Russell Means has forged dual identities as an actor and an activist. Both will be celebrated this weekend at the sixth American Indian Stories N’ Motion Film Festival held at Haskell Indian Nations University.

As the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal World reports here (click on the link for a Q&A with Means):

Actor and American Indian Movement activist Russell Means leading a protest at the 2007 Columbus Day parade in Denver. (AP photo)

The 70-year-old first came to the public’s attention in the 1970s as a leader of the American Indian Movement, taking part in many of the decade’s most prominent national protests: at Alacatraz, Mount Rushmore, the Mayflower and the 71-day armed occupation at Wounded Knee.

To modern audiences he’s more familiar for his acting career. Roles include playing Chief Chingachgook in “The Last of the Mohicans,” the Medicine Man in “Natural Born Killers” and the voice of Chief Powhatan in Disney’s “Pocahontas.” Most recently, he appeared in the adventure “Pathfinder” and as Wandering Bear in an acclaimed episode of TV’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

“I’ve made a difference in everything I’ve participated in,” Means says.

Means will present and discuss his indie movie, “Rez Bomb,” which is set on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Gwen Florio

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