This might be of interest in my quest to support the marginalized voices. Seems Dylan did a bit of the same...
Printable Version Published on Friday, November 4, 2005
John Trudell-- Beyond revolution By KIM NOWACKI YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
John Trudell -- poet, actor, Indian, activist, rocker
John Trudell is a road-worn rock 'n' roller. He's a philosophical poet and prophet who's caught the eyes and ears of everyone from Robert Redford to Bob Dylan. But before all that, he was an American Indian activist and spokesman known for having one of the largest FBI files on record. He's a fascinating, multifaceted man. And he's coming to Central Washington University next week as part of the annual Indian Country Celebration. Activities include a screening of the award-winning documentary, "Trudell," a question-and-answer session with Trudell after the film, and a musical performance. In the early 1990s, several documentarians — including the highly lauded D.A. Pennebaker — sought to tell Trudell's story. But it was a 25-year-old The Evergreen State College graduate who would be given the green light. Trudell, who speaks in a voice that is softer than one would imagine, chose aspiring filmmaker Heather Rae because she came from the generation to follow his, and she came from a position of respect. "She was influenced by my work," the 59-year-old poet says in a phone interview from his Los Angeles home. "I was interested in how a generation behind me saw my work." That was more than 12 years ago, and Rae's production notes over the past decade read like diary entries as she charts the film's ups and downs from that day in 1992 when she first met Trudell at a bar in Santa Monica, Calif., to the film's completion in 2004. Rae, who now lives in Boise, Idaho, is fighting the flu this week and was too sick for an interview. But her production notes at www.trudellthemovie.com are deeply personal and tell much of the story. September 1992 John and the band Graffiti Man are heading to Europe for a tour. I am determined to travel with them and shoot 16 mm black-and-white, in true rock-and-roll fashion. I envision the film in black-and-white for the most part. ... The color images will come later when the visual fables begin to present themselves. 1993 Lara (Hill) and I travel to Paris to meet with a French production company that is interested in the project. They ultimately want something "colorful, with powwow dancing." We realize that it may be hard for some to understand John; he's not about feathers and romantic notions of yesteryear. He is a rough rock-n-roller and seriously adhered to deeper truths. A mix of Santee Sioux and Mexican blood, Trudell grew up in and around the Santee Sioux reservation near his hometown of Omaha, Neb., and stands in defiance of what he says are America's two views of Indians: that of stoic, wise sages with a tear rolling down their cheek, or that of lazy drunks. Young filmmakers like Rae, Chris Eyre, who directed "Smoke Signals," which Trudell appears in, and Sherman Alexie, who wrote "Smoke Signals," are changing that notion. Not through revolution, says Trudell, but through evolution. Trudell has tried to do the same through rock 'n' roll. He's made a career of taking the identity of the American Indian culture, the identity of the contemporary culture and mixing the two together, evolving it into a third identity. 1994 Somewhere along the way I begin to see the film as a road movie ... I also find that the film doesn't require a written narrative because John's entire story is told in the lyrics of his songs/poems. Trudell was already a well-known activist prior to his music career. A Vietnam War veteran, Trudell became the voice for the Indians of All Tribes after the group's two-year occupation of Alcatraz Island. In 1973, he became the national chairman of the American Indian Movement, and served in that position until 1979, when, just 12 hours after he burned the American flag on the steps of the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building in Washington, D.C., his wife, mother-in-law, and three children were killed in a fire at their home on a reservation in Nevada. After that, he left politics. That same year, Trudell met singer/songwriter Jackson Browne, and the two began a musical friendship. Trudell would go on to become an internationally recognized poet, recording artist and actor. To capture the true Trudell story, Rae conducted a multitude of interviews. She sat down with his band members and the family of his late wife Tina, as well as former Cherokee Nation chief Wilma Mankiller, who was at Alcatraz with Trudell, and actors Val Kilmer and Sam Shepard, who starred in the film "Thunderheart" with Trudell. 1997-1999 We shoot when we can, images, ideas, footage with the band. I am a single mother with two children living in Los Angeles ... They are good times, but I know mine is many filmmakers' story. L.A. can be tough, and lifeless. By the summer of 2003, Rae had shot 70 to 80 hours of her own footage, and had an equal amount of archival material. Trudell says from the outset he thought the film would "kind of take a while," but his objective was to stay out of the production side as much as possible. "I left it to her," he says. "I gave her full rein." And over the years, with the help of countless talented supporters, the documentary began to evolve and take shape. "What I really appreciate is she took the history of me and laid it in the context of (America's) history," says Trudell, who admits it was a bit strange to watch a film about himself. He's also appreciative of the famous faces who sing his praises. "I'm surprised Heather could get them to do it," he says. "I'm just wandering around in my own reality. It made me feel good that I made sense to somebody." After 40 years of activism, Trudell believes the key to change begins within. Once we can expel the toxins from our mind — insecurity, inability — we open ourselves to clear and coherent thinking, and that leads to participation in an evolutionary reality, which will lead to change. It's deep stuff. Trudell insists he's not trying to convince people to believe what he believes, but he does want to stimulate the audience to think and feel. This is the message of "Trudell." 2004 We hope that the film honors John and his legacy and that the viewer is spurred, as Trudell would say, beyond revolution into evolution. Peace, Heather Rae If you go WHAT: "Trudell," a documentary by Heather Rae on the life of activist/poet/rock 'n' roller John Trudell. WHEN: 7 p.m. Tuesday. WHERE: Central Washington University's Hertz Hall auditorium, off D Street in Ellensburg. MEET THE MAN: Trudell will be available for questions after the screening. HEAR THE MAN: Trudell, along with his bandmate, Quiltman, will give a spoken word/native vocalization performance at 7 p.m. Wednesday, also in the Hertz Hall auditorium. HOW MUCH: Both events are free and are presented by CWU's Diversity Education Center and English department as part of CWU's annual Indian Country Celebration. ALL MONTH LONG: The Indian Country Celebration continues throughout November. The greasy-sweet smell of frybread will fill Gallery One, 408 Pearl St. in Ellensburg, from 5- 7 tonight during the monthly First Friday Art Walk. Flintknapping demonstrations, making replicas of parflesh "Indian suitcases" and dreamcatcher classes will be held Nov. 14-16, and a harvest moon dinner is scheduled for Nov. 17 at to-be-determined locations. Some logistics still need to be firmed up, says Emily Washines of CWU's Native American Student Association, but more information will be posted at www.cwu.edu/~nasa. Yakama Nation Native American Film Festival In 1997, the U.S. government designated November as National American Indian Heritage Month, and on Nov. 18-20, Toppenish will be home to the inaugural Yakama Nation Native American Film Festival. The festival will include award-winning films produced through Native Voices: the Center for Indigenous Media at the University of Washington, film shorts by middle-school students, guest panels and live entertainment. All films are free and will be shown at the Yakama Nation Cultural Heritage Center's Heritage Theater