Dennis Banks (Ojibwe, April 12, 1937 – October 29, 2017) was a Native American activist, teacher, and author. He was a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement, which he co-founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 to represent urban Indians. Born on Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, he was also known as Nowa Cumig (Naawakamig in the Double Vowel System), which in the Ojibwe language means "in the center of the universe."