Q&A with “Killers of the Flower Moon” Native American actor Chance Rush

Chance Rush, 49, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, spoke at the Klamath Tribes 8^th Annual Youth Summit, held Aug. 6, 7, and 8 at the Oregon Institute of Technology Klamath Falls campus. Rush, who starred in the movie Killers of the Flower Moon, is also a public speaker, facilitator, and fitness trainer. After speaking to the youth for an hour, he sat down with the Klamath Tribes News for a Q&A.

You made it into the cast of Killers of the Flower Moon. How was that experience?

It was a blessing to be cast as Bill Stepson. I think what was special about that is I got to meet the Stepson family and understand their family, their lineage, and how important this film was to that family and that community. So that’s what was exciting and interesting about it. More than being in my first major motion picture,there was always a purpose for why you do something. And my purpose wasn’t to be in a movie. My purpose was to represent that family, the Stepson family, the best that I could.

I saw the movie, but I’m a little sketchy about some of the details. What was the Stepson’s family relationship in the story?

The Stepson family relationship was Bill Stepson was just a mindful individual who

was nice and friendly with everybody. He’s a former Bronc rider and had a ranch. He was Osage. They took advantage of him, and he was killed. He was murdered, but it was uninvestigated, and it was undetailed.

Were you killed in the movie?

Yeah, yeah. I guess in the movie, I was poisoned. They found me in my hotel room. That part was hard.

It was the cornerstone of the movie. That was the start of the poisoning of the men. And that was a tragic side to that whole story.

And that was emotional. That day was emotional because I filmed that scene for, like, maybe an hour and a half, two hours, and it was emotional because the real Bill Stepson, I’m playing his character 100 years later in the same building in the same town. So that’s why it was emotional and I’m honored to know, and to meet the Stepson family.

Did the family ever get restitution for that?

No, because everybody that got to kill off so many Osages; they died of natural causes. They were free whenever they ended up dying. They didn’t die in prison. They didn’t die the way that we did. So, there was no restitution.

That was a dark movie.

Yeah, it was dark, but it was a movie that needed to be told and needs to be shared, and it needs more than anything; needs to be respected.  

There’s a lot of dark sides to the history of the Native Americans and how there was a kind of a genocide that took place in this country—

Not kind of; it was a genocide.

Yes, it was a genocide. But people don’t use that term, do they?

Well, they need to. The word genocide needs to be used. Because when you have a people that went through that, and then it’s kind of not used anymore, it kind of takes down the harshness of it. Colonize is another big word, massacre, you know. So that’s why I do what I do today, is that I still want us to celebrate our culture. I want us to celebrate that we’re still here, and that’s what this youth conference is about. And I feel the energy in this youth conference. There’s some goodness here, and I’m glad that Oregon Tech, that they’re partnering with this. This shows our community that it’s not about handing out; it’s about in partnership with, right? This college is on tribal land, and this college has great opportunities for tribal members. I think that it’s a true partnership. And I’m very grateful and thankful to step foot on this campus, knowing that they’re the ones behind the youth summit, so it’s a blessing. It’s a blessing to learn something every day. And that’s one thing I told the kids today, is number one, you know, always pray and put God first. Number two, live an alcohol and drug-free life. Number three, learn something. And number four is to share. So, when we leave here, that’s what I want us to do, is get out here into the rest of the world and share with them our goodness.

You’ve been making your rounds with the tribes. Motivational speaking.

Yes. I’ve had the privilege to come to Oregon. Oregon has always been a special place in my heart because of the consistency in it, being able to go to all these different tribes. The very first stop here is the Klamath Tribes. And I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I’ve always reached out to Vice Chair Hatcher to come to town, Hannah as well to come to town, and I’m just very grateful that the consistency in it led them to invite me to come to the conference. So, it’s emotional for me because I’ve always wanted to come to the Klamath Tribes.

Why?

I haven’t been here before. I’ve heard that this is a beautiful part of Oregon. I’ve been to all the other tribes, but today was my mission of coming to Oregon and working in Oregon has been accomplished because I got to finally visit all of the tribes here now, and being out here in the mountains and being with our relatives here.

