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Russell Charles Means (November 10, 1939 – October 22, 2012) was an Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of Native Americans, libertarian political activist, actor, musician and writer. He became a prominent member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) after joining the organization in 1968 and helped organize notable events that attracted national and international media coverage.

Means was active in international issues of indigenous peoples, including working with groups in Central and South America and with the United Nations for recognition of their rights. He was active in politics at his native Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and at the state and national level.

Beginning an acting career in 1992, he appeared on numerous television series and in several films, including The Last of the Mohicans and Pocahontas and released his own music CD. Means published his autobiography Where White Men Fear to Tread in 1995.
Early life

Means was born on November 10, 1939, in Porcupine, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation,[1] to Theodora Louise Feather and Walter "Hank" Means.[2] His mother was a Yankton Dakota from Greenwood, South Dakota and his father, an Oglala Lakota.[3] Russell had three biological brothers, Dace, and twins William and Theodore.

He was given the name Waŋblí Ohítika by his mother, which means 'Brave Eagle' in the Lakota language.[2]

In 1942, the Means family resettled in the San Francisco Bay Area, seeking to escape the poverty and problems of the reservation. His father worked at the shipyard in Vallejo.[4][5] Means grew up in the Bay Area, graduating in 1958 from San Leandro High School in San Leandro, California.[3] He attended four colleges but did not graduate from any of them.[6] In his 1995 autobiography, Means recounted a harsh childhood; his father was alcoholic and he himself fell into years of "truancy, crime and drugs" before finding purpose in the American Indian Movement in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[4]

His father died in 1967 and, in his twenties, Means lived in several Indian reservations throughout the United States while searching for work. While at the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south-central South Dakota, he developed severe vertigo. Physicians at the reservation clinic believed that he had been brought in inebriated. After they refused to examine him for several days, Means was finally diagnosed with a concussion due to a presumed fight in a saloon. A visiting specialist later discovered that the reservation doctors had overlooked a common ear infection, which cost Means the hearing in one ear.[2]

After recovering from the infection, Means worked for a year in the Office of Economic Opportunity, where he came to know several legal activists who were managing legal action on behalf of the Lakota people. After a dispute with his supervisor, Means left Rosebud for Cleveland, Ohio. In Cleveland, he worked with Native American community leaders against the backdrop of the American Civil Rights Movement.[2]
Involvement with the American Indian Movement

In 1968, Means joined the American Indian Movement (AIM), where he rose to become a prominent leader. In 1970, Means was appointed AIM's first national director, and the organization began a period of increasing protests and activism.[7]
Activism
See also: Wounded Knee Incident

Means participated in the 1969 Alcatraz occupation. He had been there once before, to occupy it for 24 hours under the lead of his father, Walter "Hank" Means, and a few other Lakota men in March 1964.[2] (Means' father died in January 1967).[2]

On Thanksgiving Day 1970, Means and other AIM activists staged their first protest in Boston: they seized the Mayflower II, a replica ship of the Mayflower, to protest the Puritans' and United States' mistreatment of Native Americans.[7] In 1971 Means was one of the leaders of AIM's takeover of Mount Rushmore, a federal monument. Rushmore is within the Black Hills, an area sacred to the Lakota tribe.[2]

In November 1972, he participated in AIM's occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., to protest abuses. Many records were taken or destroyed, and more than $2 million in damage was done to the building.[2]

In 1973, Dennis Banks and Carter Camp led AIM's occupation of Wounded Knee, which became the group's best-known action.[7] Means appeared as a spokesman and prominent leader. The armed standoff of more than 300 Lakota and AIM activists with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and state law enforcement lasted for 71 days. Frank Clearwater, a visiting Cherokee activist from North Carolina, and Lawrence "Buddy" Lamont, an Oglala Lakota activist from Pine Ridge Reservation, were killed in April. African-American activist Ray Robinson disappeared and is assumed to be buried in the hills.
Native American politics

In 1974, Means resigned from AIM to run for the presidency of his native Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) against the incumbent Richard Wilson. The official vote count showed Wilson winning by more than 200 votes. Residents complained of intimidation by Wilson's private militia. The report of a government investigation confirmed problems in the election, but in a related court challenge to the results of the election, a federal court upheld the results.

