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Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement by Dennis Banks and Richard Erdoes Powerpoint by Ashley Kerswill
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"Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Nov 18, 2014

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My presentation for Anishinaabe Literature class on the book "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement."
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Page 1: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Dennis Banksand the Rise of the American Indian Movement

by Dennis Banks and Richard Erdoes

Powerpoint by Ashley Kerswill

Page 2: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Boozhoo Hello

Naawakamig izhinikaazo.

His name is ‘at the center of the universe’

Page 3: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Birth and Childhood

• Born April 12, 1937 — Federal Dam, Leech Lake rez.

• Named Naawakamig (Nowa-Cumig) by his grandfather (Drumbeater)

• Tapped maple trees, harvested wild rice.

Page 4: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“The old boarding schools that Indian kids were forcibly taken to were concentration camps for children where we were forbidden to speak our language and were beaten if we prayed to our Native creator.”

- Dennis Banks (24)

Page 5: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Boarding School

• Taken at five years old, 250mi away.

• Went to Pipestone and Wahpeton

• Did not see family for over eleven years.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avXlNSaHKEg#t=9m20s - through 9:41

• “Im now writing "The Letters".Of my boarding school days. The u.s.gov't withheld letters my mom wrote to me.65yrslaterIfindm” – Dennis Banks about the book he is writing.

Page 6: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“I could speak some Chippewa when I arrived at Pipestone, but after nine years in that place I forgot it because we were forbidden to speak our native languages. Our teachers only allowed us to speak English”

- (Banks 28)

Page 7: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Military Life

• Joined Military

• Deployed to Japan

• Married a Japanese woman, named Machiko, who he had a daughter with. The military did not approve of this marriage.

• Dennis Banks was court marshaled back to the U.S. He hasn’t seen Machiko or their daughter since.

Page 8: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

"Things won't ever be the same again — and that's what the American Indian Movement is about... Our business is hope”

- Birgil Kills Straight, Lakota (Banks 58)

Page 9: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

"Things won't ever be the same again — and that's what the American Indian Movement is about... Our business is hope”

- Birgil Kills Straight, Lakota (Banks 58)

Page 10: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Founding of AIM

• Thought of an Indian movement while in prison, where he was sentenced for stealing 16 bags of groceries for his family.

• Studied Indian rights and anti-Vietnam War movements, marches, and protests while in prison.

• By 1973 there were 71 U.S. chapters of AIM and 8 Canadian chapters of AIM.

• Why was AIM chosen as their name? (next slide)

Page 11: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“ ‘You always aim to do this and to do that. Why don’t we just call ourselves “AIM”?’ Clyde, George, and I came up with a number of names that had the word ‘movement’ in them. We finally settled on “American Indian Movement.”

- Banks 63

Page 12: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“People are fighting in the streets of Chicago…They’re fighting in the streets of Alabama to change the situation for the blacks…What the hell are we going to do? Are we going to sit here in Minnesota and not do a goddamn thing? Are we going to go on for another two hundred years, or even another five, the way we are without doing something for our Indian people?”

- Dennis Banks (Banks 62)

Page 13: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Founding of AIM

• First 'AIM' meeting July 28, 1968 in the basement of a rundown church. The turnout was bigger than expected, almost 200 showed up. 40-50 were expected.

Page 14: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Aim’s Spiritual Leader

• He searched for Eddie Benton-Banai, Ojibwa, but no one knew where he was.

• Banks was pointed in the direction Henry Crow Dog, Lakota, a 3rd generation medicine man. Henry Crow Dog made Banks his first sweat lodge.

• Leonard Crow Dog, Henry Crow Dog’s son, became AIM’s spiritual leader.

Page 15: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“As long as American Indians were polite and soft-spoken, and acted with decorum, they got nowhere…Clyde [Bellecourt] and I decided that in order to get anywhere AIM had to be confrontational—confrontational but not violent. AIM walks with the Canupa—the sacred pipe of peace. If we were to put the pipe away and only carry the gun, our movement would come to nothing.”

- (Banks 105)

Page 16: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Alcatraz/ Rushmore

• Banks was at Alcatraz for a couple of days during the Indian occupation of the island in 1969.

• AIM helped occupy Mt. Rushmore in 1970.

Page 17: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“The dark agony of a silent man was suddenly transformed into an issue an entire nation must face.”

- The Nishnawbe News (Banks 114)

Page 18: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

AIM’s First Case

• Raymond Yellow Thunder, Lakota, was beaten to death by white people “just for the fun of it”

• The incident happened on Valentine’s Day 1972

• AIM decided to get justice for Yellow Thunder no matter what it took at an AIM conference in Omaha, NE.

• The brothers who started the fight served a combined eight years in jail.

• “Without AIM, they would have gone free without serving a single day.” (Banks 118)

Page 19: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Washington D.C.

• Many natives went on caravans to Washington D.C.

• Each caravan was headed by medicine man who held a sacred pipe and drum.

• They made it to Washington D.C. on November 2, 1972 and had to stay in a dirty, rat-infested church basement.

• They ended up occupying the BIA building in Washington D.C.

Page 20: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Washington D.C.

• They went on the journey to Washington D.C. to get recognition for treaties government had broken.

• The journey is known as “Trail of Broken Treaties” which became a “Trail of Broken Promises”

Page 21: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

The Gunsmoke Flavor

• AIM had a stand at Custer (which was then known as “The Town With The Gunsmoke Flavor”)

• February 6, 1973

• There was a lot of violence.

• “Troopers dragged a beautiful young girl by her feet through the snow and, in the process, ripped her blouse off so that above the waist she wore nothing except her bra.” (Banks 155).

Page 22: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Wounded Knee II

Page 23: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Wounded Knee II

• Began February 27, 1973

• Local people were unable to do anything.

• Dicky Wilson and his GOONs, the so-called “Guardians of the Oglala Sioux” bullied locals into not practicing traditional ways.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWriOAZctPQ#t=6m50s - through 8:49

Page 24: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Wounded Knee II

• Dicky Wilson, his goons, the FBI surrounded perimeter with many of high-caliber, high-powered weapons.

• People inside the perimeter had to fire blanks to intimidate the people outside the perimeter, because they didn’t have enough weapons.

• “Out there the Feds have some heavy weapons and enough ammunition to kill every Indian in South Dakota ten times over”. (Banks 166).

Page 25: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“Among us were people from many tribes: Navajo, Ojibwa, Sac and Fox, Potawatomi, Iroquois, Lumbee, Shinnecock, Pueblo, Kiowa, Comanche, Ponca, and several more, including tribes from the north-west. About 65 percent of the people present were local Lakotas…Even some non-Indians had come to help us—Chicano brothers, young white men and women from the ‘60s counterculture, and a white doctor with a few nurses. We welcomed them all.”

- (Banks 165)

Page 26: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Wounded Knee II

• March 3, Dicky Wilson made his own call to arms and called the occupation of Wounded Knee a move by Communists.

• March 3, reporters denied access.

• March 4, telephone lines cut.

• March 8, fire from the Government started.

Page 27: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Independent Oglala Nation

• Declaration of an Independent Oglala Nation

• Excerpt page 179-180 (next slide)

• “The Oglalas demanded the same recognition the United States accorded countries such as France or Italy, and the asked for the same from the United Nations” (Banks 181)

• Passports were issued to all within the perimeter and visas were issued to press and “foreigners”.

Page 28: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“LET IT BE KNOWN, MARCH 11, 1973 THAT THE OGLALA PEOPLE

WILL REVIVE THE TREATY OF 1868, AND THATIT WILL BE THE BASIS FOR ALL NEGOTIATIONS.

Let the declaration be made that we are a sovereign nation by the Treaty of 1868. We intend to send a delegation to the United Nations.

We want to abolish the Tribal Government under the Indian Reorganization Act. Wounded Knee will be a corporate state under the Independent Oglala Nation.

In proclaiming the Independent Oglala Nation, the first nation to be called for support is the Six Nation Confederacy (The Iroquois League). We request that the Confederacy send emissaries to this newly proclaimed nation.”

- (Banks 179-180)

Page 29: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“By March 30, we were down to two meals a day. A week later it was one meal a day. And then a week after that, we had to get by with one meal every other day with a bowl of thin soup in between. On the day the occupation ended, the only food left was a forty-pound bag of dry pinto beans.”

- (Banks 188)

Page 30: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Wounded Knee II

• “The stand down at Wounded Knee took place on Friday, May 8, 1973.” (Banks 209).

• The whole ordeal lasted more than two months.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcFWdblY5ac#t=7m45s - through 9:29

Page 31: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Life after The Knee

• Fled to Canada after Wounded Knee II.

• After his return, him and Means were put on trial. Judge Nichol didn’t like them at first but, after discovering FBI’s cover-ups and corruptness, he sided with them. Trial ended in September of 1973.

• In early 1974, commissioned by FBI to help getting Patty Hearst back from the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Page 32: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“From 1972 to 1976, Pine Ridge reservation was a killing field….More than three hundred people are reported to have met a violent end in this place of fear and suppression…Over 90 percent of the killings and other violent crimes were never investigated.”

- (Banks 294)

Page 33: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“The tribal president had a crude poster on the wall of his office that stated, ‘one of Russell Means’ braids cut off—five dollars, two braids—ten dollars, Russell Means’ whole head pickled—one hundred dollars.”

- (Banks 285).

Page 34: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“Dick Wilson had finally been defeated. He lost his bid for a third term as tribal chairman by a three-to-one margin. The winner was a former BIA superintendent and longtime Wilson opponent, Al Trimble. Unfortunately, Wilson had two months left before he had to relinquish his office, during which time he wielded absolute power.”

- (Banks 288)

Page 35: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Kamook

• Kamook is the woman Dennis Banks loved the most.

• She is Lakota.

