"Flag of our Fathers" the new Clint Eastwood movie

[Okwes]

"Flag of our Fathers" the new Clint Eastwood movie
> starring Adam Beach as Ira Hayes.
>
> Adam Beach in HBO’s “Bury My Heart at Wounded
> Knee”
>
> Adam Beach (Ira Hayes) has landed a lead role in an
> upcoming HBO Original Movie “Bury My Heart at
> Wounded
> Knee,” which chronicles how American Indians were
> displaced as the U.S. expanded West during the
> latter
> half of the 19th Century.
>
> Beach will play American Indian writer-activist
> Charles Eastman, who worked ceaselessly to promote
> the
> well-being of American Indian tribes and is
> considered
> a major force in interpreting the legacy of the
> American Indian tradition.
>
> Beach is getting fantastic early buzz for his
> performance as Ira Hayes in “Flags of Our
> Fathers” and
> is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
>
> Beach also co-stars in Larry McMurtry’s upcoming
> CBS
> Miniseries, “Comanche Moon”.

[Okwes]

True to himself

Adam Beach raises 'Flags of Our Fathers'

BY JOHN CLARK


Adam Beach was honored to play Ira Hayes in 'Flags of Our Fathers.'


Beach (above, with Irene Bedard in the 1998 Sundance winner 'Smoke Signals') says he actively seeks out Native American roles.

Adam Beach had a life-changing experience on the set of Clint Eastwood's movie, "Flags of Our Fathers," which opened Friday.
"Working with Clint, I went into a depth of pain and anguish," Beach says. "He drew out a confidence and strength just to push myself, and it really meant a lot on how I live my life now. It's amazing how he changes your life, professionally and personally. I eat better now. I'm in the gym. Creatively, I see things differently."

Beach, 33, has lots to be thankful for, including his involvement in the film in the first place. Ironically, the reason he almost lost the role was partly why he got it: When the filmmakers were casting the movie, they couldn't get a hold of him to audition for the part because he had the flu and had shut off his phone. After he finally did get out of bed and tape two scenes, he looked like death warmed over - perfect for the part of a guilt-ridden, hungover soldier.

In "Flags," Beach plays Ira Hayes, one of the three surviving members of a group of American servicemen famously photographed raising the flag on Iwo Jima. He and his two comrades were whisked from the war to parade their heroism before the American public to sell war bonds. Hayes chafed; he didn't consider himself a hero, felt terrible about leaving his brothers-in- arms and was abused in both big and little ways for being a Native American. He lashed out by drinking and fighting.

Beach, who is a Native American of the Anishnaabe tribe, was born in Manitoba, Canada, and now lives in Ottawa. At age 8, he lost both his parents and moved to Winnipeg. While in high school, he says he was a member of a gang.

"We had a gang called the West End Boys," says Beach. "There were times when I'd go to a wedding social and they'd say, 'Sorry, no Indians,' and the next thing you know I'm hitting the guy. My friends always backed me up, and [it would be] a big fiasco. That didn't happen just once."

Beach's way out was acting. Finding a passion for it, he worked consistently on TV and in movies, both independent films (most prominently the 1998 Sundance award-winner "Smoke Signals"), and studio projects such as the Nicolas Cage action drama "Windtalkers," another film based on a true story about Native Americans fighting in World War II.

While that may seem like a dubious coincidence that only Hollywood could achieve, Beach looks at it as an honor.

"There are two significant figures in that era, and that's Ira Hayes and the code talkers," he says, referring to the Native Americans whose language provided the American military with an unbreakable code in case it were intercepted. "They represent Native Americans in the 1940s. We don't have many role models to look up to."

Obviously the images of Native Americans in Hollywood Westerns have not always been admirable - though Beach is not averse to doing Westerns when the roles are thoughtfully written. In fact, he's not interested in playing anyone other than a Native American, for reasons both personal and professional. He's just signed to star in HBO's telefilm "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," about the extermination of the Sioux tribe in the 19th century.

"The whole identity of who I am speaks volumes," he says. "Because of who I am, I'm in the position I'm in today. My struggles to succeed were difficult, but if you put into mind that my competition with Native actors is only a few compared to Caucasian actors, it kind of balances out."

