Russell Charles Means was a Native American activist for the rights of Red (Brown) people, libertarian political activist, actor, musician and writer. He became a prominent member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) after joining the organization in 1968 and helped organize notable events that attracted national and international media coverage.
Means was active in international issues of Indigenous peoples, including working with groups in Central and South America and with the United Nations for recognition of their rights. He was active in politics at his native Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and at the state and national level.
Beginning an acting career in 1992, he appeared on numerous television series and in several films, including The Last of the Mohicans and Pocahontas and released his own music CD. Means published his autobiography Where White Men Fear to Tread in 1995.
Means was married five times; the first four marriages ended in divorce. He was married to his fifth wife, Pearl Means, until his death. His wife Pearl died ten years later in May 2022, at the age of 62. He had a total of ten children: seven biological children and three adopted children, who were "adopted in the Lakota way", including Tatanka Means who is also an actor.
As "a grandfather with twenty-two grandchildren", Russell Means divided his time "between Chinle, Navajo Nation, Arizona, and Porcupine, South Dakota."
