Russell Means honored for "rap-ajo"

The Late Russell Means to be Inducted into the Native American Music Awards Hall of FameAs a musician, Russell Means released two national recordings, the 16 track Electric Warrior, on Warrior Records in 1993, and The Radical, released on the American Indian Music Company, Inc., in 1995. He described his music as a Tribal Experience that included all genres of music; Classical, Country & Western Rock-n-Roll, Hard Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B, Jazz and the Blues. He called his own music and words, Rap-ajo because he said, “It's my version of Rap.”

The 14th Annual Native American Music Awards will be inducting the late American Indian activist, actor, and musician, Russell Means, into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame on May 10 at the Seneca Niagara Hotel & Casino in Niagara Falls, New York.

The New York Times described him as, "the charismatic Oglala Sioux who helped revive the warrior image of the American Indian in the 1970s with protests that called attention to the nation's history of injustices against its indigenous peoples". The LA Times called him, "the most famous American Indian since Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse." Means is remembered as an "Oglala Lakota patriot and freedom fighter" by his family.

An inspirational visionary, Russell Means, passed away in October of 2012 at his ranch in Porcupine, South Dakota at the age of 72.Comment:  For more on Russell Means, see Russell Means Was a Fighter and Russell Means's Funeral.

Below:  "Russell Means with Senator Ted Kennedy."