From Wikipedia 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 Pîhtokahanapiwiyin He was acclaimed for his commitment to preserving his culture and to telling his peoples 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 In Open Season and Boog and Elliots Midnight Bun Run Tootoosis was the voice of Sheriff Gordy He was awarded membership in the Order of Canada on October 29 2004 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 Gordon Tootoosis first acting role was in the film Alien Thunder 1974 with 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 Gordon appeared in the CBC Television miniseries By Way of the Stars with Eric Schweig as Black Thunder and Tantoo Cardinal as Franoise He appeared in the awardwinning movie Legends of the Fall 1994 and starred with Russell Means in Disneys 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 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
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