In the late 1970s, Means turned to an international forum on issues of rights for indigenous peoples. He worked with Jimmie Durham, who established the offices of the International Indian Treaty Council to work with the United Nations in 1977. At the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, he assisted in the organization of community institutions, such as the KILI radio station and the Porcupine Health Clinic in Porcupine, South Dakota.

Means also traveled to Germany traveled behind the Iron Curtain to meet with East German AIM supporters and he travelled to Switzerland to take part in the Geneva human rights conference.[8]

Means and Ojibwe Dennis Banks were by the mid-1970s the best known Native Americans since Lakota war leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, who led the attack that defeated the forces of General Custer at The Battle of Little Big Horn, also known as The Battle of the Greasy Grass.[9]
Splits in AIM

In the 1980s, AIM divided into several competing factions, in part over differences among members regarding support for the indigenous peoples in Nicaragua. Means supported the Miskito group MISURASATA (later known as YATAMA), which was allied with the Contras. He traveled to Nicaragua in 1985 and 1986 on fact-finding tours. He came to believe that the Miskito as a people were being targeted for elimination.[10] Some AIM members supported the Sandinistas of the national government, although they had forced removal of thousands of Miskito from their traditional territory.

On January 8, 1988, Means held a press conference to announce his retirement from AIM, saying it had achieved its goals.[11] That January, the "AIM Grand Governing Council", headed by the Bellecourt brothers, released a press release noting this was the sixth resignation by Means since 1974, and asking the press to "never again report either that he is a founder of the American Indian Movement, or [that] he is a leader of the American Indian Movement". The "AIM Grand Governing Council" noted there were many open issues and legislation regarding Native Americans for which they were continuing to work.[12]

In 1993, the organization divided officially into two main factions: "AIM Grand Governing Council", based in Minnesota, which copyrighted the name "American Indian movement"; and American Indian Movement Confederation of Autonomous Chapters, based in Colorado and allied with Means and Ward Churchill.
Anna Mae Aquash
Main article: Anna Mae Aquash

On November 3, 1999, Means and Robert Pictou-Branscombe, a maternal cousin of Aquash from Canada, held a press conference in Denver at the Federal Building to discuss the slow progress of the government's investigation into Aquash's murder. It had been under investigation both by the Denver police, as Aquash had been kidnapped from there, and by the FBI, as she had been taken across state lines and killed on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Both Branscombe and Means accused Vernon Bellecourt, a high-ranking leader of AIM, of having ordered her execution. Means said that Clyde Bellecourt, a founder of AIM, had ensured that it was carried out at the Pine Ridge Reservation. Means said that an AIM tribunal had banned the Bellecourt brothers but tried to keep the reason for the dissension internal to protect AIM.[13]

The Associated Press (AP) reporter Robert Weller noted that this was the first time that an AIM leader active at the time of Aquash's death had publicly implicated AIM in her murder. There had long been rumors.[14] Means and Branscombe accused three indigenous people: Arlo Looking Cloud, Theda Nelson Clarke and John Graham, of having been directly involved in the kidnapping and murder of Aquash.[13] The two men were indicted in 2003 and convicted in separate trials in 2004 and 2010, respectively. By then in a nursing home, Clarke was not indicted.

As of 2004, Means' website stated that he was a board member of the Colorado AIM chapter, which is affiliated with the AIM Confederation of Autonomous Chapters.[15]
Other political involvement
Russell Means speaks against the War on Terror at a DC Anti-War Network's anti-war protest on November 11, 2001.

Since the late 1970s, Means often supported libertarian political causes, in contrast with several other AIM leaders. In 1983 he agreed to become running mate to Larry Flynt in his unsuccessful run for U.S. President.[10] In 1987, Means ran for nomination of President of the United States under the Libertarian Party, and attracted considerable support within the party, finishing 2nd (31.4%) at the 1987 Libertarian National Convention.[16] He lost the nomination to Congressman Ron Paul.[17]

In 2001, Means began an independent candidacy for Governor of New Mexico. His campaign failed to satisfy procedural requirements and he was not selected for the ballot. In the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections, Means supported independent Ralph Nader.

