Jimmy Herman obit

Jimmy Herman Has Died

 

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Jimmy Herman-He was a First Nations actor who has appeared in several films, including Dances with Wolves among others. He was born on the Cold Lake Reserve in Alberta, Canada. His tribal descents are Dene and Chipewyan. Herman moved to Edmonton 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, he got his big break when a Los Angeles casting agent chose him for a part in Dances With Wolves. His minor role in the movie, playing a Sioux warrior named Stone Calf, was a boost for his career, and he did not look back. He has gone 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, Unforgiven, The X-Files and a ten-year stint on CBC'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. Passionate about his art and the opportunity to be a positive role model in the Aboriginal community, Herman has spoken frequently to Aboriginal youth in schools and at special events, encouraging them to take pride in who they are. He has also in recent years turned towards political activism, seeking diplomatic solutions and bringing his voice to the debate surrounding Aboriginal treaty rights. Keenly aware that his fame could help draw attention to certain political causes, Herman is taking his own good fortune and using it as a tool to better Treaty 6 communities.

His obituary-

Dances With Wolves actor Jimmy Herman dies in Edmonton-

EDMONTON - Native actor Jimmy Herman, who rose to prominence with a role in the Academy Award-Winning film Dances with Wolves, died in Edmonton on Friday at age 72.

Born on the Cold Lake Reserve, Herman attended a residential school and battled alcohol before taking up aboriginal studies at Grant MacEwan College and going to work for the Native Counseling Services of Alberta.

In 1989, he decided to pursue performing arts and a year later was cast as a Sioux warrior in Kevin Costner's epic film, a portrayal that launched a distinguished career.

The son of a fur trapper who lived off the land in northeastern Alberta, Herman appeared in numerous movies and television programs over the last two decades, including a 10-year stint as Joe Gomba — a fur trapper — in the CBC series North of 60. He was also cast in the film Reindeer Games, had a cameo role in Clint Eastwood's Oscar-winning western Unforgiven, played Geronimo in a made-for-cable movie and appeared on the X-Files.

In 2005, he was honoured by Edmonton's Dreamspeakers Film Festival Society with a plaque on its Aboriginal Walk of Fame.

"Jimmy was a pioneer," said Murray Jurak, vice-president of the Dreamspeakers Society. "It was a shock when I heard he died.

"He was one of the first people to get involved in media and tell our stories and, despite all of his success, remained a humble guy.

"He always stood with the First Nations community."

A father of two daughters with one grandchild, Herman had fallen ill for several months. He collapsed at home on Thursday night shortly after asking his wife, Shirley, to take him to the hospital, his brother, Jerry, said.

A viewing will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday at the Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton, in the same neighbourhood where he worked to counsel other aboriginals who have fallen upon hard times. His funeral will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. on the Cold Lake First Nation.

"The thing that was most amazing about him was the path in life that he took," Jerry Herman said Sunday night. "He had many struggles, but he came a long way and made himself into what he had become."

An activist for native rights in recent years, Jerry Herman said Jimmy counselled inmates and worked with youth on the Cold Lake First Nation, encouraging them to take pride in who they were.

"Everyone knows where he came from," Jerry Herman said. "He tried to tell young people that if he could make it, anybody could.

"I was so very proud of him."

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