The role of Ira Hayes in "Flags" has also rewarded him for staying true to what he is, and what he knows.

"For me, Ira represents for the first time Native Americans were looked at as human beings, with human emotions," he says. "The movie completed a part of my life. You know how you have expectations of getting somewhere within something you choose as a career? With Ira Hayes, I've accomplished that."

Originally published on October 23, 2006

[Okwes]

Ira Hayes, an American hero Posted: October 25, 2006 by: Sarah Moses
<http://www.indiancountry.com/author.cfm?id=648> / Today staff
www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413872
<http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413872> Click
to Enlarge <http://www.indiancountry.com/pix/1096413872_large.jpg>
<http://www.indiancountry.com/pix/1096413872_large.jpg> Background
photo courtesy Dreamworks LLC and Warner Bros. Entertainment/foreground
AP Photo/Danny Moloshok -- Cast member Adam Beach, posed outside the
premiere of the movie ''Flags of our Fathers'' Oct. 9 in Beverly Hills,
Calif. The movie follows the lives of the five World War II Marines,
including Ira Hayes, Pima from the Gila River Indian Reservation, who
were captured in the famous Associated Press photo of the raising the
flag on Iwo Jima. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - When American Indians were
fighting to keep their homelands, Ira Hayes was fighting for America.

Adam Beach, a Canadian actor of Saulteaux decent, plays the role of Ira
Hayes in ''Flags of our Fathers,'' the Clint Eastwood movie that tells
the true story of the men captured in the infamous World War II
Associate Press photo of the flag-raising at Iwo Jima.

''What I thought about Ira Hayes was that he was a man of great
respect,'' Beach said. ''He never saw himself above others. He was a man
of few words and when he said something it came from his heart, so it
meant more than you can imagine.''

The movie, which is based on the 1990 book of the same title by James
Bradley, uncovered the story of the three men who survived the battle of
Iwo Jima and their lives after the fame of one of the most well-known
photographs in American history.

''Ira had a strong spirit because he had to harness so much pain and
anguish through the horrors of war,'' Beach said. ''He did not reflect
that onto anyone else with anger and resentment, he kept it within
himself as an inner turmoil.''

Eventually, suppressing his pain and anguish was his downfall, Beach
said. On Jan. 24, 1955, at the age of 32, Hayes was found dead near an
abandoned hut near his home on the Gila River Indian Reservation. His
death was determined to be due to exposure and too much alcohol.

Alcoholism has long plagued American Indian communities, and Beach said
that there is a reason why American Indians turn to the bottle.

''You can't help but to reflect why they are doing it,'' Beach said
about alcoholism. ''If you look at the history of our people it's full
of tragedy, it's always been a struggle to maintain our ... identity.''

Beach said American Indians are in a generation of rebirth and he wants
to educate the public to gain awareness of American Indian issues.

''The 1980s was the last residential schooling in Canada and you have to
look at all that history,'' he said. ''I teach people about the boarding
schools and how in over the last 100 years, they've been inflecting the
idea of let's rid [American Indians] of their identity, of their Indian
languages.''

From this history, Beach said American Indians and the indigenous in
Canada are scarred.

''When I see a fellow brother who is on the street and he is an
alcoholic I look at him as a human being who has been scarred. I don't
look at him as a statistic,'' Beach said. ''And Ira Hayes in this movie
represents that individual, that scarred person; but he brings out the
human being quality that people need to see.''

Although American Indians and the indigenous in Canada have had a
history of turmoil, Beach said there has been change in Indian country
over the past two decades.

''We are finding our spirit and excelling,'' Beach said. ''This is how
we are supposed to see ourselves - as successful people, not as a tragic
identity. It's unfortunate that our past represents that, but here we
have the opportunity to change that. And I think we will. We are
abandoning the idea of playing victims. We are abandoning the idea of
surviving because we've got our strength back.''

During the movie, the character of Ira Hayes goes through a
rollercoaster of emotions, from happiness with his friends in the
Marines, to anger and sadness. Beach said that the real Hayes never
thought of himself as a hero, but he was.

''He stood for what America stands for: freedom,'' Beach said. ''He was
a true American hero.''