Bitter Tears by Johnny Cash

This album is available as an MP3 download, or CD, or the original vinyl recording. These songs were deeply felt by Johnny Cash. Some say he was one-quarter Cherokee, others say he was not. I believe he kept people and freedom in his heart and that's what mattered. Although it is not one of his best known recordings, no Johnny Cash collection is complete without this album. For J.R. Cash (the name he was given at birth) its popularity was not important. He was able to express his feelings for our Native American brothers and sisters and give them a public voice. He knew his celebrity could possibly help them and that's what was important. These are songs with feeling, sung by a man who truly cared about the people he sang about. You can hear it in the timbre of his voice, in the emotion he puts into the words.

Johnny Cash Sings The Ballads Of The American Indian:Bitter Tears

In 1978, AIM believed that new legislation was anti-Indian and would have gone against their best interests under the treaties that had heretofore been . Aim organized a spiritual walk of 3,200 miles known as The Longest Walk to support tribal sovereignty. The Longest Walk began on Alcatraz Island on February 11, 1978 with a ceremony involving a Sacred Pipe loaded with tobacco. This pipe was carried the entire distance to Washington, D.C. Many celebrities who were non-Indian supported the cause, including boxer Muhammad Ali, United States Senator Ted Kennedy and actor Marlon Brando. Congress voted against a proposed bill to ignore treaties with Indian Nations, and passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act which allowed Native Americans the use of peyote in their worship ceremonies. President Jimmy Carter never met with representatives of The Longest Walk. In 2008 The Second Longest Walk, led by AIM, started from the San Francisco Bay area and covered 8,200 miles and included representatives from more than 100 American Indian Nations. This walk spotlighted the need for protection of sacred Native American sites, treatment of Native American prisoners, and protection of Native American children.

Photo of the American Indian Movement flag used with permission of the designer Tripodero (talk) and Wikimedia Commons.

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