Edsel Wallace Little, more commonly known as Eddie Little Sky, was Lakota actor who appeared in films for Disney in the 1950s, such as Westward Ho, the Wagons!, The Light in the Forest, and Tonka. He also was an Indian performer at Disneyland's Indian Village in Frontierland.[1]
Little was born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Shannon County, South Dakota to Oglala Lakota parents and attended the Holy Rosary Indian Mission school. He later enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, Little found work in the rodeo circuit as a bull rider & bareback rider. Later, he went to Hollywood initially to be a stuntman before transitioning into acting.
Becoming one of the first Native Americans to play his native roles in film and television, Little prominently portrayed warriors and leaders films, such as Chief Crazy Horse, Tomahawk Trail, Apache Warrior, Buffalo Gun, Cimarron, 7 Faces Of Dr. Lao, The Hallelujah Trail, Paint Your Wagon, Journey Through Rosebud, and A Man Called Horse. His television credits included Cheyenne, The Rifleman, Have Gun, Will Travel, Wagon Train, My Favorite Martian, The Virginian, Bonanza, NBC's Daniel Boone, Gunsmoke, Bat Masterson, Death Valley Days, Fantasy Island, and in several episodes of Gilligan's Island.
Upon his retirement from the film industry in the late 1970s, he worked as director of the Oglala Lakota Tribal Parks and Recreation Authority. Little died on September 5, 1997 from lung cancer. He was interred at the Little's Flat Family cemetery in Oglala, South Dakota.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Westward Ho, the Wagons! | Pawnee Brave (uncredited) |
| 1958 | The Light in the Forest | Little Crane (uncredited) |
| Tonka | Spotted Tail (uncredited) | |
| 1960 | "Daniel Boone" | Indian (uncredited) |
| 1961 | "Texas John Slaughter" | Captured Apache (uncredited) |
| 1964 | "The Tenderfoot" | Indian Leader (uncredited) |
Roles[]
(Westward Ho, the Wagons!)
(The Light in the Forest)
(Tonka)
(Texas John Slaughter)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- His wife, Dawn Little Sky also appeared in the Disney productions Ten Who Dared and The Apple Dumpling Gang.
