John Trudell

Born 1946 Omaha, NE (USA)

Died 2015-12-08
Santa Clara County, CA

Born in Omaha, John Trudell grew up near the Santee Sioux Reservation in northern Nebraska, served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, and was a leading spokesman during the 1969 takeover of Alcatraz by a group known as the Indians of All Tribes. Trudell took part in the occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affaairs in Washington, D.C., in 1972 and served as a national chairman of the American Indian Movement during the 1970s. After a suspicious fire killed his pregnant wife, their three children, and his mother-in-law in 1979, Trudell turned to writing poetry, recording and performing music, and acting in film. The poems featured here served as song lyrics on his albums Bone Days (2001) and The Moremes (2007), respectively.

Places Lived

Omaha, NE
Southern California
Oklahoma
Paiute Reservation, NV

Author Of

Music and Audio

Keywords

Songwriter; Spoken-word Performer

Education

Attended Community College in California for classes in Communications

Occupation

Navy
Worked for various Native American Indian agencies

Associations

Records with RYKODISC, an independent recording company and singer, Jackson Browne is the excutive producer
Has appeared in Steven Seagal's 1992 movie, 'Under Seige'
Has received financial support for his causes from Kris Kristofferson and Bonnie Raitt
Collaborated with poet Jesse Ed Davis, a Kiowa Indian, and Bob Dylan

Bibliography

Aka Graffiti Man. 1992. (Recording)
Johnny Damas and Me. 1994. (Recording)
Nebraska Poetry: A Sesquicentennial Anthology, 1867-2017. 2017.

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