Cherokee actor, artist and musician Wes Studi, the first Native American actor to receive an Oscar, will be the keynote speaker at the all virtual 2020 AISES National Conference on October 15-17, 2020.

Wes will share his experiences on the role of purpose, resiliency and increasing the visibility of Native representation and peoples in the communities that surround us, locally and internationally.

Registration for the 2020 AISES National Conference is open until October 5. Learn more at conference.aises.org

Wes Studi, from small-town Oklahoma to internationally acclaimed actor and musician.

The eldest son of a ranch hand, Wes was born in 1947 in Nofire Hollow, in Northeastern Oklahoma. He spoke only his native Cherokee until he was 5. Wes joined the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. With only 12 months left of his six-year service, he volunteered to go to Vietnam. After an honorable military discharge, Wes returned home with a fire in the belly, and became seriously involved with Native American politics.

After college at Northeastern University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Wes shifted his attention to running his own horse ranch and became a professional horse trainer. It was during this era that he began acting at The American Indian Theatre Company in Tulsa in 1983, where he found both the adrenaline rush he craved and the cathartic release he needed. “When you’re able to release those feelings in an acting form, it’s healthier than leaving them inside,” he says of discovering acting.

Wes first took the professional stage in 1984 with “Black Elk Speaks” and has never looked back.

In 1990, Wes portrayed a memorable Pawnee warrior in “Dances with Wolves.” Two years later he landed the role of Magua in Michael Mann’s “The Last of the Mohicans,” the performance that put him on the map.

Throughout his 30-year career he’s won numerous awards, including several First Americans in the Arts awards and the 2009 Santa Fe Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2019, Wes made history by becoming the first Native American actor to receive an Oscar. In a statement from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Wes was honored “for portraying strong Native American characters with poignancy and authenticity.” Interestingly, acting was never a goal in Wes’ youth.

Wes played the title character in the Walter Hill-directed film “Geronimo: An American Legend” (1993) alongside veteran actors Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall, for which he won a Western Heritage Award. He also made memorable appearances in such films as “Heat” (1995) as Al Pacino’s partner, “Deep Rising” (1998) and “Mystery Men” (1999). In 2002, he brought legendary character Lt. Joe Leaphorn to life for a series of PBS movies produced by Robert Redford and based on Tony Hillerman’s books “Skinwalkers,” “Coyote Waits,” and “A Thief of Time.”

Wes’ other notable film credits include: “The Only Good Indian,” which he also produced, James Cameron’s Academy Award-winning “Avatar,” “Hostiles,” “The New World,” “Street Fighter,” “Seraphim Falls,” “Three Priests,” and such prestigious television movies as “Crazy Horse,” “Comanche Moon,” “Streets of Laredo,” “Broken Chain,” “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” and “Bandland.” His television credits include Showtime's "Penny Dreadful," “The Mentalist,” “Hell on Wheels,” and General Abner in “Kings.”

At home, Wes’ artistic talent extends well beyond acting. He’s a skilled stone carver, an accomplished musician and children's book author. “The Adventures of Billy Bean” and “More Adventures of Billy Bean” were written for the Cherokee Bilingual/Cross Cultural Education Center.

He’s taken a national leadership role in the promotion and preservation of indigenous languages, acting as the spokesperson for the Santa Fe-based Indigenous Language Institute, and working as a language consultant on several films, including “Avatar” and the PBS documentary “We Shall Remain.” He’s also active in encouraging the next generation of filmmakers and performers, providing mentorship and participating in apprenticeship programs.

About the AISES National Conference

AISES National Conference has the best line-up of presenters from all backgrounds representing STEM in higher education, pre-college, research, research and global industry. Conference tracks are aligned to major themes or topics in STEM. They are developed with trends, challenges, and developments in STEM that are set to shape the future of teaching and learning. Participants can select one specific track or embark on multiple tracks to learn more and gain a well-rounded perspective on all things STEM. The 2020 AISES National Conference is an all-virtual event with registration ending on October 5. Register now for the 2020 AISES Virtual National Conference at http://conference.aises.org