Ian Luke Ousley (born March 28, 2002) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of
Sokka
Sokka is a fictional character in Nickelodeon's animated television series '' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' and its sequel series ''The Legend of Korra''. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Jack ...
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States, situated in East-Central Texas in the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin, ...
. He began practicing
taekwondo
Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
at the age of 9 and competed nationally for five years, later earning a third-degree black belt in 2018. He appeared in 3 episodes of ''
13 Reasons Why
''13 Reasons Why'' (also stylized as ''TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY'') is an American teen drama television series based on the 2007 novel '' Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. Developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and with Selena Gomez ser ...
'' in 2019 and 2020.
In August 2021, Ousley was cast as Sokka in the live-action adaptation of ''
Avatar: The Last Airbender
''Avatar: The Last Airbender'', also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions, is an American animated series, animated fantasy television, fantasy Action fiction, action television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino a ...
''. When his casting was announced, an official bio describing him as a "mixed-race, Native American" and a "
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
tribe member" was released. However, it was later reported by the ''
Cherokee Phoenix
The ''Cherokee Phoenix'' () is the first Native_American_newspapers, newspaper published by Native Americans in the United States and the first published in a Native American language. The first issue was published in English and Cherokee on Febr ...
'' that he is not a citizen of any of the three
federally recognized
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.
Cherokee tribes in the United States, and is instead a member of the
Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky
The Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky (SCNK) is an unrecognized tribe based in Kentucky, United States.self-identifies as a tribe. The organization has received some acknowledgement at the state and municipal level in Kentucky, but is not recognized as a tribe by the state government, the federal government, or any of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes.