Truly an amazing human being, passionate with ever fiber of his being and absolutely committed to justice.
I was in a coalition opposing uranium mining on native lands, which was occurring in the four corners area under horribly negligent conditions that subjected those who lived there to clouds of radioactive dust. There were huge pilings of radioactive waste left sitting on native lands without regard to the risk they posed to surrounding regions. This was back in 1979 or 1980. Four of us got together to head out there to witness it, and John Trudell was part of that.
There was one night we all spent camping in the area. John told us all the story about what happened to his wife that night. God it was so painful to hear, and obviously painful for him to talk about, but he didn't shy away from the memory. The toll that took on him personally was obvious, but he would not bury that memory, he held it close and used it to fortify his resolve to fight against the wrongs shown his people.
He was such an incredibly gifted orator, one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. His words just resonated truth, but he was simple in his presence, easy to be with, with no pretensions. I once had a cassette tape of a speech he gave for AIM, which I listened to numerous times. Incredibly powerful. Sadly some where along the way in the years that followed it long ago vanished. I can't now remember the things he actually said, but the impression he left on me is indelible.
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