Russell Means

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Russell Means (born November 10, 1939) is one of contemporary America's best-known and prolific activists for the rights of Native Americans. Means has also pursued careers in politics, acting, and music.

1 Early Life
2 With AIM
3 Other political involvement
4 Acting career
5 External links

[edit] Early Life

Means, an Oglala Sioux, was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation; both of his parents had been educated at Indian boarding schools. In 1942, Means' family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where, as a young man, he became a petty criminal and alcoholic. In 1968, his life turned around when he joined the American Indian Movement and quickly became one its most prominent leaders. He was appointed the group's first national director in 1970. Later that year, Means was one of the leaders of AIM's takeover of Mount Rushmore. In 1972, he participated in AIM's takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Washington, DC, and in 1973 he led AIM's occupation of Wounded Knee, which became the group's most celebrated action.

[edit] With AIM

In 1974, Means first ran for the presidency of his native Oglala Sioux tribe against the incumbent Dick Wilson. Although the official vote count showed Wilson winning by two hundred votes, Means charged that this was due to pervasive vote fraud and intimidation by Wilson's agents. An investigation by a federal court agreed with Means and ordered a new election. However, Wilson's government refused to carry this out, and the court declined to enforce the ruling.

Between 1974 and 1976, as AIM disintegrated from internal conflicts and the efforts of COINTELPRO, Means stood trial 12 times for a variety of charges. The most serious of these was a 1975 trial for the murder of Martin Montileaux, for which Means was acquitted. In 1979 he served one year of a four-year sentence on charges stemming from a riot at a courthouse in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Means was paroled in 1980 and fully pardoned in 2002. His troubles with the law have continued, however; on August 23, 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under the Indian Civil Rights Act, the Navajo Nation has criminal jurisdiction over Means for an assault he allegedly committed on Navajo land, even though he is not a member. [1]

In 1988, a group describing itself as the Ministry for Information of the American Indian Movement released a statement claiming that Means had publicly resigned from AIM on no less than six occasions, first in 1974 [2]. However, as of 2004, Means' website states that he was a board member of the Colorado AIM chapter. Means has also been closely associated with the controversial activist Ward Churchill.

[edit] Other political involvement

Since the late 1970s, Means has often supported libertarian political causes, putting him at odds with several of the other leaders of AIM. In 1984, Means campaigned for the Republican nomination for vice president on a ticket with pornographer Larry Flynt; they lost to the incumbents, Ronald Reagan and George Bush. In 1986 Means traveled to Nicaragua to express his support for Miskito Indians who were allied with the US-funded contra guerillas against the Nicaraguan government. In 1987, Means sought the nomination of the Libertarian Party for president and attracted considerable support within the party, but eventually lost the nomination to former Congressman Ron Paul.

In 2001, Means began an independent candidacy for governor of New Mexico, but was kept off the ballot because of procedural problems. Instead, he again ran for president of the Oglala Sioux, this time narrowly losing to incumbent John Yellow Bird Steele.

Means has argued against the use of the term "Native American" and in favor of "American Indian". He argues that this use of the word Indian derives not from a confusion with India but from an Italian expression meaning "in God".

[edit] Acting career

Means began an acting career in 1992, appearing as the title character in Last of the Mohicans. He made subsequent appearances in Natural Born Killers and Into the West, as well as a voice actor in Pocahontas as the title character's father, Chief Powhatan. In 1997, Means published an autobiography, Where White Men Fear to Tread.

In 2004 Means made a guest appearance on the HBO program Curb Your Enthusiasm. Means played Wandering Bear, a calm and resolute American Indian with skills in both landscaping and herbal medicine.