The 15 Best Native American Actors You Should Know

Native American actors have been getting their much-deserved dues in recent years in Hollywood, with younger and older Indigenous actors benefiting from more opportunities. Native Americans, Indigenous peoples, and First Nations peoples are all names for the peoples who can trace their origins to the original tribes, confederations, and communities that called America home long before any Europeans came ashore. Persecuted from the outset, even modern Hollywood is not free from the sin of disrespecting and disenfranchising Native American actors. There’s a long, sad history of Hollywood whitewashing Indigenous roles, that is when they’re even included at all.

But the story has been changing in the 21st century. Native American movies and TV shows are telling real stories of Indigenous peoples, made by and starring those closest to them. With shows like Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds, and movies like Rez Ball proving popular with critics and audiences alike, there’s been an upswell in positive representation of Native Americans on the screen. Some of these notable Native American actors have been working for decades, finally getting the recognition they deserve, and others are breaking out early in their careers.

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15

Adam Beach

The Power Of The Dog (2021), Arctic Air (2012-2014)

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Adam Beach is a Saulteaux Anishinaabe actor who has been working since the 1990s, when he first appeared in the TV film, Lost in the Barrens as an unnamed hunting party member. This led to increasingly more significant roles, like Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Detective Chester Lake and Arctic Air as Bobby Martin. His film performances include playing William Lonestar in The New Mutants, Slipknot in Suicide Squad, and Edward Nappo in The Power of the Dog. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as Charles Eastman in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

14

Tanaya Beatty

Yellowstone (2018-2022), Crimes Of The Future (2022)

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Tanaya Beatty first rose to prominence with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 as Rachel Black. She later went on to appear in Crimes of the Future as Berst and The Bird Who Fear Death as Constance. In recent years, Beatty has made a name for herself in shows like The Night Shift as Dr. Shannon Rivera and Yellowstone as Avery. She often plays capable and cool characters, who are strong under even the worst types of pressure.

13

Gil Birmingham

Wind River (2017), Yellowstone (2018-Present)

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Though Gil Birmingham has been acting since the 80s, it’s his role as Thomas Rainwater in Yellowstone that has thrust him into the spotlight. He also played Billy Black in the Twilight Saga, Red Knee in The Lone Ranger, Martin Hanson in Wind River, and Chief Sherman in Transformers: The Last Knight. His other notable TV roles include Bill Taba in Under the Banner of Heaven, Sheriff Dale Bishop in Siren, and Pearce in Animal Kingdom. Birmingham frequently plays powerful community members and officers of the law.

12

Alaqua Cox

Echo (2024), Hawkeye (2021)

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Alaqua Cox of the Menominee and Mohican nation is an acting newcomer whose role as Maya Lopez or “Echo” in Hawkeye and Echo has made her one of the few Native American MCU characters. She’s only worked in the MCU in her career, but the fledgling actress’s star is likely only to rise after the MCU hit. Cox is absolutely perfect for the role of Echo, but her fierceness in the performance and emotional capacity suggests she can fit in a wider range of movie and TV roles.

11

Gary Farmer

Reservation Dogs (2021-2022), Resident Alien (2021-2024)

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Gary Farmer is of the Cayuga Nation and Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and he’s been acting for decades, first appearing in an episode of American Playhouse in 1983. His career has taken him on a long ride, but he most excels in comedy, able to wield his stature, size, and deadpan comedic timing to maximum effect. Farmer’s recent film credits include playing Calvin in Quantum Cowboys and Moon in Blood Quantum. His notable TV credits include playing Earl in Rutherford Falls and James Toledo in The Curse.

10

Lily Gladstone

Killers Of The Flower Moon (2023), Under The Bridge (2024)

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Lily Gladstone made major waves for her starring performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon where she plays Mollie Burkhart. The performance earned Gladstone an Academy Award nomination, and a Golden Globe and SAG win. It’s not the only successful part she’s played in recent years. Gladstone also had a memorable run on Reservation Dogs as Hotki and stars in the series Under the Bridge as Cam Bentland. Her first role came in the 2012 French drama, Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian as Sunshine First Circle.

9

Graham Greene

Wind River (2017), Echo (2024)

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Graham Greene is an Oneida actor whose first professional screen performance came in 1981 when he played John Norton in Read All About It! He’s had plenty of notable TV roles since then, including starring in Echo as Skully, Goliath as Littlecrow, and Defiance as Rafe McCawley. Greene’s film credits include Ben Shoyo in Wind River, Judge Dustin Foxman in Molly’s Game, and Warren Stokes in Antlers. A dependable actor, Greene elevates whatever he’s in, even if it’s for only just a scene or an episode.

