In 1987, Banks was active in convincing the states of Kentucky and Indiana to pass laws against desecration of Indian graves and human remains. The organization advocated for American Indian civil rights. AIM spearheaded the 1969 Alcatraz occupation, in which the organization demanded the return of federal lands to Indian control; the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties caravan to Washington, D.C.; and the 71-day siege of Wounded Knee, S.D., in 1973. Dennis Banks, a co-founder of the American Indian Movement and a leader of the 1973 Wounded Knee occupation, has died, his family announced Monday. Under the leadership of Banks, AIM led a protest in Custer, South Dakota, in 1973 against the judicial process that found a non-Indian innocent of murdering an Indian. He was released from prison in 1968 and helped found the American Indian Movement (AIM). Dennis Banks -- Ojibwe (Chippewa) leader, teacher, lecturer, activist, and author -- was born on April 12, 1932 on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. In 1966, he was convicted of burglary of a grocery store and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, of which he served 31 months. The refusal of congressional leaders to meet with the Trail of Broken Treaties delegation led to the forcible takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices in Washington, D.C. He had key roles in the films War Party, The Last of the Mohicans (1992), and Thunderheart (1992). As one of the founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM), Dennis Banks (born 1932) has spent much of his life protecting the traditional ways of Indian people and engaging in legal cases protecting treaty rights of Native Americans.
Our editors update and regularly refine this enormous body of information to bring you reliable information. He met a fellow American Indian activist, Clyde Bellecourt, and began to identify issues in American Indian culture that required active protest and community support.

In 1972, AIM organized and led the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan across the United States to Washington, D.C., calling attention to the plight of Native Americans. In 1988, Banks organized and led a spiritual run called the Sacred Run from New York to San Francisco, and then across Japan from Hiroshima to Hokkaido.

Later, Russell Means became a prominent spokesman for the group. In 1988, Banks organized and led a spiritual run called the Sacred Run from New York to San Francisco, and then across Japan from Hiroshima to Hakkaido.

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe suspended all administrative duties for a day so that tribespeople could attend Banks’ memorial service. After a painful childhood separated from his people and years struggling with alcoholism and crime, he helped found the American Indian Movement (AIM). Learn more about the mythic conflict between the Argives and the Trojans. Date of birth : 1937-04-12

He was born on Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. In the spring of 1979, he taught at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Dennis Banks -- Ojibwe (Chippewa) leader, teacher, lecturer, activist, and author -- was born on April 12, 1932 on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. Dennis Banks Family, Childhood, Life Achievements, Facts, Wiki and Bio of 2017. Banks was acquitted of charges stemming from his participation in the Wounded Knee takeover, but was convicted of riot and assault stemming from the confrontation at Custer. AIM members participated in the famous occupation of Alcatraz Island from 1969 to 1971, where they demanded all federal surplus property be returned to Indian control. Infoplease is a reference and learning site, combining the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas and several almanacs loaded with facts. Throughout his time with AIM and as an individual activist, Banks spent his life writing about American Indian concerns and championing the legal rights and cultural values of American Indians. After a long trial, Wounded Knee felony charges against Banks and AIM co-founder Russell Means were dropped. Dennis Banks, Native American leader, teacher, lecturer, activist, and author, was born in 1932 on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. Top Ten Closest U.S. Presidential Elections, State Abbreviations and State Postal Codes, This List of Favorite Islands will Make You Remember Why You Loved Poptropica So Much. Here are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about. On returning to the United States, he encountered the systemic discrimination that Native Americans faced at the time and continue to face today. People will see it as Author Name with your public flash cards. Copyright 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Between 1976 and 1983, Banks earned an associate of arts degree at the University of California, Davis, and taught at Deganawidah-Quetzecoatl (DQ) University (an all-Indian controlled institution), where he became the first American Indian university chancellor. At the age of 19, Banks joined the US Air Force. Between 1976 and 1983, Banks earned an associate of arts degree at the University of California, Davis, and taught at Deganawidah-Quetzecoatl (DQ) University (an all-Indian controlled institution), where he became the first American Indian university chancellor. While living there, Banks organized the Great Jim Thorpe Run from New York City to Los Angeles, California. Nationality : Native American Banks was acquitted of charges stemming from his participation in the Wounded Knee takeover, but was convicted of riot and assault stemming from the confrontation at Custer.

