Dennis Banks on the AIM Era: 'I Regret That It Ended too Soon'

Dennis Banks, the famous Ojibway co-founder of the American Indian Movement, teacher, lecturer, author and activist, is still going strong. A few days after he turned 80 on April 12, 2012, Banks received a Living Legends Award in Washington D.C. for his contributions as a co-founder of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and his ongoing commitment to the well being of the American Indian community, according to the Native News Network. Banks co-founded AIM in 1968 in Minnesota, and 43 years later, in February 2011 he initiate Longest Walk 3, a 5,400-mile walk/run/relay across America to raise awareness of the prevalence of diabetes among American Indians and how it can be overcome. Indian Country Today Media Network caught up with Banks at the National Indian Gaming Association’s annual Tradeshow & Convention in Phoenix at the end of March, where he participated in a sacred lands rally between manning a booth in the tradeshow that featured exquisite hand-picked wild rice and other products from his company Dennis Banks Natural Foods. (Related story: Video: Footage From Sacred Sites Rally in Arizona)

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