1976 - Extremely Eloquent, Therefore Extremely Dangerous

North American Sovereign Nations | Late Autumn, 1976

“The commitment of our people must be 100%. For without a struggle, we will have nothing.” ~

SOURCE: Akwesasne Notes, Vol. 8 No. 4.

Open Fire: Or The FBI’s History Lesson | November, 1976

“We’re as natural to the land as the trees that stand outside your window.”

“Three hundred and eighty-four treaties have been signed and 384 were broken. No one ever stood trial for breaking those laws. When a person is charged with committing a crime in your society he is not brought to our society to be tried.”

“Our culture has been changed in such a way that it can never go back to what it was.”

Who Are the Real Terrorists? | Late Autumn, 1976

“Racism and double standards of justice are the real threat to the Internal Security of this nation-state. AIM people are just trying to survive as human beings. As for these senators calling us violent, that is an unfunny joke. These representatives of a social system that produces napalm, tactical squads, M-16s, racism, class exploitation, etc., calling us violent is the rhetoric of liars and hypocrites.” ~

SOURCE: Akwesasne Notes, Vol. 8 No. 4

Wounded Knee Related Trials Go On | Early Autumn, 1976

“We have grouped together by our religions and beliefs to educate our own people, and to try to educate white people. We don’t want to be statistics. We believe all lives are sacred and everybody is entitled to dignity.” ~

SOURCE: Akwesasne Notes, vol. 8 No. 3.

Interview with John Trudell: A.I.M. Leader Details F.B.I Repression | July 17, 1976

In the aftermath of last week’s successful July 4th Coalition rally in San Francisco, THE BLACK PANTHER conducted an exclusive interview with John Trudell, the national director of the American Indian Movement (AIM). In the interview, Trudell talked at length about the current trial of AIM activist Bob Robideau and Dino Butler in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the savage FBI repression AIM has had to endure since its inception. The following are excerpts from that interview.

BLACK PANTHER: John, what are the latest developments in the trial of Bob Robideau and Dino Butler?

JOHN TRUDELL: The defense has subpoenaed FBI head Clarence Kelley, Senator Frank Church, Representative Otis Pike and a man whose name I can’t remember…He’s the head of public relations for the FBI. I’m very surprised about this because it is the first time where we are going to get the head pig, Kelley, down to where we can at least ask him some questions. It’s an indication that serious question are beginning to be raised about the whole issue of the FBI’s involvement in the suppression of people’s movements in this American state. The FBI has been operating outside of the law from the beginning of the Indian movement and now it is accelerating its tactics.

Pipe Ritual: Indian Strength at Trial | July 10, 1976

“There is protection in the pipe. There is power in the pipe that is spiritual power. We accept the fact that we have to have lawyers, but there’s a lot of protection in the pipe too.”

“I’d rather have 50 interested people than 500 just curious people.” ~

SOURCE: Des Moines Tribune.

7,000 Rally at S.F. People’s Bicentennial. Trudell Reading Message from Dennis Banks Who Was Being Held in San Francisco Jail. | July 10, 1976

Banks July 4th message: “I do not celebrate today, instead I mourn for all my brothers and sisters whose lives have been lost fighting for our freedom. On this so-called day of independence I ask you America, what does the concept of freedom mean to Anna Mae Aquash, and to Buddy La Mont, to Frank Crow Dog, and to Little Joseph Stuntz, all of whom were killed by the federal gun…”

John Trudell reemphasizing Banks’ message: Our enemy is the FBI. They no longer wear the uniform of the Seventh Calvary, but their actions are the same. All that has changed is technology. We must not talk to the FBI. They are the enemies of the people. They are the murderers. The thieves. We want to be liberated from their corrupt value system. Today, July 4, is just one more day of oppression. Free the People! ~

SOURCE: The Black Panther. Vol 15, No.13.

Tim McGovern interview of John Trudell | January 11, 1976

John Trudell is the national chairman of the American Indian Movement, the highest elected official in AIM. In this interview he talks about the Wounded Knee Uprising of 1971, its aftermath, and media coverage of that event and others. In addition, Trudell tells how he thinks institutions in America, like the Catholic Church, the educational system, and the FBI are used as repressive tools. Before the interview I asked Trudell how long he’d been with AIM. His response was, “all my life. We just weren’t organized yet.”