Russell Means.html



Russell Means
Russell Means speaks at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on December 19, 2007.
Born	November 10, 1939 (1939-11-10) (age 69) Pine Ridge Reservation

Russell Charles Means (Lakota: Oyate Wacinyapin (Works for the People); born November 10, 1939) is one of contemporary America's best-known and prolific activists for the rights of American Indians. Means has also pursued careers in politics, acting, and music.

Biography

Early life

Means, an Oglala Sioux, was born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; both of his parents had been educated at Indian boarding schools. In 1942, Means's family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Means attended San Leandro High School, graduating in 1958.¹

With AIM

In 1968, Means joined the American Indian Movement and quickly became one of its most prominent leaders. In 1969, Means was part of a group of Native Americans that occupied Alcatraz Island for a period of 19 months². 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, D.C., and in 1973 he led AIM's occupation of Wounded Knee, which became the group's most well-known action.

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.^{citations needed}Means went on to establish the offices of the International Indian Treaty Council at the United Nations in 1977, and helped to create important alternative institutions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, such as KILI radio station, and the Porcupine Health Clinic.

In the 1980s, AIM split into several competing factions. The split occurred after Means announced his support for the Miskito Indian group MISURASATA(later known as YATAMA)in Nicaragua. Means travelled to the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua in 1985 and 1986 on fact-finding tours. At that time the Grand Governing Council of the American Indian Movement of Minnesota asked that he cease representing himself as a leader of AIM,^{citations needed}but other chapters of AIM continued to support and to align themselves with Means.

In 1988, the faction headed by the Bellecourt brothers released a statement stating that Means had publicly resigned from AIM on no less than six occasions, first in 1974.³ As of 2004, Means's website states that he was a board member of the Colorado AIM chapter⁴, which is associated with the competing faction. Means in the past was associated with the controversial activist Ward Churchill, who had given the nominating speech for Means in 1987 when he sought the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party in a heated race against Representative Ron Paul. ⁵ He was defeated by Paul, who later returned to the Republican Party.

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 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,⁶ but eventually lost the nomination to Congressman Ron Paul.⁷

Russell Means speaks at a DC Anti-War Network's anti-war protest on November 11, 2001.

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 with the help of Twila Lebeaux, 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 has argued that this use of the word Indian derives not from a confusion with India but from a Spanish expression En Dio, meaning "in God".⁸ He also states that since treaties and other legal documents say "Indian" on them, and not "Native American", use of the term Indian can help today's Indian people forestall any attempts at loopholes as they engage in legal proceedings to regain their land.

Following the (non-binding) UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007, a group of American Indian activists presented a letter to the US State Department indicating they were withdrawing from all treaties with the US Government, and began the process of contacting foreign governments to solicit support as of December 17, 2007.

On December 20, 2007, Means announced the withdrawal of a small group of Lakota Sioux from all treaties with the United States government.⁹ Means and a delegation of activists declared the Lakota a sovereign nation with property rights over thousands of square miles in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana.¹⁰ The Republic of Lakota website asserts that their group met with what they termed "traditional treaty councils" in eight communities. However, they admit their delegation does not act for elected tribal governments, or as they described them "IRA Indians, 'stay by the fort Indians', or other Lakota people unwilling to be free." At a D.C. presentation Means also stated that his group does not "represent collaborators, the Vichy Indians and those tribal governments set up by the United States of America", comparing tribal leaders to the French leaders of Nazi Germany-Occupied France headquartered at Vichy, France.¹¹

On January 8, 2008 two Lakota tribal leaders released a written statement against any plan to renounce treaties with the United States, saying the issue was enforcement of existing treaties.^{12 13}

Acting career

Means began an acting career in 1992, appearing as the chief Chingachgook in The Last of the Mohicans. He made subsequent appearances in Natural Born Killers and Into the West, and was 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. He also appears as a character in the Access Adventure Game "Under a Killing Moon." ¹⁴

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. Means also stars in Pathfinder, a 2007 movie about Vikings battling Native Americans in the New World.

Warhol portrait

The American Pop Artist Andy Warhol painted 18 individual portraits of Russell Means in his 1976 American Indian Series^{citation needed}. The Dayton Art Institute includes a Warhol portrait of Means in their collection. ¹⁵

In the Institute's online Art in Context notes, it is put forward that the large portrait presents Means as a celebrity and de-emphasizes Means both as a person and in his political activism. ¹⁶

Footnotes

External links

Wikinews has related news:

Lakota activists declare secession from US

Wikinews has related news:

Lakota Freedom Delegation says spokesman Russell Means 'hijacked' organization

Wikinews has related news:

'No treaty withdrawal', says Lakota elder

• Russell Means for President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, campaign website
• Russell Means, personal website
• Russell Means at the Internet Movie Database
• Republic of Lakota official website
• American Indian Movement on Russell Means