A documentary showcasing the life of Native American poet, recording artist, actor and speaker John Trudell will be shown at Peninsula College at Forks, March 29 at 6:30 p.m.

Trudell was the spokesman for the United Indians of All Tribes’ takeover of Alcatraz beginning in 1969, broadcasting as Radio Free Alcatraz. During most of the 1970s, he served as the chairman of the American Indian Movement (AIM), based in Minneapolis, Minn.

After his pregnant wife, three children and mother-in-law were killed in 1979 in a suspicious fire at his in-laws’ home on the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada, Trudell turned to writing, music and film as a second career.

In the 2005 documentary, “Trudell,” filmmaker Heather Rae tells the engaging life story of Trudell, from his impoverished childhood in Omaha to his leadership in the American Indian Movement. With his heartfelt message of active, personal responsibility to the earth, all of its inhabitants and Native descendants, Trudell ignited the AIM and remains an important voice among social justice activists. He died in 2015.

There will be a short discussion immediately following this free screening, led by one of Trudell’s friends.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact DScannell@pencol.edu, or call the Peninsula College Forks campus at 374-3223.