Robert Tree Cody (born April 20, 1951) is an American musician, dancer, and educator. He graduated from John Marshall High School in 1969. Robert is an adopted son of Hollywood actor

Iron Eyes Cody Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti, April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an American actor of Italian descent who portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films, famously as ''Chief Iron Eyes'' in Bob Hope's '' The Paleface'' (1948) ...

Early life

Robert Tree Cody is the adopted son of the actor

and Cody's wife Bertha Parker, an Assistant in Archaeology at

Southwest Museum of the American Indian The Southwest Museum of the American Indian is a museum, library, and archive located in the Mt. Washington neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, above the north-western bank of the Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) canyon and stream. The muse ...

. Iron Eyes and Bertha adopted Robert and his brother Arthur, who served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and died as a result of exposure to

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...

. The brothers are of

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, a ...

and

Maricopa Maricopa can refer to: Places * Maricopa, Arizona, United States, a city ** Maricopa Freeway, a piece of I-10 in Metropolitan Phoenix ** Maricopa station, an Amtrak station in Maricopa, Arizona * Maricopa County, Arizona, United States * Marico ...

heritage. Robert is an enrolled member of the

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

. In the Maricopa language, his traditional name is ''Oou Kas Mah Quet'', meaning "Thunder Bear". Formerly of

Big Bear, California Big Bear Valley is a valley in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The valley, in the San Bernardino Mountains, includes Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Fawnskin, Holcomb Valley, Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which ref ...

, he now resides in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico with his wife, Rachel. His nickname, "Tree," comes from his height: he is six feet nine and a half inches tall. In 2009, Robert was interviewed about his father in the Canadian documentary ''

Reel Injun ''Reel Injun'' is a 2009 Canadian documentary film directed by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, and Jeremiah Hayes that explores the portrayal of Native Americans in film. ''Reel Injun'' is illustrated with excerpts from clas ...

''.

Performer and musician

Robert Cody plays the

Native American flute The Native American flute is a flute that is held in front of the player, has open finger holes, and has two chambers: one for collecting the breath of the player and a second chamber which creates sound. The player breathes into one end of the ...

, has released albums with

Canyon Records Canyon Records of Phoenix, Arizona is a record label that has produced and distributed Native American music for 56 years. History Canyon was founded in 1951 by Ray and Mary Boley, who had opened the first recording studio in Phoenix, Arizona ...

and toured throughout the Americas, Europe, and East Asia. He performed the traditional carved wooden flute on several tracks of

The Rippingtons The Rippingtons are an American contemporary jazz group, mainly relating to the genres smooth jazz, jazz fusion, jazz pop, and crossover jazz. Formed in 1985 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman, their career has spanned more than three de ...

' 1999 album ''Topaz''. He was a featured flautist in the tenth episode of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterwards PBS Kids and PBS Kids Go! from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 3 ...

'', entitled "The Gift of the Sacred Dog" (based on the book by Paul Goble). It was filmed at

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

Crow Agency Crow Agency ( cro, awaasúuchia) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Big Horn County, Montana, United States and is near the actual location for the Little Bighorn National Monument and re-enactment produced by the Real Bird family known as Ba ...

reservation on June 17, 1983. He performed with Xavier Quijas Yxayotl (

Huichol The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of California ...

) from

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

for the 2000

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

album ''Crossroads''. During the 1950s and '60s and '70s, Cody traveled the pow wow circuit extensively as a dancer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cody, Robert Tree 1951 births American male dancers American male television actors Dakota people Hunkpapa people Living people Male actors from Los Angeles Musicians from Los Angeles Native American flautists Native American male actors People from Big Bear Lake, California