Russell Means, Indian activist, actor, dies at 72

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Former American Indian Movement activist and actor Russell Means has died.

Oglala Sioux Tribe spokeswoman Donna Salomon says Means died Monday morning at his ranch in Porcupine, S.D. Means was 72.

Means helped lead the 1973 uprising at Wounded Knee, reveled in stirring up attention and appeared in Hollywood films, including “The Last of the Mohicans.”

The Wanblee native grew up in the San Francisco area. He developed inoperable throat cancer and eschewed mainstream medical treatments for traditional American Indian and alternative remedies.

AIM was founded in the late 1960s to protest the U.S. government’s treatment of Native Americans and demand the government honor its treaties with Indian tribes. It was oft embroiled in controversy, partly because of the organization’s alleged involvement in the 1975 murder of Annie Mae Aquash.