The president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe says he wants people to remember former American Indian Movement activist Russell Means as someone who helped instill pride among Native Americans in Indian Country.
Means died at his home on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Monday morning after battling cancer. He was 72.
Oglala Sioux President John Yellow Bird Steele says he called Means both a friend and a political opponent. He says people should remember Means for the positive things he did for Indian Country, including bringing awareness to political issues and becoming a role model for youth.
Yellow Bird Steele says that in the wake of Means' death, he will ask the tribal council to sponsor a national conference examining cancer in Indian Country.
