Adam Beach Quotes

You can’t propel a nation to move forward if all you are doing is taking something from them.

I remember, as a kid, I’d follow the rooster and the chickens and watch what type of grass they’d eat. And me and my friends would eat that grass, like that was our lunch.

When I was sixteen I started acting, and I also started to embrace my tradition and culture. I had a young medicine man interpret for me what it is to be an Indian. He really caught me at a good time because I was really vulnerable after the loss of my parents with all of the feelings of abandonment.

When I was growing up, my white friends would call me: ‘Hey, Chief!’ Even when I go to work now, people call me ‘Chief.’

With ‘Smoke Signals,’ the character was so much like me growing up. I lost my parents, and I wish I’d had an opportunity to find out where they were. So I was reflecting on how I grew up, that feeling of abandonment. That whole film was a reality that I always held back and kept to myself.

As a kid, I was just led out in the morning to go spend my day with my friends and just run in the woods. And I’d only come home to eat or when I was thirsty.

I was in high school. A couple of my friends and I decided we had to be in a class together where we could fool around, and drama was it because we’d do improvs, beating each other up. They left a year later, and I stayed in and got a knack for it, and enjoyed the whole process.

Once you lose your parents, you get this numbness, this feeling of having to really be able to connect yourself with someone. I depended on my brothers for that connection, but to have that feeling of being taken care of… I lost it when my parents passed away.

I learned the mechanics of how to fly a plane, but I never lifted a plane off the ground.

Movies have been my way to get out of my backyard. I’m trying to let people know that movies change people’s lives.

What’s nice about ‘Skinwalkers’ is it’s allowing an audience to see a different Indian perspective… I think, for myself, I’m trying to put the Indian perspective in a different dimension.

I feel I will always have that spirit bear with me, so I will always feel protected.

I have a cousin who is a spiritual advisor for Native veterans in Canada, so I’m very familiar with the history of Natives in the military. And growing up as an American Indian myself, the story of Ira Hayes is one that is often told.

Some people look for a certain structure in their lives that they’re comfortable with. People who work hard on the road as truckers, people who work hard using their hands. Then there are people who are fortunate enough to have my life, people who play these characters who embody these qualities.

I think with ‘Skinwalkers,’ the success of it spoke for itself. Meaning a lot of people wanted to see something new on television.

I’ve learned that for Indian people, the opportunity for us to succeed is very slim. So acting was a great tool for that. And in the process of learning about my culture, I’ve learned how to connect myself again to my ancestors.

I go to South Dakota for ceremonies when I have the time. And when you learn what the Indian peoples have gone through to hold onto their culture and traditions… wow, it’s an amazing story.