Duane Howard (born 1963) is an

Aboriginal Canadian In Canada, Indigenous groups comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Although ''Indian'' is a term still commonly used in legal documents, the descriptors ''Indian'' and ''Eskimo'' have fallen into disuse in Canada, and most consider them ...

actor who is best known for his role as the

Arikara Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)

chief Elk Dog in the 2015 film '' The Revenant''. He has also appeared in ''

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West'' is a 1970 non-fiction book by American writer Dee Brown that covers the history of Native Americans in the American West in the late nineteenth century. The book expres ...

'' (2007), ''

Pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder ( ...

'' (2007), the television series ''Godless'' (2017), '' The Sun at Midnight'' (2016) and other films.

Early years

Howard was born in the Esperanza Inlet, located on the west coast of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

in British Columbia, Canada. He is

Nuu-chah-nulth The Nuu-chah-nulth (; Nuučaan̓uł: ), also formerly referred to as the Nootka, Nutka, Aht, Nuuchahnulth or Tahkaht, are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in Canada. The term Nuu-chah-nulth is used to describe fifte ...

. He spent his early childhood in Port Alberni and moved to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

at the age of 14. At age 23, Howard conquered a drug and alcohol addiction and began working as a substance abuse counselor with at-risk youth in Vancouver.

Acting career

A chance meeting with a local talent agent in Vancouver in the early 1990s resulted in walk-on roles in the ''X-Files,'' ''Smallville'' and ''Supernatural'', then to feature roles. Howard has also worked as a stuntman and performed his own stunts for his role in ''The Revenant.'' In media interviews, Howard has said his own experience with loss and hardship informed his portrayal of Elk Dog, a father whose daughter is kidnapped by fur trappers. When Leonardo DiCaprio dedicated his Golden Globe Award for ''The Revenant'' to indigenous communities around the world, Howard said he was moved by the speech, and hopes to see more accurate portrayals of Indigenous culture come out of Hollywood.

Speaking activities

Following his role as Elk Dog, Howard began traveling and speaking about his own experiences to raise awareness about substance abuse, suicide and other issues in indigenous communities. After a state of emergency was declared in Attawapiskat First Nation in April 2016 because of its high rate of suicide, Howard told an interviewer, "People are saying we've got to help our young people, but it takes a community to come together as one. And there's a saying: one heart, one mind, one prayer, we can all move forward."Duane Howard, Revenant actor, shines light on suicide crisis in Attawapiskat, CBC News, Jun 07, 2016
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Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Aboriginal Speaker Series: Duane Howard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Duane Living people 1963 births First Nations male actors People from Port Alberni Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors