Nov 10, 1939

Pine Ridge, South Dakota, USA

Russell Means was born an Oglala/Lakota Sioux Indian. He was the first national
director of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in which role he became prominent
during 1972 standoff with the US government at Wounded Knee. In 1987, he joined the
US Libertarian party and announced his candidacy for the party's presidential
nomination. (He lost the nomination to Congressman Ron Paul.) Since 1992, Means has
appeared in "The Last of the Mohicans, " "Natural Born Killers" and other movies. He
ha... ... (read more...) s championed the rights of indigenous peoples in other countries as well as the
US. In a televised speech to the 2000 Libertarian Party National Convention, Means
said that he prefers the label "Indian" to the more politically correct "Native
American." "Everyone who is born in America is a native American, " he said.