Gary Paul Davis (born September 11, 1968), better known professionally as Litefoot, is an American business professional, actor, musician, and a citizen of the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

. He is the Executive Director of the Native American Financial Services Association (NAFSA), CEO of Davis Strategy Group and a member of the Forbes Finance Council. As an actor, he is known for his roles as Little Bear in the movie ''

The Indian in the Cupboard ''The Indian in the Cupboard'' is a low fantasy children's novel by the British writer Lynne Reid Banks. It was published in 1980 with illustrations by Robin Jacques (UK) and Brock Cole (US). It was later adapted as a 1995 children's film ...

'', and

Nightwolf Nightwolf is a fictional character in the '' Mortal Kombat'' fighting game franchise by Midway Games/NetherRealm Studios. He debuted in ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (1995) as a Native American shaman selected to help defend Earthrealm against invading ...

in ''

Mortal Kombat Annihilation ''Mortal Kombat: Annihilation'' is a 1997 American Martial arts film, martial arts fantasy film directed by John R. Leonetti in his directorial debut. Based on the ''Mortal Kombat'' video game franchise, it is the second installment in the Mort ...

''.

Early and personal life

Litefoot was born in

Upland, California Upland is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States on the border with neighboring Los Angeles County. The municipality is located at an elevation of 1,242 feet (379 m). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 79,040 ...

, was raised in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, and has lived in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington since 1997. He is of

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

descent on his father's side and of

Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that des ...

(northern Mexican indigenous) descent on his mother's side. He is married to Carmen Davis, who serves as president of the Reach The Rez effort and is of the

Makah The Makah (; Klallam: ''màq̓áʔa'')Renker, Ann M., and Gunther, Erna (1990). "Makah". In "Northwest Coast", ed. Wayne Suttles. Vol. 7 of ''Handbook of North American Indians'', ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institut ...

Yakama The Yakama are a Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in eastern Washington state. Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Their Yak ...

, and

Chippewa Cree The Chippewa Cree Tribe (Officially in cr, italics=no, ᐅᒋᐻᐤ ᓀᐃᔭᐤ, translit=''ocipwêw nêiyaw'')Montana Department of Justice, Official Tribally issued license plate of Chippewa Cree TriLink/ref> is a federally recognized tribe ...

tribes. They have three sons, Quannah, Sequoyah, and Qwnuseia.

Career

Business

Before being appointed as Executive Director of NAFSA, Davis served as President and CEO of the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) and as a member of the NCAIED’s Board of Directors. He has served as Vice-President of Native Affairs for the Triple Five Group, owners of the world’s largest retail shopping malls; the

Mall of America Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...

and the

West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Metrotown Mall in B ...

and he previously served as co-chair of the National Indian Gaming Association’s, American Indian Business Network. Davis owns and operates the Davis Strategy Group and has facilitated an array of cross sector business opportunities in Indian Country ranging from energy, acquisitions, casino gaming, hospitality, land development, health and pharmaceutical initiatives. He also owns the Native Style Clothing brand and Red Vinyl Records.

Entertainment

Davis is a successful musician and feature film and television actor with eight award winning albums and starring roles in such films as ''

The Indian in The Cupboard ''The Indian in the Cupboard'' is a low fantasy children's novel by the British writer Lynne Reid Banks. It was published in 1980 with illustrations by Robin Jacques (UK) and Brock Cole (US). It was later adapted as a 1995 children's film ...

'' (in which he played the title character) and television programs such as ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...

''. Although Litefoot is not the first Native American performer of hip hop music, he is among the first Native American hip hop artists to be an enrolled member of a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

. He has won six

Native American Music Awards The Native American Music Awards (also known as the NAMAs or "Nammys") are an awards program presented annually by Elbel Productions, Inc., The Native American Music Awards Inc., and The Native American Music Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profi ...

, his most recent for Artist of The Year. Since 2005, he has hosted and produced his own nationally-distributed hip hop and R&B radio show called ''Reach the Rez Radio'', which broadcasts weekly through Native Voice One Satellite Network. Litefoot produces several clothing lines the best known being the "Native Style" brand. He annually spends months of his time working on various reservations across the United States and Canada. His most recent music and speaking tour was the "Reach the Rez Tour". This annual project lasted one year, 54,000 miles and 211 events across the United States.

Philanthropy

Davis has traveled throughout the United States delivering messages of hope and empowerment to over 450 American Indian communities. As the spokesperson of the "Reach The Rez Project", Davis has raised nearly $1.5 million to ensure the success of the effort.

Public speaking

Davis regularly delivers motivational speeches to tribal, educational and corporate audiences as a public speaker. He has provided keynotes and business trainings for corporations and tribes and lectured at a variety of colleges and universities across North America.

Awards and recognition

Davis is a recipient of the prestigious Sevenstar Award from the Cherokee Nation Historical Society, presented to a Cherokee who is accomplished in a chosen field, brought honor to the Cherokee people and serves as an inspiration to others. He has also received the

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bu ...

Minority Business Development Agency National Director Special Recognition Award was appointed as an Ambassador of the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rel ...

’s, Minorities in Energy initiative and was also appointed to the United States Small Business Administration’s Council on Underserved Communities. Mr. Davis was recognized as one of the "Fifty Faces of Indian Country" by Indian Country Today Media Network.

Discography

* 1992 - ''The Money EP'' * 1994 - ''Seein' Red'' * 1996 - ''Good Day To Die'' * 1998 - ''The Clown Kutz'' * 1998 - ''The Life & Times'' * 1998 - ''Red Ryders Vol. 1'' * 1999 - ''Red Ryders Vol. 2'' * 1999 - ''Rez Affiliated'' * 1999 - ''The Lite Years 1989–1999 - The Best of Mr. Foot'' * 2001 - ''Tribal Boogie'' * 2002 - ''The Messenger'' * 2003 - ''Native American Me'' * 2004 - ''Redvolution'' * 2008 - ''Relentless Pursuit''

Filmography

* 1995 - ''

'' - Little Bear * 1995 - ''

Showbiz Today ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show re ...

'' - episode - July 13-1995 - Himself * 1997 - ''

The Song of Hiawatha ''The Song of Hiawatha'' is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his l ...

'' * 1997 - ''

'' -

* 1997 - ''

Kull the Conqueror ''Kull the Conqueror'' is a 1997 fantasy film about the Robert E. Howard character Kull starring Kevin Sorbo. It is a film adaptation of Howard's Conan novel ''The Hour of the Dragon'', with the protagonist changed to the author's other barbari ...

'' - Ascalante * 1998 - '' Angel on Fire'' * 2001 - '' The Pearl'' - Juan Tomas * 2002 - ''

Adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

'' - Russell

References

External links

Official website

Litefoot
at MySpace
Official website of the Reach The Rez Project featuring Litefoot

Official website of Reach the Rez Radio
*

Video

Arizona TV news story about Reach the Rez Tour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Litefoot 1968 births Living people Male actors from California Rappers from California 20th-century American male actors 20th-century Native Americans American musicians of Mexican descent Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma American radio personalities People from Upland, California Rappers from Seattle Cherokee Nation artists Hispanic and Latino American male actors Hispanic and Latino American rappers Native American male actors Native American rappers Native American actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American rappers 21st-century Native Americans American male actors of Mexican descent