“1883” Actor Had Role On Season 1 Of “Yellowstone”

Tokala Black Elk Clifford / Instagram

The penultimate episode of 1883 debuted on Sunday (Feb. 20). In Episode Nine, we finally revisited the opening scene of the series, which shows Elsa Dutton (played by Isabel May), being shot with an arrow in the midst of a battle against a group of Lakota men. The episode showcases the events that led up to that moment…and the heartbreaking aftermath that followed.

During the scene where Elsa is shot with an arrow, she comes across the leader of the Lakota tribe who is about to kill her with an axe. As he wields his axe, Elsa yells something in Comanche, prompting the Lakota leader to ask her where she learned those words. Elsa explained that her husband, a Comanche warrior, taught them to her. She also shares her Comanche name “Lightning with the Yellow Hair.”

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The Lakota leader gives Elsa the chance to explain her side of the story, which is that her wagon train was not responsible for the Lakota tribe’s deaths. She tells them that her father, James Dutton (Tim McGraw) is hunting their killers, and promises he will deliver justice. The Lakota leader calls off the fighting.

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Eagle-eyed fans of the show might recognize the Lakota leader, played by Tokala Black Elk from his four-episode stint on Yellowstone.

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On Yellowstone, Black Elk played Sam Stands Alone, the neighbor of Kayce Dutton and his family including his wife Monica and son Tate when they lived on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation. Sam Stands Alone, his wife Vedra, and their two children live next door to Kayce Dutton’s family and he sees first hand how things are getting worse on the Broken Rock Reservation.

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He was in a total of four Yellowstone episodes. It is unknown how many appearances he will make in 1883. See some more photos of him playing the Lakota leader in photos from the actor’s personal Instagram below.