Nearly thirty years after his first candidacy, Means ran for president of the Oglala Sioux in 2004 with the help of Twila Lebeaux, losing to Cecilia Fire Thunder, the first woman elected president of the tribe. She also defeated the incumbent John Yellow Bird Steele.[18]

Since the late 20th century, there has been a debate in the United States over the appropriate term for the indigenous peoples of North America. Some want to be called Native American; others prefer American Indian. Means said that he preferred "American Indian", arguing that it derives not from explorers' confusion of the people with those of India, but from the Italian expression in Dio, meaning "in God".[19][20] In addition, Means noted that since treaties and other legal documents in relation to the United States government use "Indian", continuing use of the term could help today's American Indian people forestall any attempts by others to use legal loopholes in the struggle over land and treaty rights.

In 2007, Means and 80 other protesters were arrested in Denver during a parade for Columbus Day which they stated was a "celebration of genocide".[10]

Following the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007, a group of American Indian activists presented a letter to the U.S. State Department, indicating they were withdrawing from all treaties with the U.S. Government on December 20. Means announced the withdrawal by a small group of Lakota people.[21] That same month, they began contacting foreign governments to solicit support for energy projects on the territory. Means and a delegation of activists declared the Republic of Lakotah a sovereign nation, with property rights over thousands of square miles in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana.[22][23] Means said that his group does not "represent collaborators, the Vichy Indians and those tribal governments set up by the United States of America".[24]

On January 8, 2008, tribal leaders in the northern Great Plains, Rodney Bordeaux of the 25,000-member Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and Joseph Brings Plenty of the 8,500-member Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said that Means and the group of his fellow activists would not speak for their members or for any elected Lakota tribal government. While acknowledging that Means has accurately portrayed the federal government's broken promises to and treaties with America's indigenous peoples, they opposed his plan to renounce treaties with the United States and proclaim independence. They said the issue instead was to enforce existing treaties.[25]

Means was critical of Obama receiving the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, and also when Al Gore and Henry Kissinger received their Nobel Peace Prizes. He also criticized the U.S. interventionist foreign policy, the War in Afghanistan, and referred to Obama's presidency as "Bush's third term."[26]

In January 2012, Means announced his endorsement of Republican Ron Paul in his bid for president.[27]
Other activities
Acting

From 1992 to 2012, Means appeared as an actor in numerous films and television movies, first as the chief Chingachgook in The Last of the Mohicans. He appeared as Arrowhead in the made-for-TV movie The Pathfinder (1996), his second appearance in a movie adapted from a novel by James Fenimore Cooper. He appeared in Natural Born Killers (1994), as Jim Thorpe in Windrunner (1994),[28] as Sitting Bull in Buffalo Girls (1995), and had a cameo in the miniseries Into the West (2005).

He was a voice actor in Disney's third highest-selling feature film Pocahontas (1995) and its sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998), playing the title character's father, Chief Powhatan. Means was a guest actor in the 1997 Duckman episode "Role With It", in which Duckman takes his family on an educational trip to a "genuine Indian reservation" – which turns out to be a casino.[29] Means appeared as Billy Twofeathers in Thomas & the Magic Railroad (2000).

Means starred in 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 he acted in on his native Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He appeared alongside Tamara Feldman, Trent Ford, and Chris Robinson. Means was also a prominent contributor to Steven Lewis Simpson's feature documentary about Pine Ridge Indian Reservations, A Thunder-Being Nation.