8

Blu Hunt

Lawmen: Bass Reeves (2023), The New Mutants (2020)

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The part-Apache and part-Oglala Lakota, Blu Hunt, is a young Native American actor new to Hollywood. Hunt began her professional career on television, first appearing in an episode of Girl on Girl as a character also named Blu. She then appeared in The Originals as The Hollow, a recurring character in season 4, and Another Life as August Catawnee. Her big break came in 2020 with The New Mutants, where she co-starred as Dani “Mirage” Moonstar, a mutant who can create illusions. Hunt has recently starred in The Dead Thing as Alex.

7

Zahn McClarnon

The Forever Purge (2021), Dark Winds (2022-Present)

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Zahn McClarnon, who has Hunkpapa Lakota ancestry, has long been a representative of Native Americans in cinema and television, beginning in 1992 when he appeared in an episode of Baywatch as a character named Bear Sutter. He later went on to have bigger roles in Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman as Walks on Cloud & Red Deer, Fargo as Hanzee Dent, Westworld as Akecheta, and Dark Winds as Joe Leaphorn. McClarnon’s film credits include Bone Tomahawk as The Professor, Doctor Sleep as Crow Daddy, and The Forever Purge as Chiago.

6

Amber Midthunder

Prey (2022), Rez Ball (2024)

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Amber Midthunder is of Hunkpapa Lakota, Sisseton Dakota, and Sahiyaiyeskabi Assiniboine descent. Midthunder has been acting since the early 2000s, first appearing in the movie The Homecoming of Jimmy Whitecloud as an unnamed Little Girl. In recent years, she’s had some notable hits, including Hell or High Water as Nicole Martinez, Prey as Naru, and Rez Ball as Dezbah Weaver. Midthunder’s TV credits include Kerry Loudermilk in Legion, Rose Ortecho in Roswell, New Mexico, and Princess Yue in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

5

Carmen Moore

The Flash (2021-2023), Nancy Drew (2020-2021)

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Carmen Moore is Wet’suwet’en and first made her professional debut in The Commish as Shirley. Later film roles include Rustic Oracle as Susan and The Birds Who Fear Death as Shannon. She’s had a long history of TV roles, including playing Simone in Godiva, Joely Lavant in Flash Gordon, and Lareen Cassway in Arctic Air. Moore’s more recent television performances include Mina Fayad in Arrow, Hannah Gruen in Nancy Drew, and Kristen Kramer in The Flash​​​​​​.

4

Moses Brings Plenty

Yellowstone (2018-Present), Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

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Moses Brings Plenty is an Oglala Lakota actor who has gone from being a bit of an unknown thanks to some notable recent roles. His career began with small performances in House of Cards as Chief Whitehall and Cowboys & Aliens as an Apache warrior. Lately, he’s had some significant parts, playing Shep Wauneka in Jurassic World Dominion, Mo in Yellowstone, Minco Dodge in Lawmen: Bass Reeves, and Sitting Bull in The American West.

3

Kali Reis

True Detective: Night Country (2024), Asphalt City (2023)

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Kali Reis is a member of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe and a professional boxer with 19-7 record in her lifetime with five KOs. Reis burst onto the scene with her incredible performance as Evangelie Navarro in True Detective: Night Country. However, that was not Reis’ first on-screen performance, and she previously played Kaylee in Catch the Fair One and Nia in Asphalt City. Reis has some notable upcoming films including Rebuilding, Mercy, and Wind River: The Next Chapter.

2

Chaske Spencer

The Twilight Saga (2009-2012), Echo (2024)

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Chaske Spencer, a Lakota, Nez Perce, Cherokee, and Muscogee actor, has been in the industry for a while, first appearing in the Twilight saga as Sam Uley. He had a few small TV roles thrown in around the same time, appearing in Banshee as Deputy Billy Raven and Jessica Jones as Jace Montero. The 2020s have been good to the actor, however, and he’s had big parts in Echo as Henry “Black Crow” Lopez and The English as Sgt. Eli Whipp/Wounded Wolf. Spencer is also set to appear in Wind River: The Next Chapter.

1

Wes Studi

Heat (1995), Reservation Dogs (2021-2023)

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Wes Studi, a Cherokee actor, has long been the go-to actor for Native American parts. Studi has appeared in numerous Academy Award-winning movies since his career began in the 1980s, beginning with Powwow Highway as Buff. He plays Sammy Casals in Heat, Eytukan in Avatar, and Harrison in Mending the Line. Studi’s notable television roles include Kaetenay in Penny Dreadful, Bucky in Reservation Dogs, and Sunny in Spirit Rangers. In 2019, Studi was recognized for his career with an Academy Honorary Award.

Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment