John Trudell (born February 15, 1946) is an American author, poet, actor, musician, and former political activist. He was the spokesperson for the United Indians of All Tribes' takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as Radio Free Alcatraz. During most of the 1970s, he served as the chairman of the American Indian Movement, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.After his pregnant wife, three children and mother-in-law were killed in 1979 in a fire at the home of his parents-in-law on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada, Trudell turned to writing, music and film as a second career. He acted in three films in the 1990s. The documentary Trudell (2005) was made about him and his life as an activist and artist.
December 8, 2015, Santa Clara County, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Profession
Actor, Soundtrack, Composer
Nationality
Santee Dakota-American
Spouse
Tina Manning
Children
Ricarda Star Trudell, Eli Changing Sun Trudell, Sunshine Karma Trudell
Partner
Marcheline Bertrand
Movies
Dark Blood, Trudell, Dreamkeeper, Smoke Signals, On Deadly Ground, Thunderheart, No More Smoke Signals, America's Lost Landscape
Star Sign
Aquarius
#
Quote
1
Every human being is a raindrop. And when enough of the raindrops become clear and coherent they then become the power of the storm.
2
Don't trust anyone who isn't angry.
#
Fact
1
He was a close friend of Kris Kristofferson, who wrote the 1995 song "Johnny Lobo" about Trudell.
2
Children, with Tina: Ricarda Star (March 8, 1973 - February 12, 1979), Sunshine Karma (December 16, 1975 - February 12, 1979), Eli Changing Sun (November 21, 1977 - February 12, 1979). Tina was also pregnant at the time of her death, with a boy who was to be named Josiah Hawk. Josiah's name is included beneath Tina's on her tombstone.
3
He had been in a relationship with actress Marcheline Bertrand for several years at the time of her death in 2007; Bertrand was an executive producer of the 2005 documentary about his life, Trudell (2005) .
4
His father was a Santee Dakota (Sioux) American Indian, and his mother was of Mexican Indian descent.
5
He was the National Chairman of the American Indian Movement from 1973 to 1979; he resigned the position after the deaths of his wife, Tina Manning Trudell, their three children, and Tina's mother Leah Manning, in a suspicious fire on their reservation in Nevada. However, he remained the Movement's national spokesman for many years afterward.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Dark Blood
2012
Indian #2 (as John Trudell Jr.)
A Thousand Roads
2005
Short
Narrator
Sawtooth
2004
Worm
DreamKeeper
2003
TV Movie
Coyote
Smoke Signals
1998
Randy Peone
Extreme Measures
1996
Tony
On Deadly Ground
1994
Johnny Redfeather
Thunderheart
1992
Jimmy Looks Twice
Powwow Highway
1989
Louie Short Hair
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Independent Lens
TV Series documentary lyrics - 1 episode, 2006 music - 1 episode, 2006 performer - 1 episode, 2006
A Thousand Roads
2005
Short writer: "Song Of The Trees / Warm Springs", "Crazy Horse"
Edge of America
2003
TV Movie writer: "Edge of America"
Incident at Oglala
1992
Documentary performer: "Out of the Blues", "Rich Man's War" / writer: "Out of the Blues", "Rich Man's War", "Sunrise"
Composer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Star Ancestors
2016
TV Series documentary original music by
Independent Lens
2006
TV Series documentary 1 episode
Trudell
2005
Documentary
Music Department
Title
Year
Status
Character
Independent Lens
2006
TV Series documentary music performer - 1 episode
A Thousand Roads
2005
Short composer: additional music
Incident at Oglala
1992
Documentary music consultant
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Legacy of Exiled NDNZ
2014
Documentary short completed
Narrator
The National Parks: America's Best Idea
2009
TV Mini-Series documentary
Reader
Reel Injun
2009
Documentary
Himself
No More Smoke Signals
2008
Documentary
Gonzo Utopia
2006
Documentary short
Himself
America's Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie
2005
Documentary
Black Hawk (voice)
Trudell
2005
Documentary
Himself
Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
1997
TV Special documentary voice
The West
1996
TV Series documentary
The Way West
1995
TV Movie documentary
Voice
Incident at Oglala
1992
Documentary
Himself - National Spokesperson, American Indian Movement
$16 Million
