List of Native American actors

This is a list of Native American actors in the United States, including Alaskan Natives and American Indians. Native American identity is a complex and contested issue rooted in political sovereignty that pre-dates the creation of colonial nation states like the U.S. and Canada and persists into the 21st century recognized under international law by treaty. The Bureau of Indian Affairs defines Native American as having American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry. Legally, being Native American is defined as being enrolled in a federally recognized tribe or Alaskan village. Ethnologically, factors such as culture, history, language, religion, and familial kinships can influence Native American identity.^[1] All individuals on this list should have Native American ancestry. Historical figures might predate tribal enrollment practices and would be included based on ethnological tribal membership, while any contemporary individuals should either be enrolled members of federally recognized tribes or have cited Native American ancestry and be recognized as being Native American by their respective tribes(s). Contemporary unenrolled individuals are listed as being of descent from a tribe.

B

• Irene Bedard, Iñupiaq-Cree^[2]
• Gil Birmingham, Comanche^[3]
• Moses Brings Plenty, Oglala Lakota^[4]

C

• Tonantzin Carmelo, Tongva^[5]

D

• Cody Deal (born 1986), Osage Nation^[6]

G

• Forrest Goodluck, Navajo
• Kiowa Gordon, Hualapai Tribe^[7]
• Rodney A. Grant, Omaha^[8]
• Saginaw Grant, member of Sac and Fox Nation^[9]
• Kimberly Guerrero, Colville (enrolled), Salish-Kootenai, and Cherokee^[10]

H

• Michael Horse, Yaqui, Mescalero Apache, and Zuni descent^[11]
• Jack Hoxie, Nez Perce^[12]

J

• Ben Johnson,^[13][14] Cherokee, grew up on an Osage reservation

K

• Oscar Kawagley, Yupik
• Stepfanie Kramer, Eastern Band Cherokee^[15]

M

• Randolph Mantooth, Seminole^[16]
• Zahn McClarnon, Hunkpapa Lakota, actor^[17]
• Russell Means, Pine Ridge (enrolled), Yankton Sioux, Lakota, activist, actor^[18]
• Tatanka Means, Navajo, Lakota^[19]

Q

• Marisa Quinn, Lipan Apache (enrolled)^[20]

R

• Arthur Redcloud, Navajo
• Red Wing, (Lillian St. Cyr), Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
• Steve Reevis, Blackfeet^[21]
• Branscombe Richmond, Aleut^[22]
• Will Rogers (1879–1935), Cherokee, film and vaudeville actor, movie producer^[23]
• Ned Romero (born 1925) film and television actor, Chitimacha^[24]

S

• Will Sampson, Muscogee (Creek) Nation^[25]
• Larry Sellers, Osage, Cherokee, Lakota^[26]
• Martin Sensmeier, Tlingit, Koyukon-Athabascan^[27]
• Eddie Spears, Brulé ^[28]
• Michael Spears, Brulé
• Chaske Spencer, Sioux-Nez Perce-Cherokee-Muscogee Creek-French-Dutch^[29]
• Wes Studi, Cherokee Nation^[30]

T

• Dyami Thomas, Klamath, Leech Lake Ojibway^[31]
• Jim Thorpe, Sac and Fox^[32]
• John Trudell, Dakota people
• Sheila Tousey, Menominee, Stockbridge-Munsee^[33]

U

• Misty Upham, Blackfeet Tribe^[34]

W

• Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate^[35]

Y

• James Young Deer, Nanticoke
• Rudy Youngblood, Comanche, Cree, and Yaqui ancestry.^[36]

See also

• List of First Nations actors

Notes