John Trudell and Cecilia Rodriguez

Jouhn Trudell is a Santee Sioux poet, a musician and a long time activist fo Native American Rights. He was the spokesperson during the Indians of All Tribes occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969 which culminated in the formation of AIM, the American Indian Movement. The following talk was part of a forum supporting solidarity between Zapatista Indian communities and Native American Indians. The event took place June 24, 1998 at the Intertribal Friendship House in Oakland CA. Trudell begins by sharingn some of his poetry. Cecilia Rodriguez, Zapatista spokesperson, is featured. Rodriguez is the U.S. representative of Herita Zapatista Liberation National. In the following talk Rodriguez describes some of the colorful history and tradition of the Zapatistas, including the story of how they came to wear black ski masks. She was speaking at forum supporting solidarity between Zapatista Indian communities and Native American Indians, June 24, 1998