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

In 1995, Means published an autobiography, Where White Men Fear to Tread, written with Marvin J. Wolf. He recounted his own family's problems: his alcoholic father, and his own "fall into truancy, crime and drugs" before he discovered the American Indian Movement. The book drew criticism from a number of reviewers.[4][30][31][32][33] While Patricia Holt, book editor for the San Francisco Chronicle wrote of the book, "It's American history – warts, wounds and all."[4] In another review, writer Mari Wadsworth of the Tucson Weekly wrote: "Critical readers do well to remain skeptical of any individual, however charismatic, who claims to be the voice of authority and authenticity for any population, let alone one as diverse as the native tribes of the Americas. But whatever conclusions one makes of Means' actions and intentions, his unremitting presence and undaunted outspokenness opened a dialogue that changed the course of American history."[33]
Music, art, and media

Russell Means recorded a CD entitled Electric Warrior with Sound of America Records, in 1993.[34] Songs include "Une Gente Indio", "Hey You, Hey Indian", "Wounded Knee Set Us Free", and "Indian Cars Go Far". This was followed in 2007 with his The Radical album, which included the controversial song "Waco: The White Man's Wounded Knee". In 2013, he was recognized by the Native American Music Awards with a Hall of Fame award.[35]

Means was an avid painter, with showings at various galleries around the country and the world.[citation needed]

The American pop artist Andy Warhol painted 18 individual portraits of Russell Means in his 1976 American Indian Series. The Dayton Art Institute holds one of the Warhol portraits in its collection.[36]

Means appeared as a character in the adventure video game Under a Killing Moon,[37] by Access Software, in 1994.

Means is the focus of the 2014 documentary Conspiracy To Be Free by director Colter Johnson.[38]

In 2016 the artist Magneto Dayo and The Lakota Medicine Men did a tribute song dedicated to Russell Means and Richard Oakes called "The Journey" on the album Royalty of the UnderWorld.

In 1999, Russell taped six community television half-hour programs in Santa Monica, under the title of "The Russell Means Show" produced by Helene E. Hagan (Adelphia Coimmnications). As Host for the series, he interviewed guests Sacheen Littlefeather, Greg Sarris, Kateri Walker and Redbone. The last two programs were Commentaries on Colonialism and Consumerism. The series has been archived at the Oglala Lakota College Library.

In addition, Helene E. Hagan has authored two books about Russell Means : "Russell Means: The European Ancestry of a Militant Indian" (Xliibris, 2018) and "Wakinyan Zi Tiosppaye: The Case of Yellow Thunder Camp" (XLibris, 2022).
Personal life

Means was married five times; the first four marriages ended in divorce. He was married to his fifth wife, Pearl Means, until his death.[10] His wife Pearl died ten years later in May 2022, at the age of 62.[39][40] He had a total of ten children: seven biological children and three adopted children, who were "adopted in the Lakota way",[41] including Tatanka Means who is also an actor.

As "a grandfather with twenty-two grandchildren", Russell Means divided his time "between Chinle, Navajo Nation, Arizona, and Porcupine, South Dakota."[2]
Illness and death

In August 2011, Means was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.[42][43] His doctors told him his condition was inoperable.[10] He told the Associated Press that he was rejecting "mainstream medical treatments in favor of traditional American Indian remedies and alternative treatments away from his home on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation".[44] In late September, Means reported that through tomotherapy, the tumor had diminished greatly.[45] Later, he said that his tumor was "95% gone."[46] On December 5 of that year, Means stated that he "beat cancer", and that he had beat "the death penalty."[47]

The following year, however, his health continued to decline and he died on October 22, 2012, at age 72.[10] A family statement said, "Our dad and husband now walks among our ancestors."[48]

ABC News said Means "spent a lifetime as a modern American Indian warrior ... , railed against broken treaties, fought for the return of stolen land and even took up arms against the federal government ... , called national attention to the plight of impoverished tribes and often lamented the waning of Indian culture."[49] Among the tributes was one writer's belief that "his face should have been on Mt. Rushmore."[50] The New York Times said Means "became as well-known a Native American as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse."[51]

Means was cremated and his ashes were sprinkled throughout the Black Hills.
Legal issues

On December 29, 1997, Means, then 58, was arrested for assault and battery of his 56-year-old father-in-law Leon Grant, a member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation. AIM Grand Governing Council issued a press release to reiterate its separation from Means.[31]
Filmography
Film

