SAGINAW GRANT Sac and Fox, Ponca, Oklahoma
by Judy Bell
photo by Jeanette Acosta

There are some people you just can’t forget. Sometimes it’s the face, sometimes the voice; or the words that were spoken. After spending time with Saginaw, all three remain in your memory and make you want to recapture those moments when that memorable face spoke about tradition and liberation. The face you know from movie and tv screens is framed in two long braids wrapped in buckskin. He was offered a large amount of money to cut them for a lead role in a big film but he refused without hesitation. "Once you sell yourself, you lose your integrity; do it once and it’s easier the next time." He never intended to be an actor but has embraced it as a way to repair some of the misrepresentations and stereotypes that have infected films since their inception. "A lot of times, directors will let me bring in things that can be seen by people, not sacred ceremonies, but things that make it accurate". Even on a fluff series like "Baywatch" he made a point of suggesting that, in his dying scene he would be wrapped in a buffalo robe, surrounded by the items that meant the most to him and deciding who would receive them. The finished scene was accurate and dignified. One of his favorite roles was Wilson Sam in the PBS "Mystery!" series that aired last November. Another good part was in "Lazarus Man", a series starring the late Robert Urich. Just last week Saginaw had a call back for the new HBO series, "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Other credits are "Grey Owl", "Devil’s Cove", "Purgatory", "War Party", and "Stolen Women". He and his business partner, Chris Landry, have a production company named "Frybread Film Group and are developing a feature with plans for others down the line.
Born in Pawnee, OK , he was raised in a traditional family on a farm with two brothers and a sister. From an early age he was visited daily by two medicine men who taught him their customs, culture and traditions. Saginaw witnessed many special ceremonies and events that were hidden from most people. He was taught to use his insight and not be affected by the world around him. This training culminated in a rite of passage at age fourteen when Saginaw and three other boys spent a year alone in the wild. Challenges such as this are welcomed by Saginaw as he believes that , "If something is offered to you, you can do it or it wouldn’t be offered to you". He had no intention to become an actor but when it was offered to him he readily accepted. "This life the Creator has given me helps me get what I have to say to people. They’ll come to my lectures just to see me. But, if I can touch somebody, maybe one or two out of the group, then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do".

High school was at the Ponca Military Academy. Upon signing up for the Marines in 1951, Saginaw’s father advised him that the only way he would learn about the dominant society is\to find out all you can in the military; so you know these people and what they have done to us. But, his father cautioned, don’t hold anything against them, that’s not our way, but learn so you can point out their shortcomings". After his Marine tour of duty, Saginaw attended Bacon Indian College in OK but quickly adds that all of his knowledge is from life experience, not books.

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