CHEROKEE ACTOR/ACTIVIST WES STUDI BORN
Born Wesley Studie in Nofire Hollow, Oklahoma (OK), Wes attended Chilocco Indian Agricultural School before serving in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. An activist in the 1970s, he joined the National Indian Youth Council, attended the Trail of Broken Treaties demonstration in 1972, and was arrested at the Wounded Knee demonstration in 1973. In the 1980s, while attending Tulsa Community College, he began acting in local theaters. His 1st film role, in Pow Wow Highway (1989), led to Native American roles in such films as Dances with Wolves (1990), The Doors (1991), as Magua in Last of the Mohicans (1992), and as Geronimo in Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) to name a few. Studi is an accomplished stone carver, musician with the band Firecat of Discord, and author of 2 children’s books. Awards/honors include: Western Heritage Award (shared with cast and crew) for Geronimo: An American Legend (1993); and induction into the Hall of Great Western Performers (2019).
Sources:
Hugh W. Foley, Jr., “Studi, Wesley (1947- ),” Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved 1/30/2024, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=ST056
Photo: Office of the Governor of California, 9/27/2019. Public Domain.
Indigenous America Calendar 