Remembering Graham Greene, the Oneida actor who has died at 73

Greene was nominated for an Oscar for his industry-changing role as Kicking Bird in “Dances with Wolves” – Obituary and interview from 2017 below.

The world paused after the iconic First Nations actor Graham Greene, Onieda, died at the age of 73 after a long illness.

Born in Ohsweken, which is on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario, Greene racked up an impressive career in the television and film industry, as is evident on his IMDb page, which lists 111 movie credits, 67 television series and 22 award wins and 18 nominations in various categories. In addition to Greene’s Oscar nomination for Kicking Bird in “Dances with Wolves,” Greene also received a Grammy in 2000 for his spoken word children’s album, “Listen to the Storyteller.”

Other iconic roles by Greene include “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” “The Green Mile” with Tom Hanks, “Thunderheart,” and the cult classic in Indian Country, “Powwow Highway.” He also recently appeared in the successful TV show, “Reservation Dogs” as Maximus and in Disney’s “Echo.”

Thoughts from Natives in the industry

Greene was known for a wide range of roles across multiple genres. Native actor Tatanka Means remembered Greene for his comedic prowess. “He was an inspiration in the comedy realm. I remember watching him in roles ranging from westerns, dramas and comedies like Maverick. He seemed like he was always working on something. I think he is one of our great comedic Native actors.”

Taboo Nawasha, Shoshone, Hopi and Mexican heritage of the Black Eyed Peas told Native Viewpoint, “I had the honor of sitting with and connecting with uncle Graham at the Dream Catcher gala in Canada, and I got to see his personality and his love for music and singing in real time. It’s a big loss for Indian Country, not only as an icon but as a relative who paved the way for a lot of us in the entertainment world. My heart and love goes out to his family.”

Comedian Joey Clift, Cowlitz, also remembers Greene fondly. “A lot has been said about how beloved Graham Greene was as an actor and as a person, and how much he meant to us Native folks looking for onscreen role models growing up. All of that is so true, but I don’t think enough is being said about how FUNNY he was. I had the good fortune of working with him on a comedy project a few years ago and he was so open to our silly ideas, never said ‘no’ and never acted like our jokes were beneath him (which, come on, He’s Graham Greene. Our jokes were for sure beneath him). All of us Native folks in the entertainment industry owe him a debt for helping build the path we’re walking, and for giving us a model for how to carry ourselves not just as professionals, but also how to carry ourselves as good collaborators and people. The debt we owe him is incalculable.”

My interview with Graham Greene in 2017

In 2017, I was working as the Arts and Entertainment editor with Indian Country Today Media Network, which is now ICT. At that time, Greene had just completed his role as a tribal police officer in the film “Wind River,” directed by Taylor Sheridan and starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. Other Native actors in the movie included Gil Birmingham, Tantoo Cardinal, and Martin Sensmeier. This is an extract from that article, which you can read in full here.

How did it feel to work with other great Native actors?

Greene: I worked with those people a lot. I’ve been married to Tantoo about 15 times. I have also worked with Gil Birmingham about four or five times.

Was your character Ben, a tribal police officer, something familiar to you?

It’s hard to say, I’m just a hired gun who does what he’s paid to do. I really don’t get too deep into the character. I’m not one of these guys who gasses on just to hear himself talk.

I have played officers before. For example, in Thunderheart, police officers are scattered all over the place. I have played New York cops and all kinds of police officers—the range of what tribal police officers have to look over is incredible. I didn’t realize the extent, as I come from Canada. We don’t have as much territory to cover on the reserves up here. Down in the States, it’s a whole other story; there is a tribal police officer every hundred miles or something. It is ridiculous.

How many films have you been in?

Oh my gosh, I couldn’t even tell you—probably about 100. My career has been pretty diverse; I have played British officers, French officers, and I’ve played judges. I’ve even played a transvestite who jumped out of a window wearing panties and high heels.

Were there some tough parts to filming in that rural of a location?

It was really tough working at that high of an altitude. In my role on the television series Longmire, I play a very bad man and I have to have oxygen there because Santa Fe is 7,000 feet and up to 9,000 feet in Utah. That was pretty tough and a lot of people had to leave.

You’re known to be a person who says things in a very straightforward way. What is your advice for young actors?

Learn how to wait tables, get your cab driver license, learn how to bus tables or even wash dishes. You really do have to do the best thing you possibly can because you can’t always act. A lot of actors think that they’re going to be working. But you are not.

I am lucky. I have been doing this for 40 years, and there’s been times I’ve sat around for three years.

In memorium

The following is directly from Greene’s IMDb page

Softly-spoken, iconic actor Graham Greene was Oneida, born on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. He began his working life in the steel industry, as a draftsman, welder, carpenter and civil technician. For a while, he also operated a recording studio in Hamilton, Ontario, later sidelining as an audio technician for rock bands. Greene’s acting career did not take off until the 1970s and 80s when he began performing in theatres, first in Toronto and then in England. Upon his return to Canada and with good reviews under his belt, he was cast opposite Al Pacino in the British-made historical drama Revolution. He subsequently portrayed primarily First Nations people on the screen, becoming internationally best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Kicking Bird in Kevin Costner‘s epic Dances with Wolves. He was featured in other A-grade productions like Thunderheart, Maverick and The Green Mile.

For the small screen, Greene was top-billed as Ishi in the made-for-television movie The Last of His Tribe, playing the last known survivor of the Yahi tribe (who died in 1916). He also played Chingachgook in The Pathfinder, based on the classic pioneering novel by James Fenimore Cooper. His many episodic TV guest appearances include stints on The Outer Limits, Dead Man’s Gun, Skinwalkers: The Navajo Mysteries, 1883 and Tulsa King. Greene co-starred alongside Lou Diamond Phillips in the short-lived supernatural drama series Wolf Lake. They also appeared together in several episodes of Longmire, with Greene featured as casino security chief Malachi Strand. Yet another recurring pivotal character was Greene’s wealthy mine owner Rafe McCawley in the off-beat science fiction series Defiance.

On stage, Greene has worked with the Native Earth Performing Arts, at the Theatre Passe Muraille, the Manitoba Theatre Centre and the Royal Alexandra Theatre. His many accolades have included an honorary doctorate in law from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario (in 2008), a Grammy and, two Gemini Awards. He was inducted into Order of Canada in 2016 and became a recipient of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in 2025.

Prior to his untimely death on September 1 2025, Greene resided with his wife Hilary Blackmore (plus lots of cats) outside of Toronto, continuing his acting career, writing and building boats.