Gordon Tootoosis

Gordon Tootoosis (October 25, 1941 – July 5, 2011) was a First Nations actor of Cree and Stoney descent. Tootoosis was a descendant of Yellow Mud Blanket, brother of the famous Cree leader Poundmaker. He was acclaimed for his commitment to preserving his culture and to telling his people's stories. He once said, "Leadership is about submission to duty, not elevation to power." He served as a founding member of the board of directors of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company. Tootoosis offered encouragement, support and training to aspiring Aboriginal actors. He served as a leading Cree activist both as a social worker and as a band chief. The investiture ceremony took place on September 9, 2005. His citation recognizes him as an inspirational role model for Aboriginal youth. It notes that as a veteran actor, he portrayed memorable characters in movie and television productions in Canada and the United States.

Tootoosis won a Gemini Award for his work on the animated show Wapos Bay: The Series and was nominated twice for his work on North of 60.

Personal life and death Tootoosis was raised with his 13 siblings in the Plains Cree tradition until he was forced from his home; taking indigenous children away from their communities and into residential schools was Canadian government policy at the time. Tootoosis was placed in a Catholic residential school, where he was treated harshly and forbidden to speak his own language. His father John Tootoosis was an activist for aboriginal rights, which got young Gordon into trouble at school.

Tootoosis died on July 5, 2011, aged 69, after being hospitalized for pneumonia at St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon. His funeral and interment were held on the Poundmaker Cree Nation Reserve in Cut Knife. In 2015, the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company changed its name to the Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre Company in honour of Tootoosis.

Selected filmography

Alien Thunder (1974) as Almighty Voice Marie-Anne (1978) as Chief Many Horses The Mad Trapper (1978) Red Serge (1986, TV Series) as Sioux Chief / Chief Mighty Buffalo Stone Fox (1987, TV Movie) as Stone Fox Airwolf (1987, TV Series) as Charlie Rising Moon MacGyver (1988-1991, TV Series) as Phil Crow / Perry Friday the 13th: The Series (1989, TV Series) as Spotted Owl Black Robe (1991) as Old Aenons Leaving Normal (1992) as Hank Amaruk Call of the Wild (1992, TV Movie) as Charlie By Way of the Stars (1992-1993, TV Mini-Series) as The Cree Chief Spirit Rider (1993, TV Movie) as Joe Moon North of 60 (1992-1997, TV series) as Albert Golo Northern Exposure (1993, TV Series) as Ed's father, Pete Hawkeye (1994, TV Series) as Ravenoak Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994, TV Series) as Indian John Legends of the Fall (1994) as One Stab 500 Nations (1995, TV Mini-Series) (voice) Pocahontas (1995) as Kekata (voice) Pocahontas: The Legend (1995) as Chief Powhatan The X-Files (1996, TV Series) as Shaman Lone Star (1996) as Wesley Birdsong Crazy Horse (1996, TV Movie) as Akicita Alaska (1996) as Ben Quincy General Store Coyote Summer (1996) as Mopeah Four Directions: A Canoe for the Making (1996, TV Series) Keeping the Promise (1997, TV Movie) as Chief Saknis The Edge (1997) as Jack Hawk Song of Hiawatha (1997) as Iagoo Forgotten Warriors (1997, Short documentary) as Narrator The Gift of the Grandfathers (1997, TV Short documentary) as Narrator The Magnificent Seven (1998, TV Series) as Chief Ko-Je Que la lumière soit (1998) as Indian God Due South (1998, TV Series) as Tom Quinn Dead Man's Gun (1998, TV Series) as Charlie Three Claws Big Bear (1998, TV Mini-Series) as Chief Big Bear Lakota Moon (1999, TV Movie) as Rolling Thunder Reindeer Games (2000) as Old Governor Bear with Me (2000) as John Ours Nobody's Baby (2001) as Dog Havasu Zoe (2001) as Red Shirt The Doe Boy (2001) as Marvin Dream Storm: A North of 60 Mystery (2001, TV Movie) as Albert Golo Christmas at Wapos Bay (2002) as Mushom Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (2002, TV Series) as Joe Saugus Black Point (2002) as Standing Bear Now & Forever (2002) as Ghost Fox Smallville (2002-2004, TV Series) as Joseph Willowbrook On the Corner (2003) as Floyd Dreamkeeper (2003, TV Movie) as Kills Enemy Moccasin Flats (2003-2006, TV Series) as Joe Redsky Seven Times Lucky (2004) as Mr. Five Wounds The Making of 'DreamKeeper''' (2004, Video documentary short) as Himself Hank Williams First Nation (2005) as Adelard Fox Into the West (2005, TV Mini-Series) as Growling Bear Fugitives Run (2005) as Dan John Shania: A Life in Eight Albums (2005, TV Movie) as Greey Twain Shoebox Zoo (2005, TV Series) as Nathaniel Stonebear The Spirit of Norway House (2005, TV Movie documentary) as Narrator Wapos Bay: The Series (2005–2010, TV Series) as Mushom (voice) Dream Makers (2006, Documentary) as Himself That Beautiful Somewhere (2006) as Harold Open Season (2006) as Sheriff Gordy (voice) Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run (2006, Video short) as Sheriff Gordy (voice cameo) Mr. Soul (2006) as Clifford Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007, TV Movie) as Red Cloud Out in the Cold (2008, Short) as Soft as Snow Blackstone (2009-2011, TV Series) as Cecil Delaronde For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots (2010, TV Movie documentary) (voice) Doomsday Prophecy (2011, TV Movie) as John Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes (2011) as Mushom Guns, Girls and Gambling'' (2012) as The Chief (final film role)