The Last of the Mohicans (1992) – Chingachgook
Windrunner (1994) – Wa Tho Huck / Jim Thorpe / Country Ghost
Wagons East (1994) – Chief
Natural Born Killers (1994) – Old Indian
PahaSapa... The Struggle for the Black Hills (1994) – Himself
Buffalo Girls (1995, TV Mini-Series) – Sitting Bull
Pocahontas (1995) – Chief Powhatan (voice)
The Pathfinder (1996, TV Movie) – Arrowhead
The Song of Hiawatha (1997) – Mudjekeewis
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998) – Chief Powhatan
Black Cat Run (1998, TV Movie) – Ten Reed
A League of Old Men (1998) – Imber[52]
Wind River (2000) – Washakie
Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000) – Billy Twofeathers
Cowboy Up (2001) – Joe
29 Palms (2002) – The Chief
Black Cloud (2004) – Bud
The Last Shot (2004) – Himself
Pathfinder (2007) – Pathfinder
Unearthed (2007) – Grandpa
Intervention (2007)
Rez Bomb (2008) – Dodds
Reel Injun (2009, Documentary) – Himself
Tiger Eyes (2012) – Willie Ortiz
Days and Nights (2013) – Big Jim (final film role)

Television

Walker, Texas Ranger – Episode: "Plague" – Luther Iron Shirt (1996)
The West – documentary TV series – Episodes: "The People" and "Fight No More Forever" (Voice) (1996)
Touched by an Angel – Episode : "Written in Dust" – Edison (1996)
Remember WENN – Episode: "And How!" – Joseph Greyhawk (1997)
Duckman – Episode: "Role With It" – Thomas (1997)
Liberty's Kids – Episodes: "The New Frontier" and "Bostonians" (2002)
The Profiler – Episode: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" – Uncle Joe (1997)
Nash Bridges – Episodes: "Downtime" and "Lady Killer" – Dexter Birdsong (1998)
Black Cat Run (TV movie) – Ten Reed (1998)[53]
Family Law – Episode: "Americans" - James Saginaw (2001)
Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 4 – Episode 8 – Wandering Bear (2004)
Into the West – TV Mini-Series – 3 episodes – Older Running Fox (2005)
American Experience – TV Series documentary – Episode: "We Shall Remain: Part V – Wounded Knee" – Himself (2009)
Banshee (TV series) – Benjamin Longshadow (4 episodes) (2013)

Other Appearances

The Making of 'Pocahontas': A Legend Comes to Life – TV Movie documentary - Himself (Voice of 'Chief Powhatan') (1995)
Images of Indians: How Hollywood Stereotyped the Native American – TV Movie documentary – Himself (2003)
Looks Twice – Short – (2005)
Wounded Heart: Pine Ridge and the Sioux – Video documentary – Himself / narrator (2006)
Turok - Son of Stone Video (2008)
Questions for Crazy Horse – Documentary – Himself (2010)
The Sasquatch and The Girl – Short (2010)

