"Declare War on Diabetes" motorcycle run

Dennis Banks to Lead 18,000 Mile "Declare War on Diabetes" Motorcycle Run in 2014

By Levi RickertDennis Banks, 77, a cofounder of the American Indian Movement, has announced a 18,000 mile motorcycle run across America with hundreds of American Indians participating to "declare war on diabetes."

Dennis Banks, cofounder of the American Indian Movement, has issued a Declaration of War on Diabetes.And:The motorcycle run will have four staring locations in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego on August 11 with the final destination of the nation's capital, Washington, DC on September 10, 2014.

Throughout the various routes across America, motorcyclists will stop at various American Indian reservations and communities as they journey to Washington.

Once in Washington, the group will visit members of Congress and present them with a national diabetes policy, according to Banks.

This will be the second endeavor by Banks to draw attention to the ill-effects of diabetes in Indian country. In 2011, he led the "Longest Walk 3–Reversing Diabetes" that took the long walkers to 72 American Indian reservations and communities before they arrived in Washington.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Longest Walk 3--Reversing Diabetes.

Kitaro partners with Banks

Kitaro taps into Native American culture

By Sachiko Tamashige"Kitaro and I were destined to meet each other," Dennis Banks tells The Japan Times. "Our beliefs are similar: Mother Earth, who we are ... we are all the children of this Earth."

Banks, 75, is a Native American activist and leader of the Anishinaabe people from northern Minnesota. He is known for leading the Longest Walk in 1978, a pilgrimage of 26 Native Americans who walked across the United States to draw attention to Native American rights.

In November, Banks reunited with new-age music composer Kitaro (real name: Masanori Takahashi) in the posh Omotesando district of Tokyo at a party to showcase their album, "Let Mother Earth Speak." Kitaro, 59, is a Golden Globe and Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist regarded as a pioneer in the new age genre.

"The recording session went smoothly as being in Kitaro's studio made me want to sing," Banks adds. "There were more than a hundred instruments in his studio. Just being with Kitaro playing all sorts of instruments inspired me to sing stronger and higher."

The flattery goes both ways as Kitaro praises Banks' voice: "His voice is always in tune and most of the tracks were recorded in one take. It was amazing."

"Let Mother Earth Speak" was released last year and features nine tracks of Kitaro's musical stylings with Banks' spoken word poetry. The album is filled with traditional Native American instruments and, of course, Banks contributes a number of songs indigenous to his cultural background.Comment:  For more on Dennis Banks, see NIGA 2012 (Day 2) and Banks Receives Lifetime Achievement Award.

Below:  "They bang the drums: New-age musician Kitaro (left) and Native American leader Dennis Banks meet up in Tokyo at a party that showcased their joint album, Let Mother Earth Speak." (Sachiko Tamashige)

NIGA 2012 (Day 2)

After meeting Wes Studi, Adam Beach, and other celebrities during our first day at NIGA, there was no letup on our second day.

Walking into the convention center, we met Cedric Cromwell, chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag, and his entourage.

Comedy duo Williams and Ree, aka the Indian and the White Guy, stopped by our booth. My pal Victor cracked them up so much that they thought he might be a comedian too.

I saw Gray "Litefoot" Davis, new president of NCAIED, talking business with some attendees.

Dennis Banks, co-founder of AIM, was there for some reason--perhaps to tout his documentary. Victor thanked Banks for inspiring him at a school assembly 33 years ago.

Sonny Skyhawk pigeonholed me for some talk about Hollywood's failure to cast Native actors to play Natives. He doesn't think Johnny Depp should play Tonto in the Lone Ranger movie.

In fact, his committee investigated Depp to see if he has any enrolled Cherokees in his family tree. Apparently not. That doesn't mean Depp is fibbing about having a Cherokee great-grandmother, but it casts more doubt on his worthiness to play a Native.

Walking to our car through the Gaslamp Quarter, we saw Irene Bedard eating at a sidewalk cafe.