Under the leadership of Dennis Banks, AIM led a protest in Custer, South Dakota in 1973 against the judicial process that found a non-Indian innocent of murdering an Indian. AIM was a major civil rights organization with a complex history of militancy and controversy, but also much success. He was shuttled between various boarding schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) throughout his youth. Also in 1988, his autobiography Sacred Soul was published in Japan, and won the 1988 Non-fiction Book of the Year Award. While living there, Banks organized the Great Jim Thorpe Run from New York City to Los Angeles, California. Date of death : - Yes, I'd like to receive Word of the Day emails from YourDictionary.com. Dennis BanksAnishinabe (Ojibwa) activistBorn: Apr. He served in Japan and was discharged in the lat… When released, he worked as a drug and alcohol counselor on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. In the spring of 1979, he taught at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. In 1972, AIM organized and led the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan across the United States to Washington, D.C., calling attention to the plight of Native Americans. As a result of his involvement in the 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1973, and his activities at Custer, Banks and 300 others were arrested.
also much success. As a result of his involvement in the 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973, and his activities at Custer, Banks and 300 others were arrested. 12, 1937Birthplace: Leech Lake, Minn. At an early age, Dennis Banks was removed from his home and sent to boarding schools, run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in which native Indian languages were forbidden. AIM members participated in the famous occupation of Alcatraz Island from 1969 to 1971, where they demanded all federal surplus property be returned to Indian control. In the 1990s and 2000s, Banks also acted in the films War Party, The Last of the Mohicans, and Thunderheart. He went underground, returning in 1984 to serve more than a year in prison. After Governor Brown left office, Banks received sanctuary on the Onondaga Reservation in upstate New York in 1984. Dennis Banks, Native American leader, teacher, lecturer, activist, and author, was born in 1932 on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. Refusing to serve time in prison, Banks went underground but later received asylum from Governor Jerry Brown of California. Its original purpose was to help Indians in urban ghettos who had been displaced by government programs that had the effect of forcing them from… Credited as : Leader, teacher and author, one of the founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM), role in The Last of the Mohicans. Learn more about the world with our collection of regional and country maps. At an early age, Dennis Banks was removed from his home and sent to boarding schools, run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in which native Indian languages were forbidden. He is a single parent and lives with his children in Kentucky. Check our encyclopedia for a gloss on thousands of topics from biographies to the table of elements. AIM has been quite successful in bringing Native American issues to the public. Need a reference?

His autobiography Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement, was published in 2004.

Dennis Banks passed away in 2017 of pneumonia and complications from open heart surgery. The refusal of congressional leaders to meet with the Trail of Broken Treaties delegation led to the 1972 takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices in Washington, D.C. The refusal of congressional leaders to meet with the Trail of Broken Treaties delegation led to the forcible takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices in Washington, D.C. Birthplace : Leech Lake, Minnesota Learn about one of the world's oldest and most popular religions. In 1975, Banks was convicted for riot charges concerning the Custer courthouse incident that led to Wounded Knee. In 1985, Banks left the Onondaga reservation to surrender to law enforcement officials in South Dakota, and served 18 months in prison. In July 1968, Banks and Bellecourt joined with other activists in founding the American Indian Movement, or AIM. Category : Famous Figures After Governor Brown left office, Banks received sanctuary on the Onondaga reservation in upstate New York in 1984. Complete Dennis Banks 2017 Biography. When released, he worked as a drug and alcohol counselor on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Privacy Policy. He is survived by over 20 children and stepchildren. Terms of Use Banks founded Sacred Run to promote the sacredness of all living things and has led runs across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Refusing to serve time in prison, Banks went underground but later received amnesty from Governor Jerry Brown of California. In 1973 he and other AIM activists led an armed takeover and occupation of Wounded Knee but after a siege of 71 days by federal armed law enforcement the occupation was ended and he was forced to go underground to avoid prison. Dennis Banks was a leading civil rights campaigner and the founder of the American Indian Movement, set up in the Sixties to highlight injustices against the US’s first peoples.