Means, Russell (1939– )

US Oglala Sioux activist. In 1970 he founded the second chapter of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in Cleveland, Ohio. His flair for guerrilla theatre, including the seizure of the Mayflower II on Thanksgiving in 1970 and the Trail of Broken Treaties in 1972, helped bring AIM to national attention. In response to clashes between police and AIM supporters in South Dakota, he and 200 followers seized control of Wounded Knee in 1973 for 71 days.

Means was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. In 1974 he was defeated in a run-off election by Richard Wilson for the Sioux Tribal Council presidency; although two federal probes sustained charges of threats, bribery, and ballot-stuffing, the Bureau of Indian Affairs failed to order a new election. He continued his calls for action at places such as the Black Hills and the Custer Battlefield National Monument. In 1992 he appeared in the film, The Last of the Mohicans.