Trudell comes to campus to share experience as activist

  Daemon Records John Trudell (right) will
be speaking on campus tomorrow.

By Sara Mortimer
Daily Bruin Contributor

Look into what John Trudell has experienced and it becomes
apparent what moved him to express himself through poetry and
music.

A political activist, actor and spoken-word artist, Trudell has
been in the public arena for a span of over 30 years. And his
pursuit for social change and awareness has endured through
turbulent times.

Tomorrow, Trudell will speak of these pursuits at a brown-bag
luncheon at UCLA’s Campbell Hall. Hosted by the American
Indian Studies Department, his topic is “Yesterday is Today
is Tomorrow,” a precursor to his performance at the Roxy on
March 8, where he and his band will be promoting his new
spoken-word album, “Bone Days,” while holding a benefit
for Afghan refugee women and children.

“I just thought it would be appropriate on International
Women’s Day to do something for women and children,”
Trudell said as he elaborated on his work with the United Nations
goodwill ambassador and actress Angelina Jolie.

Jolie executive produced Trudell’s album “Bone
Days” after the two met through a project they are still
working on with the All Tribes Foundation. The collaboration
will result in a multimedia center to promote the living memory of
all tribes.

Trudell grew up in and around the Santee Sioux reservation near
Omaha, Neb. His life in the public eye began well before he turned
to art.

After serving in the Vietnam War from 1963 to 1967, Trudell
participated in the historical occupation of Alcatraz Island with
the activist group, Indians of All Tribes. Trudell also became the
chairman of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1973. And in
1979, he led a march in Washington D.C., delivering a speech on the
steps of the FBI building concerning the persecution of Native
Americans. Less than a day later, his wife, mother-in-law and three
children were mysteriously killed in a fire.

He said that after his family was murdered, he had to find a new
way to participate in seeking social change.

“I was trying to find a way to stay connected to reality.
It was a matter of keeping my mind. And then one day I started
writing,” Trudell said.

His new album is an example of his enduring need to express
feelings about the world and himself. His band, Bad Dog, mixes
upbeat blues rhythms, country twang and Native American chants to
provide the framework for Trudell’s poetry.

“I wanted to take the oldest language, which is the voice,
and the newest language, which is the electric stuff and create an
energy that would be able to communicate real feeling to
people. A weaving of sound and meaning,” he said.

Many of Trudell’s songs, like the title track “Bone
Days” and “Hanging From The Cross,” examine
various social issues from environmental abuse to religious
oppression. Others, like “Takes My Breath” and
“Nothing in Her Eyes,” illuminate themes that are more
personal.

Trudell uses this artistic expression as a vehicle for issues
that he cares about. Beginning on March 13, he will be touring
the northwest coast to benefit public, college and community radio
stations. It is important to him that people be reached on a
real and personal level and be reminded to search for truth and
constructive understanding.

“After the Vietnam War, the American authoritarians
realized they could never allow war to truly be covered again. Each
war is a refinement process on how to control the news that the
public is going to get,” Trudell said.

He also included that people owe it to themselves to be
real.

“There are many things that we know are wrong, but we
pretend that it’s not in order to get by,” Trudell
said. “And I think we need to stop
pretending.”

SPEAKER: John Trudell will be speaking at 3232
Campbell Hall on March 5 from 3-5 p.m. He will be performing
at the Roxy on March 8 and his new CD, “Bone Days,”
will be released on the same day. For more information, visit
www.johntrudell.com.