Jimmy Herman (October 25, 1940 – September 13, 2013) was an Indigenous Canadian actor who appeared in several films, including '' Dances with Wolves''.

Biography

He was born on the Cold Lake Reserve in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada. His ancestors were

Chipewyan The Chipewyan ( , also called ''Denésoliné'' or ''Dënesųłı̨né'' or ''Dënë Sųłınë́'', meaning "the original/real people") are a Dene group of Indigenous Canadian people belonging to the Athabaskan language family, whose ancest ...

and

Dene The Dene people () are an Indigenous group of First Nations who inhabit the northern boreal, subarctic and Arctic regions of Canada. The Dene speak Northern Athabaskan languages and it is the common Athabaskan word for "people". The term ...

. Herman moved to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

in 1980 to study at Grant MacEwan College's Native Communications Program. There, he received the Malcolm Calliou Award for his ambition to succeed, and to inspire other Aboriginal people to do the same. After his graduation from Grant MacEwan, he accepted employment with Native Counseling Services of Alberta as a media assistant in the media department. During this time, he did some narration work for Native Counseling Services, ACCESS radio, and the National Film Board. A small part in a CBC Television pilot program called ''John Cat'', based on a W. P. Kinsella book, sparked Herman's interest in acting, and he decided to leave his position at Native Counseling Services to pursue a career in the performing arts. In April 1989, a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

casting agent chose him for a part in ''Dances With Wolves''. His role in the film was a

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

warrior named Stone Calf. He went on to perform numerous roles in feature films and television series in Canada and the United States, including an extra in the Academy Award-winning

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...

'', the television film ''

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( , ; – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota people, Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by White Americans, White American settlers on Nativ ...

'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'', and a six-year stint on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

's '' North of 60'', portraying fur trapper Joe Gomba. In 2005, the Dreamspeakers Film Festival Society in Edmonton honoured him with a place on the Aboriginal Walk of Fame. Herman spoke to Aboriginal youth in schools and at special events. He also turned towards political activism, seeking diplomatic solutions and bringing his voice to the debate surrounding Aboriginal treaty rights. Herman worked to better Treaty 6 communities.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Herman, Jimmy 1940 births 2013 deaths Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Dene people First Nations male actors MacEwan University alumni Male actors from Alberta Male Western (genre) film actors