To Be a Water Protector: The Rise of the Wiindigoo Slayers

emember
We
water is our beginning
the
hear the ocean
I
her song
Singing
with musicians like Jackson Browne, Jesse Ed Davis, Bonnie Raitt,
Working
Kristo erson and others, Trudell traveled up and down the west coast
Kris
with that message. He understood fully.
life before pro t
choosing
water is our relative
the
water loves us
e
us her power is real
Telling
Water for Life 3
long ago spoke of the rights of Mother Earth. More than just civil
Trudell
or human rights, it is Natural Rights. I am grateful to him for his
rights
I knew Trudell through ve decades of my life. He was a friend
teachings.
mentor, and his commitment to life, art and protecting Mother Earth
and
an inspiration to so many of us. A Santee man, born in Nebraska, he
was
politicized a er he returned from the military in 1968. e
became
of Alcatraz was the moment for John, like many young Native
Liberation
on the west coast, and nationally, as Native people demanded the
people
of the former military prison, something which is provided for
rematriation
federal law.
under
used his skill set to establish Radio Free Alcatraz and served as
Trudell
of the American Indian Movement for most of the 1970s. at’s when I
chair
Trudell. A profound thinker and orator, Trudell’s in uence was
met
cant. As the power of the movement grew, so did the repression, as
signi
other federal intelligence, police and military programs
and
into the reservations and Indian Country. A er his pregnant wife,
moved
Manning, and his three children and mother-in-law died in 1979 in a
Tina
house re, John’s life turned to more music and he ranged further
suspicious
further. His poetry, music and acting lit up a generation of youth, with
and
word and political insight. In 2012, he formed Project Hempstead,
spoken
Willie Nelson, to co-create the hemp economy. His words live on in
with
lm and music, with Bad Dog. John crossed boundaries. He crossed
books,