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.