• Up until 1975 they had had one daughter together, Tashina Wanblee.

Page 36: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Kamook’s Bail

• Dennis Banks escaped the FBI but learned Kamook was in jail and was pregnant with their second child.

• December 30, 1975, Kamook gave birth to Tiopa Maza Win, Iron Door Woman. She was born behind Iron Doors (in jail).

• The People’s Temple, the cult that Jim Jones — who was Choctaw — led to a mass suicide in Guyana, raised Kamook’s bail.

Page 37: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

California

• Kamook, Tashina, Tiopa, and him moved to California.

• Dennis Banks became a chancellor at the Dekanawida-Quetzalcoatl University in California.

• Kamook gave birth to their last daughter, Tokala (Kit Fox), in California.

• In 1985, they had their last child, a boy, named Chanupa Washte, meaning Good Sacred Pipe.

Page 38: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Onondaga

• They moved to the Onondaga reservation because he couldn’t be touched by anyone there.

• South Dakota had an extradition against him.

• In September of 1984, his “enforced stay of the Onondaga reservation came to an end.” (Banks 337).

Page 39: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Trial and Prison

• Banks hands himself over to South Dakota.

• He is sentenced to prison in Custer on October 9, 1984.

• He serves one year and two months of sentence.

• While Banks was in prison his 103 year old grandfather died.

Page 40: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“Never give up. That’s how I run my life. And I stay close to nature. During the sugaring time, it is important to recognize that one can’t take all the sap away from the tree. We have to leave enough so that the tree can survive and thrive, otherwise one might make a mistake and take the tree’s life force away. So we must think the Indian way if we are going to survive.”

- Grandpa Bijah (Banks 344)

Page 41: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

End of Sentence

• Governor Janklow, who was long time enemies with Banks, let Banks go to his grandfather’s funeral.

• On August 6, 1985, he was granted parole on the condition that he find a job.

Page 42: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“I applied for the positions of drug and alcohol counselor and running coach. I filled out the forms and fired them off. One question on the application asked, ‘What experience do you have as a running coach?’

I put down, ‘I ran from the FBI for eleven years and they never caught up with me.’.”

- (Banks 346).

Page 43: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“Life is like a circleYou walk and walk onlyTo find yourself at thePlace you started from”

- Henry Crow Dog, Lakota (Banks 348)

Page 44: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“Age brings wisdom—sometimes.”- Dennis

Banks(Banks 354)

Page 45: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Elder

• He has “promoted legislation that makes trading in items from Indian graves illegal.” (Banks 348).

• He has organized unsuccessful walks to free LeonardPeltier.

• He fights against teams with Indian mascots.

• He “struggles to keep AIM alive.” (Banks 349).

• On October 10, 1992, Banks’ last child was born. A boy, named Minoh Biqwad, meaning Good Arrow.

• Excerpt 351-352. (next slide)

Page 46: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“One of the sad aspects of being an elder is that one by one, your old friends and comrades in the struggle are no longer here. So many have gone to the spirit world. Old Henry Crow Dog, who prepared for me my first sweat lodge, is gone…Gone, too, is Frank Fools Crow…John Fire Lame Deer…Pete Catches…Phillip Deere…Pedro Bissonette…Buddy Lamont…Oscar Bear Runner…Severt Young Bear…Milo Goings…Louis Bad Wound…Lou Bean…Gladys Bissonette…Mary Gertrude…Nilak Butler…Grandma Cecilia Jumping Bull…Joe Stuntz Kills Right…Finally, I grieve for Annie Mae Aquash.”“But I’d better stop before I break down”

- (Banks 351-352).

Page 47: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“A nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors nor how strong their weapons.”

- Cheyenne proverb (Banks 352)

Page 48: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“My mind is crowded with thoughts of those warriors who stood, fought, and died for us. They were brave men. They were brave women. I shall not eulogize their deaths. Instead, I shall draw on their life memories and be strengthened.”

- (Banks 353)

Page 49: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Looking Back

• He attended 25th anniversary, a remembrance, of the stand at Wounded Knee on February 27, 1998.

• He now lives on the Leech Lake reservation and owns a business.

Page 50: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

“I thank the American Indian Movement for being strong. AIM will always be strong because it is a spiritual movement. Every day we receive calls of distress, and every day we offer tobacco ceremonies for those in need. Right now this earth, our mother, is in distress. She needs our help. Can we—all of us—respond? I don’t know, but I am convinced that if we don’t respond, we will be in peril and our future will lay in question.”

- (Banks 362)

Page 51: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Aim and It’s Legacy

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A33CZ1AJj3w - through 0:29.

• “People often forget that AIM is not so much a political organization as it is a spiritual one.” (Banks 185).

Page 52: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Miigwetch for taking the time to read/ listen to my presentation

Page 53: "Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement"

Works Cited

• Banks, Dennis, and Richard Erdoes. Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. N. pag. Print.

• http://twitter.com/DennisBanks/status/8401439833

• http://twitter.com/tashinabanks/statuses/12048176895