John Trudell Poetry + Talk at KNACKA (VIDEO)

John Trudell Poetry + Talk, Hemp As Earth Medicine Friday September 6, 2013 at KNACKA in Portland, Oregon Educating and entertaining with straight talk and spoken word, John Trudell, Native American activist, musician, actor, poet and philosopher, made a very special appearance on September 6th, 2013 at KNACKA Handcrafted Hemp Gear in Portland, OR. Trudell is the co-founder of Hempstead Project Heart with Willie Nelson, a project of Earth Island Institute. Hempstead Project Heart is dedicated to raising awareness about the environmental, social, and economic benefits of legalizing industrial hemp in America. - - John Trudell is an acclaimed poet, national recording artist, actor and activist whose international following reflects the universal language of his words, work and message. Trudell (Santee Sioux) was a spokesperson for the Indian of All Tribes occupation of Alcatraz Island from 1969 to 1971. He then worked with the American Indian Movement (AIM), serving as Chairman of AIM from 1973 to 1979. In February of 1979, a fire of unknown origin killed Trudell's wife, three children and mother-in-law. It was through this horrific tragedy that Trudell began to find his voice as an artist and poet, writing, in his words, "to stay connected to this reality." In 1982, Trudell began recording his poetry to traditional Native music and in 1983 he released his debut album Tribal Voice on his own Peace Company label. Trudell then teamed up with the late legendary Kiowa guitarist Jesse Ed Davis. Together, they recorded three albums during the 1980's. The first of these, AKA Graffiti Man, was released in 1986 and dubbed the best album of the year by Bob Dylan. AKA Graffiti Man served early notice of Trudell's singular ability to express fundamental truths through a unique mix of poetry, Native music, blues and rock. Since that time, Trudell has released seven more albums plus a digitally re-mastered collection of his early Peace Company cassettes. His 2002 CD, Bone Days, was executive produced by Academy Award winning actress Angelina Jolie and released on the Daemon Records label. His double album, Madness & The Moremes, showcases more than five years of new music and includes special Ghost Tracks of old favorite Trudell tunes made with legendary Kiowa guitarist Jesse Ed Davis. This internet only release offers a full range of classic Trudell poetry -- there are lyrics filled with penetrating insight and others with knock out humor, all put to some of the best music Bad Dog has ever made together. Crazier Than Hell is the latest offering from John Trudell and Bad Dog. 17 new and old songs continue the thread of love, life, reality and responsibility that runs through all of Trudell's presentations. Rocking, bluesy, psychedelic tunes flow naturally and coherently from start to finish. This is Trudell and Bad Dog's most important work to date. In addition to his dozen recordings, Trudell has published three books of poetry, including his latest, a collection of all his works entitled Lines from a Mined Mind: The Words of John Trudell. He has also appeared in several feature films (Thunderheart, Smoke Signals, On Deadly Ground and Dreamkeeper) as well as a number of documentaries. He is also the subject of an award-winning documentary on his life, Trudell, which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. http://www.johntrudell.com http://hempsteadprojectheart.org http://www.knacka.com