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By Amy Chung

Canadian actor Gordon Tootoosis has died, family members reported Tuesday.

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Relatives say he passed away from pneumonia at St. Paul’s hospital in Saskatoon on Tuesday. Mr. Tootoosis was 69.

Mr. Tootoosis appeared in a number of notable Canadian and American productions, including Legends of the Fall, North of 60

and Disney’s

Pocahontas

. He earned membership in the Order of Canada in 2004 for his achievements as a role model for aboriginal youth.

Apart from his television and film roles, Mr. Tootoosis was also involved in First Nations politics. He was part of the National Indian Brotherhood and was the former vice-president of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.

His cousin, Harvey Tootoosis, remembers the days when they grew up together on the Poundmaker Reserve in rural Saskatchewan.

“He was a brilliant guy, he was always telling jokes, focused on the positive not the negative,” said Mr. Tootoosis, 73.