History Creator / RussellMeans

Means starred in ''Film/{{Pathfinder}}'', a 2007 movie about Vikings battling Native Americans in the New World. Means co-starred in ''Rez Bomb'' from director Steven Lewis Simpson, the first feature filmed on his native Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He starred with Creator/TamaraFeldman, Trent Ford and Chris Robinson.

Means starred in ''Film/{{Pathfinder}}'', a 2007 movie about Vikings battling Native Americans in the New World. Means co-starred in ''Rez Bomb'' from director Steven Lewis Simpson, the first feature filmed on his native Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He starred with Tamara Feldman, Trent Ford and Chris Robinson.

Russell Charles Means (November 10, 1939 -- October 22, 2012) was an Oglala/Lakota Sioux Indian activist. He was the first national director of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in which role he became prominent during 1973 standoff with the U.S. government at Wounded Knee. In 1987, he joined the U.S. Libertarian party and announced his candidacy for the party's presidential nomination. (He lost the nomination to Congressman Ron Paul, though evidently there were no hard feelings about this, as Means would later endorse Paul's candidacy in 2012.) He had championed the rights of indigenous peoples in other countries as well as the United States. In a televised speech to the 2000 Libertarian Party National Convention, Means said that he preferred the label "Indian" to the more politically correct "Native American." "Everyone who is born in America is a native American," he said.

* {{Ambadassador}}: He was an Oglala Sioux activist for the rights of Native American people.

He was a voice actor in the animated film ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'' and its sequel, ''Disney/PocahontasIIJourneyToANewWorld'', playing the title character's father, Chief Powhatan. Means appeared as Billy Twofeathers in ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad''.

* BadassGrandpa

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: When diagnosed with esophageal cancer doctors told Means the cancer was too advanced for surgery. But even if surgery had been an option, he would not have chosen it, since it meant removing his tongue and losing the ability to speak. See FateWorseThanDeath below...

* CulturedBadass: See BadassBookworm.

* FaceDeathWithDignity: See FateWorseThanDeath.

** Russell believed Columbus is mistakenly attributed as having thought he found India[[note]]he wrote "the Indies", but this was a general term for the whole area[[/note]], because he wrote he'd found a place with "una gente indios." Russell connected the word ''indios'' not only with "indigenous" but with "en Dios" -- in God, in other words as God made them. [[BeamMeUpScotty Columbus did not really write una gente indios"]]. He did say that the people believed in heaven, and did not worship idols. More to the point, Russell emphasized that the treaties and legal papers between Indians and Anglos all say "Indians," and this is crucial as the people take legal actions to get their land back. You don't want any loopholes.

Russell Charles Means (November 10, 1939 -- October 22, 2012) was an Oglala/Lakota Sioux Indian activist. He was the first national director of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in which role he became prominent during 1973 standoff with the U.S. government at Wounded Knee. In 1987, he joined the U.S. Libertarian party and announced his candidacy for the party's presidential nomination. (He lost the nomination to Congressman Ron Paul, and would later endorse Paul's candidacy in 2012.) He had championed the rights of indigenous peoples in other countries as well as the United States. In a televised speech to the 2000 Libertarian Party National Convention, Means said that he preferred the label "Indian" to the more politically correct "Native American." "Everyone who is born in America is a native American," he said.

'''Russell Means''' (November 10, 1939 -- October 22, 2012) was born an Oglala/Lakota Sioux Indian. He was the first national director of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in which role he became prominent during 1973 standoff with the U.S. government at Wounded Knee. In 1987, he joined the U.S. Libertarian party and announced his candidacy for the party's presidential nomination. (He lost the nomination to Congressman Ron Paul, and would later endorse Paul's candidacy in 2012.) He had championed the rights of indigenous peoples in other countries as well as the United States. In a televised speech to the 2000 Libertarian Party National Convention, Means said that he preferred the label "Indian" to the more politically correct "Native American." "Everyone who is born in America is a native American," he said.

* {{Badass}}: And how?!

He was a voice actor in the animated film ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'' and its sequel, ''Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World'', playing the title character's father, Chief Powhatan. Means appeared as Billy Twofeathers in ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndTheMagicRailroad''.

He was a voice actor in the animated film ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'' and its sequel, ''Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World'', playing the title character's father, Chief Powhatan. Means appeared as Billy Twofeathers in ''Thomas and the Magic Railroad''.

'''Russell Means''' (November 10, 1939 -- October 22, 2012) was born an Oglala/Lakota Sioux Indian. He was the first national director of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in which role he became prominent during 1973 standoff with the US government at Wounded Knee. In 1987, he joined the US Libertarian party and announced his candidacy for the party's presidential nomination. (He lost the nomination to Congressman Ron Paul, and would later endorse his candidacy in 2012.) He had championed the rights of indigenous peoples in other countries as well as the US. In a televised speech to the 2000 Libertarian Party National Convention, Means said that he preferred the label "Indian" to the more politically correct "Native American." "Everyone who is born in America is a native American, " he said.

Starting in 1992, Means appeared as an actor in numerous films and TV movies: first as the chief Chingachgook in ''Film/TheLastOfTheMohicans''. He appeared as Arrowhead in the made-for-TV movie ''The Pathfinder'', his second appearance in a movie adapted from a novel by James Fenimore Cooper. He appeared as a shaman in ''Film/NaturalBornKillers'', as Jim Thorpe in Windrunner: A Spirited Journey, as Sitting Bull in Buffalo Girls, and had a cameo in the miniseries ''IntoTheWest''.

He was a voice actor in the animated film ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'' and its sequel ''Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World'', playing the title character's father, Chief Powhatan. Means appeared as Billy Twofeathers in Thomas & the Magic Railroad.

Means starred in ''Film/{{Pathfinder}}'', a 2007 movie about Vikings' battling Native Americans in the New World. Means co-starred in ''Rez Bomb'' from director Steven Lewis Simpson, the first feature filmed on his native Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He stars with Tamara Feldman and Trent Ford and Chris Robinson.

He also appears as a character in the ''Access Adventure Game Under A Killing Moon''. In 2004 Means made a guest appearance on the HBO program ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm''. Means played Wandering Bear, an American Indian with skills in landscaping and herbal medicine.

* Badass: And how?!

*** Sadly he passed away October 22, 2012, due to his deteriorated health.

** He was diagnosed on August 2011 with esophageal cancer and was given six months to live. On December 5 of the same year, Means stated that he "beat cancer," that he had beat "the death penalty."
*** Unfortunately he was mistaken, and died on October 22, 2012.

* PropheticNames: Russell's commitment to uplift the plight of his people escalated when he served as director of Cleveland's American Indian Center. He later joined the American Indian Movement (AIM), where he rose to become a prominent leader. His Lakota name, ''Oyate Wacinyapin'' means "works for the people", a name he has certainly lived up to.