Turtle Island Productions

From the T.I.P. Video Archive: John Trudell discusses joining the American Indian Movement after his involvement with the Indians of All Tribes occupation of Alcatraz Island 1969-1971. I filmed this interview in Sausalito, CA in 1996 for my documentary “Alcatraz Is Not an Island.” This and other clips were to be used in a proposed 90-minute documentary on the history of A.I.M., the American Indian Movement, which I was to co-produce with filmmaker Jay Rosenstein (“In Whose Honor”). Our attempts to secure funding from several sources, including ITVS and the Sundance Documentary Fund were rejected….”too controversial.” I own the rights to most of these interviews, and now after all of these leading AIM figures: Dennis Banks, Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt, John Trudell, and Russell Means have passed away, perhaps their story will finally be told.

John Trudell on Joining AIM after Alcatraz for “Never Ignored: The Story of AIM, the American Indian Movement”, 2012 (WIP Teaser) I filmed this interview in Sausalito, CA in 1996 for my documentary "Alcatraz Is Not an Island." This and other clips were to be used in a proposed 90-minute docum

From the T.I.P. Video Archives: Clyde Bellecourt on the Anishinaabeg 7th Prophecy & A.I.M. for “Never Ignored: The Story of A.I.M., the American Indian Movement”, 2012. I filmed this interview in San Francisco for a 2012 work in progress sample teaser for a proposed 90-minute documentary on the history of AIM, the American Indian Movement. This and other clips were to be used in a proposed 90-minute documentary on the history of AIM, the American Indian Movement, which I was to co-produce with filmmaker Jay Rosenstein (“In Whose Honor”). Our attempts to secure funding from several sources, including ITVS and the Sundance Documentary Fund were rejected….”too controversial.” I own the rights to most of these interviews, and now after all of these leading AIM figures: Dennis Banks, Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt, John Trudell, and Russell Means have passed away, perhaps their story will finally be told.

Clyde Bellecourt on the 7th Prophecy & AIM for “Never Ignored: The Story of AIM, the American Indian Movement”, 2012 (WIP Teaser) I filmed this interview in San Francisco for a 2012 work in progress sample teaser for a proposed 90-minute documentary on the history of AIM, the American Indian Mo

Production Photo Archive #20. Pt 2 "Searching for Sequoyah." National PBS Premiere Fall, 2021. Producer/Director/D.P./Editor. 2018 filming locations: Cherokee Heritage Center, Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK, among other locations in Oklahoma, Photos by our still photographer and all-hands-on-deck crew member Karl Schmidt. https://searchingforsequoyah.com/ https://turtle-island.com/product.../searching-for-sequoyah/ https://turtle-island.com/searching-for-sequoyah-trailer/

Production Photo Archive #20. Pt 1 "Searching for Sequoyah." National PBS Premiere Fall, 2021. Producer/Director/D.P./Editor. 2016 filming locations: Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Cherokee (Qualla Boundary), NC; Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, Vonore, TN; and the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK. Includes Sequoyah descendants group interview. https://searchingforsequoyah.com/ https://turtle-island.com/product-category/searching-for-sequoyah/ https://turtle-island.com/searching-for-sequoyah-trailer/

Here are the interviews I filmed with Winona LaDuke, Tony DePerry, Robin Mosay and Earl Ray during the 2009 Anishinaabeg (Ojibwa, Ojibwe, Ojibway, Chippewa) gathering on "Mooningwaanikaaning," which translates to "home of the yellow-breasted flicker" or "place of the golden-breasted flicker," called "Madeline Island" by the white invaders/occupiers. It is considered the ancestral homeland and spiritual center of the Lake Superior Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) people. Unfortunately I do not have the original footage, it was given to the museum on the island, and all I could find on my hard drives were these low resolution versions made for slow bandwidth website streaming in 2009. On a personal note, I have traced our Métis/Ojibway Souliere family branch from the island, back east to Drummond Island, MI, then over the border to Garden River First Nation, then to Michipicoten, ON, and finally to Pic River, ON. I've also included "screengrabs" from the other interviews and scenic footage.