On TV:   ● \"Into the West\" will start at 8 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday on TNT. See intothewest. com for more info.

American Indian actor Michael Spears plays the role of Dog Star in the Steven Spielberg-produced epic "Into the West" on TNT. His character is a purist who seeks to keep his tribe true to the ancient ways and avoid the white man as much as possible. Spears also was in TNT's "The Broken Chain" and the film "Dances With Wolves." The "Into the West" miniseries continues through July 22. Spears, 27, talks about his background and acting. Q: Are you 100 percent Lakota? A: I am not 100 percent. I am about three-quarters - closest they get anymore. I am also Irish and Scottish. So I am telling my story, as well as the "Into the West" story. Q: Did you grow up in the reservation system? A: Yes, I did, until the fifth grade, on the Lower Brule Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Q: From what I have read, the reservations can be depressing. Why do people stay if they don't have to? A: Well, that's a pretty complex question. It's pretty economically desolate on most reservations. I mean, there's not much there. (For) the tribes that don't have the humongous casinos, like my own tribe, there is a very complex money situation going on. There's not much there for people . . . you basically have to do it yourself. The tribe will help you somewhat in starting your dreams. And, no, we are not captives; we can leave the rez anytime we want. Q: How long have you been riding bareback? A: Ever since I can remember. It is the only way I know how. My first experience with a horse was trying to catch one. I got kicked, and it knocked me out. I was only in, like, the first or second grade. It was a wild horse that me and my friends had been chasing for a couple of days. I managed to rope it, but I couldn't keep ahold of the rope, and he ran up alongside a fence line. I walked up as slow as possible, but knowing what I know now, I walked up in the wrong way. He kicked me. Q: Are the traditions of your people, particularly the oral history, alive and well? A: It's still there. That is kind of what I do when I go and speak to children. I encourage them to go and learn about themselves and learn their language. I mean, the youth aren't really interested in learning that anymore. There are a select few who want to learn how to pray and remember our ceremonies, but mostly the kids just want to do what's going on on MTV. There's definitely a hip-hop subculture developing on my rez. I know that's a thing that has been going on across Indian country. Q: Isn't acting a form of keeping the traditions alive? A: Definitely. I am using this as a vehicle to promote not only my culture, but I do speak on wind energy. My father and I work pretty close with the tribes and work on native energy, trying to promote a clean-burning fuel. We green-tagged all the premieres for "Into the West." That means the production company offsets its carbon footprint - what it takes for all of us to arrive on planes and cars and to power the whole production. That is another one of my messages. I am using film and multimedia as vehicles to promote conservation. Q: Do you feel a responsibility to put your best foot forward at all times because you are a representative of the Lakota Nation? A: I do. I am proud to be representing Native Americans, and in this film I am actually playing my people - my real people, so it was definitely an honor. They've seen that an ordinary Lakota boy from the rez in South Dakota can make it in Hollywood. But I don't want to become one-dimensional. I don't want to just become this Indian guy out there. On TV:

 

● \"Into the West\" will start at 8 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday on TNT. See intothewest. com for more info.