It's always good to go home. It's strengthening to see your past and know you have someplace to go where you're part of a people. John Trudell More Quotes by John Trudell More Quotes From John Trudell When one lives in a society where people can no longer rely on the institutions to tell them the truth, the truth must come from culture and art. John Trudell truthculturepeopleart We cannot change the political system, we cannot change the economic system, we cannot change the social system, until the people control the land, and then we take it out of the hands of that sick minority that chooses to pervert the meaning and the intention of humanity. John Trudell sickchangehumanitypeople There have been some positive things that have happened for the tribes, but it's a constant, vigilant fight about protecting what resources we have in terms of land and rights. John Trudell somefightthingspositive You go back and you read your Constitution. You read your Declaration of Independence. And you will see that the only people who could decide these freedoms were white males who owned property, and all the rest of us were excluded. John Trudell restyouconstitutionpeople The whole point is to take from our native culture and from contemporary culture without using one art form to mimic the other, so that our native identity remains the native identity, the contemporary identity remains the contemporary identity, and the mixing of these two musical identities creates a third musical identity. John Trudell withoutidentitycultureart One Earth, one mother - one does not sell the Earth. John Trudell doessellearthmother For us, it's a matter of just staying alive and getting the best deal we can now. Eventually, this will all straighten out. It may be two generations away or 10 generations away, but time is irrelevant in that sense. As long as we, as a people, stay alive, we will survive. John Trudell besttimelongpeople I consider the electric guitar to be like a drum with strings. It became the drum of the Baby Boom generation. And the drum has always been the center of the tribe, a new electronic tribe. John Trudell generationnewguitarbaby The average human being in America is going through some sort of hard times - physical, emotional, psychological. Everybody's carrying a bit of bone days in them. John Trudell human-beinghardemotionalamerica I wasn't interested in having to live with a camera - I have a hard enough time getting along with myself. I don't need cameras around and all that action. John Trudell cameralivemyselftime All that I am is me. So I'm not really a poet or a writer or an actor or an activist; I'm me, and these are things that I do. John Trudell i-amthingsmepoet For decades, my identity was political, but I've come to understand that there's no political solution when you're dealing with someone else's rules. John Trudell understandyoupoliticalidentity All politics to me - Indian or white - is an illusion preventing us from being authentic because we're communicating through something that isn't real to us. John Trudell meillusionpoliticswhite When I left politics in the early Eighties and started writing and recording, my idea was that I could have an influence further down into other generations. That Natives could come into the culture through arts and music. John Trudell downmusicpoliticsculture I have a real interest in working with younger Native artists. I think it's a very important way for Native people to communicate the realities of our culture and remember our ancestors. John Trudell thinkrememberculturepeople I'm a member of the American Indian Movement, and I'm from the indigenous nations of the Western Hemisphere. John Trudell americanindigenousindianmovement I was going mad. One day, I just started writing, and it was like therapy because I was in a position where I couldn't rage. I never expected to be a writer; it's a different world than I ever expected to be in. John Trudell neverdaymadworld I'm not a musician making words to go with my music. John Trudell makingwordsgomusic Because we are all of an oral tradition in our beginning histories, the voice of the poet in this particular society will be heard. John Trudell beginningtraditionsocietyvoice From activist stage, I just spoke and said whatever I had to say. When the writing started, I would just read it. Then I had the interest into going into musical aspects. When that happened in '86, I liked the result of work we did in the studio. John Trudell resultsayworkwriting
