Gordon Tootoosis

Gordon Tootoosis
CM
Gordon Tootoosis CM
	Tootoosis in the 1970s
Born	October 25, 1941; Poundmaker Reserve, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	July 5, 2011 (aged 69); Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Resting place	Poundmaker Reserve, Saskatchewan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1974–2011
Spouse	Irene Seseequasis (m. 1965)
Children	6
Relatives	Tyrone Tootoosis (nephew)

Gordon Tootoosis, CM (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.^[1] 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.^[2] In Open Season and Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run, Tootoosis was the voice of Sheriff Gordy.

He was awarded membership in the Order of Canada on October 29, 2004.^[2] 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.^[2]

Career

His first acting role was in the film Alien Thunder (1974), alongside Chief Dan George and Donald Sutherland. He portrayed Albert Golo in 52 episodes of North of 60 in the 1990s. He is best known to British audiences for playing the Native American Joe Saugus, who negotiates the purchase of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet series 3 (2002). Tootoosis appeared in the CBC Television mini-series By Way of the Stars with Eric Schweig as Black Thunder and Tantoo Cardinal as Franoise. He appeared in the award-winning movie Legends of the Fall (1994), and starred with Russell Means in Disney's Pocahontas (1995) and Song of Hiawatha (1997). In 1999, he and Tantoo Cardinal became founding members of the board of directors of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company. In 2011, he appeared in Gordon Winter at the Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon and Prairie Scene in Ottawa, his first stage role in 15 years.^[3]

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.^[1] After his traumatic school years, Tootoosis went into social work, specializing in work with children and young offenders. His interest in his own cultural traditions led him to become an accomplished native dancer and rodeo roper, and he toured with the Plains InterTribal Dance Troupe in the 1960s and 1970s throughout Canada, Europe and South America, becoming one of North America's most popular powwow announcers.^[1] His father was one of the founders of the National Indian Brotherhood and former head of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN). Gordon himself served as the chief of his band and as a vice-president of FSIN. Tootoosis married Irene Seseequasis in 1965. They had three daughters, Glynis, Alanna and Disa, three sons, Lee, Winston Bear, and Clint. After their daughter Glynnis died of cancer in 1997, they took the responsibility of raising her four children in Saskatoon.^[4]

Tootoosis died on July 5, 2011, aged 69, after being hospitalized for pneumonia at St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon.^[5]^[6] His funeral and interment were held on the Poundmaker Cree Nation Reserve in Cut Knife.^[7] 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
The Spirit Rider (1993) Film “ 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: The Legend (1995) as Chief Powhatan
Pocahontas (1995) as Kekata (voice)
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)
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)