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Key Figures in Like a Hurricane |
| Clyde Warrior
Advocating "a true Indian philosophy geared to modern times," ClydeWarrior, a fancy dancing revolutionary, led the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) -- a small but influential group that represented the vanguard of Indian activism in the years before Alcatraz. A Ponca from Oklahoma, Warrior was as proud of his academic accomplishments as of his extensive knowledge of tribal songs and ceremony. Along with Mel Thom, Herb Blatchford and others, Warrior became known as a "Red Muslim," and presaged the explosive merger of urban Indians and reservation traditionaliasts. He would not, however, live to see it happen. Hank Adams NIYC activist Hank Adams played crucial roles at the "fish-ins" in the Northwest during the late 1960s. Though never in the limelight, he was the architect of the Twenty Points presented to the White House at the disastrous Trail of Broken Treaties in 1972, and served as a negotiator between the White House and the fighters at Wounded Knee. One chronicler of Indian politics called the enigmatic Adams "the most important Indian" of the 1960s and 1970s. Richard Oakes The Alcatraz occupation in 1969 signaled the birth of a new wave of Indian activism, and Richard Oakes became its first media star. Leading the infamous midnight prison invasion, this ironworker turned student activist dove into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay -- commanding international attention for the Native American cause. While Oakes seemed the perfect leader to keep the troops on Alcatraz together, personal tragedy and intrigues devised by his enemies forced him into exile only months after the occupation's triumphant start. News of his death in 1972 ignited the Trial of Broken Treaties. Oakes is the thread that connects Alcatraz with Wounded Knee. LaNada Means Both the youngest Shoshone and youngest woman to become a modern Indian leader, LaNada Means rose to prominence at Alcatraz following the reign of Richard Oakes, furiously fighting to keep the occupation alive. Steadfast in her conviction that Thunderbird University could rise from the abandoned prison, she worked to build alliances with celebrities and political insiders, including Jane Fonda and Ethel Kennedy. Dennis Banks and Russell Means Best known by its arrowhead acronym AIM, the American
Indian Movement filled a political void for Indians hwo lived and worked
in major cities. Vibrant and vocal, AIM never lacked for compelling figures,
Among its flamboyant lot of activists and agitators, Dennis Banks and Russell
Means stood as especially charismatic forces.One of AIM's original founders,
Banks was once a succssful recruiter for the Honeywell Corporation -- and
knew well the power of effective organization and publicity. His colorful
counterpart, Means, was alternately described as a seedy street criminal
and the reincarnation of Crazy Horse. Together, Banks and Means spearheaded
AIM's growth from a small, urban group to a formidable force embraced by
thousands of Indianas across North America. Borrowing tactics from the
Black Panthers, as well as more manstream civil rights operations. AIM
forged an alliance of church leaders, prominent liberals, and other minority
groups to wage major campaigns -- and win major victories -- for the Indian
community. |
