Wes Studi

Professions :

Actor

We have a responsibility to Mother Earth to protect it as much as possible.

possible responsibility earth mother

I like to be able to raise people's consciousness, yes. And to remind that those of us involved in the receiving end of the oppression, we have a duty.

end oppression duty people

We were created to take care of, steward the land. That is mankind's purpose on earth, to steward and take care of the land as it feeds off of it.

take-care care purpose earth

I can be a teddy bear, but more people tend to see me as the other side of the coin, and that has to do with casting, more Iago than Hamlet. But I don't play villains; I play people doing the right thing for the circumstances and time.

me i-can time people

People talk about gangs as if they're something new. But it really isn't that way. The Democratic Party is a gang. The Republican Party is a gang. They're just not in the streets anymore.

new gang people way

An old-codger comedy - that's what I want to do.

comedy want

At times, you're welcome, depending on what's being cast. 'Dances with Wolves' - they wanted authentic-looking Indians in the film, and so they got it. The same was true with 'The Last of the Mohicans' and 'Geronimo.'

wolves true you welcome

I think that the idea of sharing is something that has been lost in our social conscience, and we need to re-think that. We need to learn a new way.

new think lost way

At times, I'm thinking negatively, thinking that we don't learn from our mistakes, but then I get more positive-minded. I do believe in the good of humanity.

good humanity believe thinking

I'm proud to have served there for 12 months with Alpha Company of the 39th Infantry.

alpha company proud months

As a veteran, I am always appreciative when filmmakers bring to the screen stories of those who have served.

bring i-am who always

We, as Indian tribes, should be able to prosecute non-Indians on tribal lands. But on Indian land, we have no ability to prosecute anyone but another Indian. American Indians having status as a foreign nation is good for us, but it's not good in some ways if we don't have the jurisdictional power that the federal government claims.

nation good government power

I feel very fortunate that I was able to be cast in roles that showed the humanity, if you will, of usually stereotypical Indian characters that made up a lot of film, like the Pawnee in 'Dances with Wolves.'

will feel you humanity

National sovereignty can only be achieved after self-sovereignty.

achieved after only sovereignty

I'm Cherokee, and there were times when social expansion was something that is needed by a cultural group or a national group.

something group expansion social

Irony is one of my favorite aspects of life.

aspects favorite irony life

In the '70s, with movies like 'Little Big Man,' westerns began to have a little different flavor, and I think casting people and filmmakers began to realize, 'Hey, maybe we can get a little more authentic in terms of who we cast here.' That kind of opened up the gates.

movies think man people

I came from a family that was pretty insularly Cherokee. We kept to ourselves - the white people were there, and we were here, and it was practically a segregated kind of thing.

pretty family white people

The western has always been, for me, the bread and butter. It's the easiest place for an identifiable Native American to be able to work. But I do yearn to be known as an actor rather than a 'Native American actor.'

place me bread work

I tried bull-riding... I wasn't good at all: I don't think I ever got eight seconds anywhere. But then, after that, I discovered acting through community theater.

good think community acting

Ian Mckellen

Adhir Kalyan

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Bert Lahr

Alan Arkin

Alan Alda

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