Russel Means was an American Oglala Lakota activist for the rights of Native American people and libertarian political activist. He became a head member of the American Indian Movement after joining the organization in 1968, and helped organize notable events that attracted national and international media coverage.

He was active in international issues of his people and people of other races including working with groups in Central and South America, and with the United Nations for recognition of their rights. He was active in politics at his native Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and at the state and national level. He began an acting career in 1992, and appeared in numerous films, including The Last of the Mohicans. He published his autobiography Where White Men Fear to Tread in 1995. Means died in 2012, less than a month before his 73rd birthday. His right to undo racisim towards Native Americans lives on through people fighting the same cause.

Russel Means