Published June 2002 

A soulful windtalker

By Angela Baldassarre

That Adam Beach was going to be a star one day was evident to this scribe when she first interviewed him in 1994 for the Disney film Squanto: Warrior's Tale. Charismatic with an infectious smile, Beach personified the soulfully infused Native Canadian.

Nearly 10 years later, Beach hasn't changed much except for those long black locks that have been replaced by trendy crop cut. Sitting in Toronto's Windsor Arms Hotel with a black limousine waiting outside to sweep him to his next interview, Beach has come a long way. "Not like Dance Me Outside," he laughs referring to Bruce McDonald's low-budget movie. "There we rode in a beat-up van, and here I'm flying in private jets and staying at five-star hotels."

Here is John Woo's historical drama Windtalkers, where Beach stars opposite Nicolas Cage in the true story about Navajo Indians recruited as US Marines during the Second World War. Using a derivative of their language, the Navajo developed a code to encrypt radio messages, which was undecipherable by the Japanese. The "codetalkers" (as the Navajo soldiers came to be known) have been credited with turning the tide of the war. Adam plays Private Ben Yazee, a Navajo codetalker who is guarded by fellow Marine Sgt. Joe Enders, played by Cage.

"Growing up I heard about the Navajo being used as a code but I didn't know much more about that," says Beach. "There are still a number of codebreakers alive. We had one on the set, Albert Smith, and he was great. We talked about racism in the ranks, and he said it existed but in small measure. He said When you're brought into the war you are a marine and you are treated like a marine. And to overcome racism, you have to do your best. So there was great respect for the Navajo codebreakers during the war."

Woo was hoping to cast a Navajo actor in the role of Yazee, but had to settle for Beach, who is a Saulteaux born on the Dog Creek reserve north of Lake Winnipeg. In order for Beach to take the part, he had to be approved by Navajo leaders who eagerly accepted the 29-year-old actor as a valid representative. "I think they liked me because I learned Navajo so quickly," smiles Beach.

Adam is not difficult to like. Enthusiastic and giddy about the attention he's receiving for this part, he displays an affability that is heartwarming. But this wasn't always the case with the young actor.

At the age of eight his mother, who was eight months pregnant, was killed by a drunk driver, and two months later his father died in a drowning accident. Adam was sent to live with his extended family in Winnipeg, where he was eventually adopted by his uncle and aunt.

"But they had children as well, and weren't really prepared financially to support us," remembers Adam. "So after awhile we were sent to live with my single uncle, who had to learn what it meant to bring up children. It was a difficult time."

Indeed. Unable to come to terms with his parents' death, and haunted by feelings of abandonment, Beach indulged in drugs and alcohol, often finding himself in the pit of despair.

"I remember doing Smoke Signals, where my character had to come to terms with the loss of his parents," says Beach. "It was the first time I had an opportunity to play a character that related so much to my feelings of hating my father for leaving. I cried the whole time I made the movie. I will always have that reflection to the past: the hurt and pain and anger. But I've learned to overcome it with love for people, love of myself and to achieve my goal of being the greatest actor I can be and to be a good father."

Raised on Johnny Depp (especially 21 Jump Street), Beach stumbled into acting like most kids: in school where he took drama lessons. This led to regular work in local theatre, television and eventually landed a starring role in Squanto: Warrior's Tale in 1994, followed by McDonald's Dance Me Outside, and Chris Eyre's Smoke Signals in 1998.

And while Beach concedes that his roles so far have been limited to that of Native something-or-other ("Part of what I'm trying to do as an actor is to correct the views of Indians romanticized by Hollywood"), he's confident that this will change soon. "I just finished work on a film where I play a biker who lands the girl," he explains. "It's a role that could've gone to anyone. I think I've passed the stereotype hurdle? at least I hope I have."

The father of two young boys, Beach spends all of his free time helping Native causes. His dream is to take the small organizations across Canada that are trying to create a positive awareness for native people, especially the youth, and gather them under an umbrella group to make them stronger. But most importantly he's trying to teach Native youth the concept of family.

"My parents' generation and that of their parents didn't know what family was," explains Beach. "It was a time when Native children were taken away from their parents, placed in white foster homes, and sent back to their real homes for only a few months a year. They didn't know what it meant to have a family. I don't know, either, because I never had one. But with my children and my wife, I'm trying to understand that. And I hope that by teaching other Native youth how to create a family, soon all Natives will grow up with a sense of true belonging. I hope that the next generation of Natives will be the first one in decades that will grow up in real families."

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