Russell Charles Means was a Native American activist, politician, actor, voice actor, writer, and musician. For Disney, he provided the speaking voice of Chief Powhatan in the 1995 Disney animated feature film Pocahontas. Disney sought Means for the role of Powhatan, who was not interested at first. However, after reading the script for Pocahontas, Means was very supportive of the film and agreed to the role. For Touchstone Pictures, he appeared as himself in The Last Shot.
Means was born in Porcupine, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. In 1942, the Means family resettled in the San Francisco Bay Area, seeking to escape the problems of the reservation. Overcoming poverty and addiction, Means found purpose in the American Indian Movement in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he rose as a prominent leader. He would fight for the rights of Native American through protests, activism and court battles.
Becoming an actor in the 1990s, Means made his film debut as the chief Chingachgook in The Last of the Mohicans, co-staring with Daniel Day-Lewis, Eric Schweig, and Wes Studi. He later appeared in, Natural Born Killers, Windrunner, Buffalo Girls, Into the West, Wind River, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Pathfinder, and Days and Nights. His television credits included Walker, Texas Ranger, Touched by an Angel, Duckman, Liberty's Kids, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Banshee.
In August 2011, Means was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Rejecting modern medical treatment, Means used traditional American Indian remedies and alternative treatments at his home on the Pine Ridge Reservation. In late September, Means reported that through tomotherapy, his tumor had diminished greatly. However, by the following year, his health continued to decline and he died on October 22, 2012. Means was cremated and his ashes were sprinkled throughout the Black Hills.
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- Eddie Little Sky, another Native-American actor, also lived at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation as well as appeared in various Disney film projects.