We had a late lunch at Lou & Mickey's in the Gaslamp Quarter. From our table, we saw Adam Beach walking by, talking on his cellphone. Victor called him over and he joined us for a few minutes.

More photos: NIGA (Day 2)--April 4, 2012

For more on NIGA, see Pix of NIGA 2011 and Report on NIGA 2011.

Below:  Sonny Skyhawk and Dennis Banks.

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.

Longest Walk 3--Reversing Diabetes

Tribes 'Walk' to halt diabetes

By Diane A. RhodesA 5,400-mile walk across America will start at La Jolla Shores on Monday and end at Washington D.C. on July 8 as members of Native American tribes throughout the nation unite for The Longest Walk 3--Reversing Diabetes.

The Southern California route includes stops at Pechanga, Soboba and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians before continuing to Agua Caliente in Palm Springs on Saturday.

"If you're not diabetic nobody really moves to action--I was that way two years ago," said Dennis Banks, who is leading this trek across America. "But then I was diagnosed."Tribes to begin cross-country walk against diabetes in La Jolla

By Kathy DayThe Longest Walk 3, a 5,400-mile walk-run relay across America to draw attention to the epidemic of diabetes among Native Americans, will take off from La Jolla Shores Monday morning.

Pre-event presentations will begin at 6 a.m. with the walkers taking off at 9:45. They will spend the night at the San Pasqual reservation. On Tuesday they’ll go from Rincon to Pauma, Pala and then Pechanga reservations.

La Jolla was chosen as the starting point because of its historic significance to the Kumeyaay Nation. Members would stay along the ocean in the winter and journey back to the mountains and deserts as the weather warmed, said Louie Guassac, assistant coordinator for the Walk and a member of the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians.And:The event is a combination of a walk-ride-run, he said. Among the participants are the Reservation Riders, a motorcycle club.

A Facebook page describing the walk, being led by A.I.M co-founder Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement, notes the route will cover Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Banks, himself a diabetic, says on the site that “diabetes has reached an epidemic state in Indian Country and the percentage of diabetes amongst Native Americans may be as high as 75 percent,” although the Indian Health Service’s estimate is at 35 percent.Below:  "The Longest Walk 3, an effort to raise awareness and reversal of diabetes, will include a route along Soboba Road on Thursday. From left, Luiseño Women of Soboba president Carmelita Vallejo, State Coordinator Orlando Vigil and Luiseño Women of Soboba secretary/treasurer Lucille Briones, have worked during the past several months to plan the event." (Diane Rhodes/Special to The Press-Enterprise)

A Good Day to Die trailer

‘A Good Day to Die,’ film about Dennis Banks & American Indian Movement, wins best documentary at festivalThe best documentary at the 10th Annual deadCENTER Film Festival gave a voice to a movement overlooked by mainstream America and unknown to a new generation of Native Americans.

“A Good Day to Die”, by filmmakers David Mueller and Lynn Salt (Choctaw), won best documentary at its world premiere at the deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City.

It is also the first film of its kind to be executive produced by a tribal nation, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation of California. It tells the story of Dennis Banks, co-founder of the American Indian Movement.

This is a story of American history I did not learn growing up.

In grade school and high school I knew nothing about the American Indian Movement or the takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters in Washington, D.C., or the confrontations in Custer and Wounded Knee, S.D.

I did not know who Dennis Banks was until I was in college. It was there that I took classes on Native American history and read books such as “Like a Hurricane: The American Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee.”

Banks co-founded the AIM in 1968 to call attention to the atrocities that were occurring to Native Americans in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The film explains how his life was shaped by his experiences in the boarding schools, the military and time spent in state prison.

This documentary brought to life what I have read in books. Interviews from AIM members, politicians, lawyers, judges and law enforcement officers gave various perspectives on a turbulent era.

Comment:  For more on the subject, see AIM's Misdeeds Too "Complex" to Cover?, Debate Over Wounded Knee, and AIM Changed Over Time.