Iron E Not Indian; He’S Italian

Fri., Jan. 8, 1999

The Hollywood Reporter

Newspapers around the country carried obituaries Tuesday on Iron Eyes Cody, who the Associated Press described as “one of the best-known Native American actors.” But Cody was not an Indian - he only played one on TV and in films.

Throughout his life, Cody insisted that he was part Cherokee and part Cree, but there is a considerable body of evidence that he was, in fact, neither. A well-documented story that appeared in the New Orleans Times-Picayune in 1996 and was republished in Indian Country Today - the nation’s leading Indian newspaper - said Cody is actually a second-generation Italian-American from Louisiana.

First Americans in the Arts, Hollywood’s leading Native American advocacy group, gave Cody its prestigious Trustee Award four years ago. During the presentation, however, they made it quite clear that the award was being presented to Cody as a “non-Native.” “For Iron Eyes Cody,” Aleiss said, “his movie legend may long outlive the facts.”

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