Floyd Red Crow Westerman, 1936 -
2007
American Indian activist,
actor-musician
Los Angeles
Times From the Associated
Press December 15, 2007
Floyd Red Crow Westerman, an American Indian activist,
actor and country/folk singer who appeared in "Dances With Wolves," has died. He
was 71.
Westerman died from complications of leukemia Thursday morning
at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said his son, Richard Tall Bear
Westerman.
The actor-musician appeared in dozens of movies and
television shows, including in recurring roles as Uncle Ray Firewalker on
"Walker, Texas Ranger" and George Littlefox on "Dharma & Greg."
A
respected musician, he worked with Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt
and others.
"He always said he was a musician first and he just acted
for the money," his son said Friday.
Westerman continued to act until a
few months ago, completing work in September on the forthcoming Kevin Costner
film "Swing Vote."
Perhaps his most memorable movie role was in Costner's
1990 western epic, "Dances With Wolves." He played the Sioux leader Ten Bears,
who befriends Costner's character.
Westerman also was well-known as an
activist for environmental causes and the rights of American Indians and other
indigenous people.
His debut album, released in 1970, was titled "Custer
Died For Your Sins." Last year, he released "A Tribute to Johnny Cash."
In the 1990s, Westerman toured the world with Sting to raise money to
preserve rain forests.
Westerman was born on Aug. 17, 1936, on the
Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Sioux reservation in South Dakota.
As a
youngster, he left the reservation to attend a government boarding school about
80 miles away. In keeping with policies at the time, the school frowned on his
native culture.
"They cut his hair and they wouldn't allow him to speak
the language," his son said. "He was a survivor of everything that the
government has tried to do to Native Americans."
Westerman graduated
from a reservation high school, spent two years in the Marines and went on to
earn a degree in secondary education from Northern State College in South
Dakota.
He made his movie debut in 1989's "Renegades," playing the
father of Lou Diamond Phillips' character. He was a shaman in Oliver Stone's
1991 movie "The Doors."
In addition to his son, Westerman is survived by
his wife, Rosie; and four daughters, Chante Westerman of Washington state,
Chenoa Westerman of South Dakota, Jennifer Westerman of Arizona and Nicky
Jackson of Minneapolis.