An unsung Native American actor, Sheldon Peters Wolfchild. He is a full-blooded Lakota born in 1946 in Minnesota, and he grew up on the Lower Sioux Reservation.
He is the youngest of eight children and the son of professional bantamweight boxer "Indian" Ernie Peters.
He attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the Ray-Vogue School of Design (Chicago) from 1965–1969. He was then drafted into the U.S. military in 1969. He served in Vietnam, earning a Bronze Star
After returning from Vietnam, he worked at Walt Disney Studios as an artistic consultant—helping develop displays for Walt Disney World and various productions, and exhibited with Disney in art shows.
He moved to Hawaii in 1976, attended the University of Hawaii, and then became a featured actor on Sesame Street (1977–1980), appearing with Buffy Sainte-Marie and their son, Dakota Starblanket. He and Buffy Sainte-Marie were briefly married in the 1970s.
After affiliating with the American Indian Registry for Actors in Los Angeles, he took on many roles portraying Native American characters:
The Avenging (1982), Dances with Wolves (1990), Son of the Morning Star (1991) as Bloody Knife Miracle in the Wilderness (1991), Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994), Crazy Horse (1996), 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995), 500 Nations (1995), The Scarlet Letter (1995)
TV appearances include L.A. Law, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Star Trek: The Next Generation (“Time’s Arrow” episode, as Joe Falling Hawk)
In 2014, he transitioned into documentary filmmaking—directing and producing The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code and Star Dreamers (the latter still in post-production)
I know him best as the actor in the two-part 1991 historical mini-series Son of the Morning Star, which dramatizes the events leading up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Sheldon Peters Wolfchild portrays the Arikara scout Bloody Knife. The role spans both episodes of the series.
Sheldon will be 79 this coming December. Kudos to a great actor and a truly remarkable human being.
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