1979. That same year, his pregnant wife, three children and mother-in-law all died in a house fire at his home in Nevada.
“He started writing,” said Annie Humphrey, a musician from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. Humphrey will perform at the event alongside musicians Keith Secola, Jeremy Ylvisaker and S. Carey.
Trudell published poetry books, such as “Living in Reality,” and later released several acclaimed albums, including “Tribal Voices” and “AKA Grafitti Man.”
His words resonated with Humphrey as a child.
“First, I met him through his words and music,” she said. She remembers receiving a cassette tape of “Tribal Voices” from her mother.
Humphrey says she later met Trudell towards the start of her music career at the Schemitzun gathering in Connecticut, an event that celebrates the heritage of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe.
“Our paths started crossing and getting on [the] same stages, and I just stayed in touch with him,” Humphrey said. She says Trudell became a friend and a mentor who influenced her music.
Humphrey’s song, “We Are Power,” pays homage to Trudell with lyrics such as, “In the words of JT we’ve been captured and taught what to believe.”
The song begins with Trudell’s voice speaking during his 1980 Thanksgiving Day Address.
“For 500 years, my people have resisted. For 500 years, we will resist again,” he says during the song’s opening.
Humphrey says she has a photo of Trudell taped to her piano, seeing him every time she sits down to work on her music.
“His words and everything, they're still a part of me, and they're so active and inspirational,” Humphrey said.
Like Humphrey, Juanita Corbine Espinosa met Trudell when she was younger. Corbine Espinosa, a member of Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota, says she was a student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College when she and fellow organizers hosted a series of events and guest speakers. They invited Trudell to speak at an event.
Now, at the age of 69, she reflects on that meeting.
“This man couldn't say a word without making you think,” Corbine Espinosa said. “I think all of us were struck by how much we learned from just his one talk and the different presentations he did throughout the community.”
Corbine Espinosa says she went on to become close friends with Trudell, stating that he was a humble person.
“He was a brother, he was a friend, he was an ally,” she said. “I don't think he wanted to ever claim any of those roles, but he was part of a brotherhood. He was part of the family.”
Humphrey hopes the show on Saturday will give friends and community members a chance to gather and remember Trudell, who has had a lasting impact on many in Native communities, whether directly or indirectly.
“He didn't want to be defined by the things he did or what he was involved in. He just asked that people who knew him remember him as they remember him,” Humphrey said. “I just think that I want to do that for him and just remember him as I knew him.”
Doors to Saturday’s event open at 7 p.m.
Advance tickets are $15, tickets for the day of the show are $18.
Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
