Saginaw Morgan Grant was born on July 20, 1936, and passed away on July 27, 2021. He was a Native American actor who played roles in television shows such as The Lone Ranger, The World's Fastest Indian, Community, and Breaking Bad. In addition to acting, he was a musician, powwow dancer, motivational speaker, and the Hereditary Chief of the Sac and Fox Nation.

Early life

Saginaw Morgan Grant was born on July 20, 1936, at the Indian Hospital in Pawnee, Oklahoma. He was the son of Sarah Murray and Austin Grant. He was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma. His mother was from the Iowa and Otoe-Missouria tribes in Oklahoma. He served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War.

Career

Grant appeared in many films and television shows. He played Grey Cloud, an ally of Indiana Jones, alongside Harrison Ford in a 1993 episode titled "Mystery of the Blues" from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. During the 1993 television season, Grant had a recurring role as Auggie Velasquez, the owner of a small-town general store and trading post, in Harts of the West.

He portrayed the Gatekeeper in the 1999 film Purgatory. He played Chief Big Bear in the 2013 film The Lone Ranger. That same year, Grant appeared as a man who sells his truck to Walter White in the Breaking Bad episode "Ozymandias."

From 2012, Grant was a key member of the American Indian Advisory Board at the San Diego International Film Festival.

Grant received the American Legacy Award from the San Diego Film Festival, the lifetime achievement award from the Oceanside International Film Festival, and a Living Legend Award from the Native American Music Awards (NAMA). In 2018, his album Don't Let the Drums Go Silent won the Record of the Year award from NAMA.

Death

Grant passed away while sleeping on July 27, 2021, when he was 85 years old. His friend and publicist stated that the cause of death was due to natural causes.

Filmography

• War Party – Freddie Man Wolf (1988)
• Small Time – The Holy Man (1996)
• Grey Owl – Brother of the Pow Wow Chief (1999)
• Legend of the Phantom Rider – Medicine Man (2002)
• Black Cloud – Grandpa (2004)
• Social Guidance – Red Hightower (2005)
• The World's Fastest Indian – Jake (2005)
• Beyond the Quest – Apparition (2007)
• Slipstream – Eddie (2007)
• Maneater – Stanley Hipp (2009)
• Walking on Turtle Island – Catches the Bear (2009)
• Awful Nice – Jonas (2013)
• Winter in the Blood – Yellow Calf (2013)
• The Lone Ranger – Chief Big Bear (2013)
• Wind Walkers – Native Elder (2015)
• The Ridiculous 6 – Screaming Eagle (2015)
• Waabooz – Grandfather (2016)
• Valley of the Gods – Tall Bitter Water (2017)
• Journey to Royal (and the 4th Emergency Rescue Squadron) – Himself (2017)

• The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – episode – The Mystery of the Blues – Grey Cloud (1993)
• Harts of the West – 15 episodes – Auggie (1993-1994)
• The Last Frontier – episode – The One with the Friends' Theme – Alaskan (1996)
• Nash Bridges – Ol'Larry/1 episode (1997)
• Stolen Women: Captured Hearts – Chief Luta/TV movie (1997)
• Baywatch – Eyes That See At Night/1 episode (1997)
• Purgatory – Ancient Gate Keeper/TV movie (1999)
• Auf Wiedersehen, Pet – Medicine Man/3 episodes (2002)
• Skinwalkers – Wilson Sam/TV movie (2002)
• Miracles – Most Respected Elder/1 episode (2003)
• DreamKeeper – Old Medicine Man/TV movie (2003)
• The Fallen Ones – Joseph/TV movie (2005)
• My Name is Earl – Dakota/1 episode (2005)
• Saving Grace – Mudwa/1 episode (2007)
• American Horror Story – Tribal Elder/1 episode (2011)
• Eagleheart – Saginaw/1 episode (2012)
• Family Tree – White Feather/1 episode (2013)
• Breaking Bad – Native American Man – episode "Ozymandias" (2013)
• Shameless – Great Grandfather/1 episode (2014)
• Community – Chief Blue Sky/1 episode (2014)
• The League – Sam/1 episode (2014)
• Workaholics – American Indian Man/1 episode (2015)
• Sin City Saints – Shaman/1 episode (2015)
• Baskets – Old Man/1 episode (2016)
• Veep – Marjorie's Grandpa/1 episode (2016)