Dennis J. Banks is born on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation of Ojibwe. An activist for Indigenous rights, he was one of the founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1968, along with Clyde and Vernon Bellecourt (White Earth Ojibwe) and George Mitchell. Intent on raising awareness of the plight of Native peole, the members of AIM participated in the occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, Wounded Knee in South Dakota, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters in Washington, DC. For these activities, Banks spent time in prison, after which he continued his activist work.