And your home is where?

I live in Dallas, Texas. I’m originally from the three affiliated tribes in North Dakota; my other side is the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe up in North Dakota. My grandparents were both from those two tribes, but I make my home in Dallas, Texas, and when I’m at home, I’m reading, writing, and trying to better my outreach to tribal communities across the United States.

You mentioned the younger generation, that seventh generation? Do you think they’ve made the strides necessary to push things forward?

I think having a room full of Native youth shows that we’re making strides and that we’re ready to be on the front line, and we’re ready to play our part. You felt good energy in there. So, I think they’re doing some wonderful things, and I think that we have to continue to back our young adults. I mean, they could check out any time. As far as the way technology is there for them, the way that what’s being taught to them, you know, like in social media or in the media. So, to see them here. Speaking of Oregon and the strong tribes in Oregon, the Klamath Tribes had a huge presence at the largest Native American youth conference that took place in Portland, Oregon, called Unity. It’s called the National Unity Conference, and 2,990 youth attended it. And I told that to an elder, and what that elder said to me was that means our Native youth want to make changes. When you have youth conferences like this, and it’s packed out like this in this area, they want to make changes. They want to see change. And so, I think our seventh generation is doing a great job. We just have to back them and support them. I mean, I think about like, how we would raise our kids. You know, we’re going to put them in a certain school, or we’re going to put them in a certain environment because we’re going to say golly, it’s crazy out here, right? So, we got to, we got to back and support our seventh generation, and I think they’re doing a phenomenal job in today’s society.

And they have educational opportunities that are opening up that maybe weren’t there in the past, more high school graduates going on to college. Do you see that?

I see that because it’s recognized now. And 20 years ago, 200 Native American lawyers and Native students went to law school, and they graduated. Now we have thousands. So, it’s been there. It’s just now that we’re bringing it to life. They’re bringing it to life because they’re putting things on social media. They’re making things happen. They’re creating things, so I think there’s a lot of creativity here. Obviously, every community is going to have their setbacks, but I think we’re, heading in the right direction, and we’re going in a good place. I said in my message earlier, we’ve got to be real about things, you know, like be in your lane, grow in your lane, strengthen your lane, and share your lane. I think we’re heading to some good places.

Lastly, in the world of movie acting, some big inroads are being made. There are Indigenous actors, you being one of them. Do you see a lot of growth potential that can happen, that will happen both in the stories they tell and the actors from the Indigenous community?

I do. I think what we have to now rely on is Native producers, Native writers, Native

productions. You know, it got hot there with the second with Reservation Dogs and Killers of the Flower Moon and Fancy Dance and now Rez Balls. I think we have to keep the movement going. As Native producers, directors, writers, and actors, we can’t wait on Hollywood. We’ve got to go and keep pushing content. I think that’s what’s going to continue to open up doors for us. We had some pretty big steps in the best comedy to me in the nation, in Reservation Dogs and one of the most powerful films in Killers of the Flower Moon. We made some big strides, and we got some great leadership leading the way. We have an Academy Award winner. We have actors that are in major productions now, so we have to continue to keep moving. I do. I act full-time now, and I’m taking little steps, but I’m growing. I’m getting better. I’m learning. You got to learn about something that you want to invest in. And I’m learning that as an actor who’s just been acting now for, you know, a little over three years, it’s a lot of work, but you’ve got to go toward it.

So, you’ve got two careers going now: your social work and motivational speaking and your full-time acting.

I believe being a social worker can help you be a good coach, good leader, and good speaker. And I’m also a pastor, and I’m also a podcaster, and I do live streams every Sunday night, so I’m excited.

What’s your podcast about?

It’s called “Chance with Greatness,” and it’s just like spiritual Sunday night, spiritual and leadership.

You like to talk.

I think so. That ADHD helped me somewhere.

All right, well, thanks a lot.

Yeah, I appreciate you, man. Thanks for letting me think about this stuff, too.