Banks receives lifetime achievement award

Dennis Banks Receives Living Legends Award

By Levi Rickert Dennis Banks, Ojibwe, will receive the Living Legends Award tonight in Washington DC for his contributions as a co-founder of the American Indian Movement and his ongoing committed to the well being of the American Indian community.

This year's theme of the awards ceremony is "Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

“We seek to honor people who have made contributions to bettering humanity,” said Doreen Hines, the executive director of Human Symphony Foundation, the non-profit organization that gives out the awards.

Past awardees include: Congressman John Lewis, journalist Juan Williams, Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith, peace activist Leymah Gbowee and several others.

“We purposely sought out an American Indian to honor,” commented Markus Williams, artistic director of Living Legends Awards.

“After I did research on Dennis Banks, I knew he deserves this honor.”

"So much of what was taught about civil rights involved black and white issues, obviously there were other groups in this country that needed their civil rights. Dennis Banks did that for American Indians," continued William.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Longest Walk 3--Reversing Diabetes and Means Receives Lifetime Achievement Award.