JULY 5, 2011

CREE ACTOR GORDON TOOTOOSIS DIED

Born October 25, 1941, on Poundmaker Reserve, near Cutknife, Saskatchewan (SK), Tootoosis was a cowboy and champion Calf & Team Roper.  He toured the Americas with the Plains Intertribal Dance Troupe in the 60s & 70s and also did painting & sculpture.  His movie acting break was in Alien Thunder (1972).  Other movie credits: Leaving Normal (1992); Legends of the Fall (1994) with Tantoo Cardinal; Pocahontas: The Legend (1995); Alaska (1996); Lone Star (1996); Black Robe (1996); and Reindeer Games (2000).  TV credits: Due South; Lonesome Dove; Hawkeye; and North of 60.  Awards include: Eagle Spirit, American Indian Film Festival (AIFF) (2001); Award of Excellence, ACTRA (2003); Best Supporting Actor, AIFF (2004); Walk of Honour, Dreamspeakers Film Festival (2005); Gemini Awards (2008); Henry Woolf Continuing Achievement Award, Saskatoon & Area Theatre (2011); and Playback Canadian Film & TV Hall of Fame (2015).  He was named Member, Order of Canada in 2004.  Tootoosis died in Saskatoon, SK.

Sources:  Patrick Mullen, Wyndham Wise, "Gordon Tootoosis". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 8/7/2011.  Retrieved 5/22/2020, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/gordon-tootoosis
 “Biography of Gordon Tootoosis,” World Wisdom.  Retrieved 5/23/2020, http://www.worldwisdom.com/public/authors/Gordon-Tootoosis.aspx
Photo:  Scoot Irwin, 1970s.  Permissive Use.