References

Sirvaitis, Karen (September 1, 2001). South Dakota. Lerner Publications. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-8225-4070-0.
Russell Means (November 15, 1996). Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means. Macmillan. pp. 17–. ISBN 978-0-312-14761-7. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
Stark, Jessica (November 14, 2007). "Colonialism perfected on the American Indian: Activist Russell Means to offer insight, experience". Rice University: press release. Retrieved November 20, 2007.
Holt, Patricia (November 5, 1995). "A Rebel's Justice: American Indian Movement leader Russell Means tells his own story of rage and healing". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 20, 2003.
"A World Apart : Indian Activists Dennis Banks and Russell Means Are Back Together--but Hardly United--in a Forgotten Slice of America Called Wounded Knee". Los Angeles Times. June 15, 1986. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
McFadden, Robert (October 22, 2012). "Russell Means, Who Revived Warrior Image of American Indian, Dies at 72". New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
"Alcatraz is Not an Island: Indian Activism". PBS. 2002. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
"Kindred by Choice | H. Glenn Penny". University of North Carolina Press. pp. 191, 193. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
McFadden, Robert D. (October 30, 2017). "Dennis Banks, American Indian Civil Rights Leader, Dies at 80". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
McLellan, Dennis (October 23, 2012). "Russell Means dies at 72; American Indian rights activist, actor". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
"Indian activist Russell Means says he's retiring from AIM", AP, Attachment 3, Articles on Means, AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT GRAND GOVERNING COUNCIL
AIM on Russell Means, Attachment 2. Retrieved June 17, 2011
"Russ Means holds press conference on Annie Mae's murder 11-3-99: Accuses Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt of ordering her Execution", News From Indian Country, November 3, 1999. Retrieved July 16, 2011
Robert Weller, "AQUASH MURDER CASE: AIM leaders point fingers at each other" Archived January 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, AP, at News From Indian Country, November 4, 1999. Retrieved July 17, 2011
Colorado AIM, Official Website
"Freedom is for Everyone": Seattle Story Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine; Mike Acree, Convention Reflections Archived December 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Golden Gate Libertarian Newsletter Archived December 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, July 2000.
Caldwell, Christopher (July 22, 2007). "The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved July 21, 2007.
Sam Hurst, "Cecilia Fire Thunder a 'person of character'", Rapid City Journal, December 18, 2005. Retrieved June 5, 2011
Means, Russell. "Speech: For America to Live, Europe Must Die". "In dio" is found under the speeches tab.
"I detest writing". Black Hills International Survival Gathering. First Nations Issues of Consequence. July 1980. Retrieved March 17, 2009. "Columbus called the tribal people he met 'Indio' from the Italian in dio, meaning 'in God.'"
"Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from U.S.", AFP: Agence France-Presse, December 21, 2007. Retrieved June 17, 2011
Bill Harlan, "Lakota group secedes from U.S.", Rapid City Journal, December 20, 2007Archived August 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
Jones, Ebony (December 30, 2007). "Lakota Indians want to break free from the U.S." UrbanSwirl.com-Lifestyles of Color. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
Faith Bremner, "Lakota group pushes for new nation" Archived January 11, 2008, at the Library of Congress Web Archives, Argus Leader, Washington Bureau, December 20, 2007
Gale Courey Toensing, "Withdrawal from U.S. treaties enjoys little support from tribal leaders", Indian Country Today, January 4, 2008
Russell Means Comments on Obama's Nobel Peace Prize, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved July 28, 2021
"Russell Means Endorses Ron Paul" on YouTube, January 26, 2012
"WindRunner". June 1, 1994 – via IMDb.
Minovitz, Ethan (October 23, 2012). "Russell Means, 72, Was Pocahontas Actor, Activist". Big Cartoon News. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
Brent Staples, "Review: Russell Means, Where White Men Fear to Tread, New York Times Book Review, 15 October 1995
Malcolm Brenner, "AIM seeks distance from Russell Means", The Gallup Independent, January 8, 1998
Malcolm Brenner, "Where White Men Fear to Tread", Attachment 9, Collection of articles on Means, reproduced at AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT GRAND GOVERNING COUNCIL. Retrieved June 17, 2011
Mari Wadsworth, "Russell Means Business: From Indian Activist to Hollywood celeb", Tucson Weekly, December 15, 1997
"SOAR - Sound of America Record Distributors - specializes in Native American music". July 16, 2011. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011.
"NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS". nativeamericanmusicawards.com.
"AMERICAN INDIAN SERIES (RUSSELL MEANS), 1976". The Dayton Art Institute. Archived from the original on January 18, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
"Tex Murphy - Under A Killing Moon". Microsoft. Archived from the original on July 27, 2013.
"Russell Means, the Movie: Watch 20 Minutes of 'Conspiracy to Be Free'". Indian Country Today Media Network.com. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
"Pearl Daniel-Means dies at 62". June 2022.
"Diné Activist, Filmmaker and Author Pearl Daniel-Means Dies at 62". May 31, 2022.
(Sherry Means, March 4, 2014, based on probate papers of October 19, 2014)
"Russell Means: I'll come back as lightning". UPI.com. August 18, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
McFadden, Robert D. (October 22, 2012). "Russell Means, Who Clashed With Law as He Fought for Indians, Is Dead at 72". New York Times.
Lammers, Dirk (October 22, 2012). "Tribal spokeswoman says former American Indian Movement activist Russell Means dies at 72". The Washington Post. Tribune Company. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016.
Rickert, Levi (September 23, 2011). "Russell Means Updates His Condition: Tumor Diminished Significantly". Native News Network. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
Russell Means (June 27, 2012). Infowars Nightly News. World News. Event occurs at 9:45. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
"Former AIM activist Russell Means says he's cancer-free". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Associated Press. December 14, 2011.
Coffman, Keith (October 22, 2012). "American Indian activist Russell Means dead at 72". Reuters. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
"Longtime Indian Activist Russell Means Dies at 72". ABC News. October 22, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
Hayden, Tom (October 23, 2012). "Remembering Russell Means". The Nation. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
Peralta, Eyder (October 22, 2012). "Russell Means, Indian Activist And Actor, Dies". NPR. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
"A League of Old Men" – via IMDb.

"Black Cat Run". September 18, 1998 – via IMDb.

3 adopted in the Lakota way

External links
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Lakota activists declare secession from US

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Lakota Freedom Delegation says spokesman Russell Means 'hijacked' organization

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'No treaty withdrawal', says Lakota elder

Russell Means at IMDb
“Russell Means, the Existential Indian,” Interview by Linda Brookover

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(← 1984) 1988 United States presidential election (1992 →)
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Nominee: George H. W. Bush
campaign VP nominee: Dan Quayle

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Convention Nominee: Ron Paul
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American Indian Movement
Background

Native Americans in the United States Indian termination policy Rainbow Coalition Red Power movement Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)

Events

The Longest Walk Mount Rushmore Occupation Occupation of Alcatraz Trail of Broken Treaties Bureau of Indian Affairs building takeover Wounded Knee Occupation Incident at Oglala Statue of Christopher Columbus toppling

Related

Bringing the Circle Together Little Earth National Council on Indian Opportunity Native American Day Red Power movement Republic of Lakotah

Activist groups

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Activists

Aaron Carapella Anna Mae Aquash Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance Carter Camp Clyde Bellecourt Dennis Banks Dick Wilson Edgar Bear Runner Floyd Westerman Janet McCloud Jimmie Durham John Trudell Leonard Peltier Lorelei DeCora Means Mary Brave Bird Minnie Two Shoes Pura Fé Russell Means Philip Yenyo Robert Robideau Ray Robinson Robert Roche Richard Two Elk Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance Sacheen Littlefeather Sundance Raymond Yellow Thunder Tom B.K. Goldtooth Vernon Bellecourt Ward Churchill Wesley Bad Heart Bull

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1939 births2012 deaths20th-century American male actors20th-century American male writers20th-century American non-fiction writers20th-century American politicians20th-century Native Americans21st-century American male actors21st-century American male writers21st-century American non-fiction writers21st-century American politiciansActivists from CaliforniaActivists from South DakotaAmerican anti-war activistsAmerican autobiographersAmerican male film actorsAmerican male non-fiction writersAmerican male television actorsAmerican male voice actorsAmerican political activistsAmerican political writersAmerican separatistsCandidates in the 1988 United States presidential electionCOINTELPRO targetsDeaths from cancer in South DakotaDeaths from esophageal cancer in the United StatesHeads of state of states with limited recognitionOglala activistsMale actors from South DakotaMale actors from the San Francisco Bay AreaMembers of the American Indian MovementMusicians from South DakotaOglala male actorsNative American autobiographersNative American male actorsNew Mexico LibertariansPeople from Oglala Lakota County, South DakotaPeople from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South DakotaSouth Dakota LibertariansWriters from South DakotaSan Leandro High School alumni21st-century Native American writersOglala male writers

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