Robert Redford, who died Tuesday at age 89, was remembered by colleagues, tribal leaders and environmental advocates as an unusually committed activist whose career in film and television intersected with sustained efforts to protect the environment and amplify Native American stories.
Friends and collaborators described Redford as both a Hollywood star and a modest presence in communities he championed, particularly among the Navajo and Hopi nations. Lorie Lee Sekayumptewa, a former administrator with the Navajo Nation Film Office, recalled seeing Redford at traditional cultural dances in the Hopi village of Hotevilla more than three decades ago while he served as executive producer of the 1991 film The Dark Wind. Sekayumptewa, who is Navajo, Hopi and Sac and Fox Nation, said Redford attended screenings on the reservation and brought films home to share with neighbors and students.
Redford’s activism dated to the mid-1970s, when he was among a wave of entertainers who made public causes central to their public lives. While at the height of his stardom in films such as The Sting and The Way We Were, Redford immersed himself in the emerging environmental movement. He opposed a proposed power plant in his adopted home state of Utah, lobbied for cleaner air and water through support of landmark legislation, and joined the board of the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, where he remained a guiding force until his death.
"His legacy was extraordinary," NRDC CEO and President Manish Bapna said, noting Redford’s ability to use storytelling to make abstract threats feel immediate. Bapna said Redford frequently described the human toll of climate change — fishermen affected by rising seas, families fleeing wildfires — and urged advocates to find ways to reach broader audiences.
Redford also wedded his artistic projects to political concerns. Films such as All the President's Men and The Candidate examined political systems, while The Milagro Beanfield War dramatized battles over land and resources in the American West. He served as executive producer on projects rooted in Native American experiences, and his involvement continued into television: Dark Winds, an AMC series that premiered in 2022 and is based on the fiction of Tony Hillerman, credited Redford as an executive producer and featured a cameo by him earlier this year. John Wirth, the series showrunner, said Dark Winds likely would not exist without Redford and credited him with helping create access for Native actors and writers.
Redford’s conservation work extended beyond air and water. In 2013 he joined with then-New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to create the Foundation to Protect New Mexico Wildlife in response to proposals that would have allowed large-scale horse slaughter. The following year the foundation reached an agreement with the Navajo Nation to manage thousands of wild horses on the reservation and keep the animals from being sent to slaughterhouses. Redford also supported the nonprofit Return to Freedom, Wild Horse Conservation, whose founder Neda DeMayo said the organization was "heartbroken" by his death and called him "an irreplaceable artist, activist and environmentalist."
Those who worked with Redford emphasized his humility and long-term commitments. Sekayumptewa said he showed an "earnest desire to learn" tribal spiritual knowledge and that his visits to the Navajo Nation were not token appearances but part of ongoing relationships. Some of his efforts were practical: he helped bring films and media attention to communities that previously had limited access to mainstream outlets, and he pushed for Native representation in production and storytelling.
Colleagues in Hollywood noted his influence on other performers who increasingly took up environmental causes. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, a fellow NRDC board member, called Redford's death "a huge loss to our community" and praised his dual legacy as an actor and activist. Redford's interest in the landscape of the American West dated to his youth; after growing up in Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s, he said he was moved by the wide open spaces he encountered on a motorcycle trip through Provo Canyon, Utah, and later made the state his home.
Redford's advocacy combined policy work, fundraising and public visibility. He testified before lawmakers, recorded messages and spoke publicly about environmental threats, according to people who worked with him. He viewed storytelling as a primary tool for change, using films and television to make complex issues accessible.
As news of his death circulated, artists and environmental groups highlighted projects that bridged culture and conservation. Redford's career included Oscar-winning performances and a film festival he founded to celebrate American independent cinema, but friends and fellow activists said he measured success by sustained efforts to protect landscapes and support communities whose stories were often sidelined.
Redford's work with the Navajo Nation and other tribal communities illustrates a long-running commitment to collaboration rather than distant advocacy, tribal leaders and filmmakers said. Those relationships involved cultural exchange, local screenings and production opportunities that leaders say expanded the reach of Native voices in mainstream media.
He remained active in environmental advocacy and filmmaking into his later years, continuing to serve on nonprofit boards and to back projects that highlighted the intersection of place, policy and people. Those who knew him described a career in which art and activism were deliberately intertwined, leaving a legacy that spanned both Hollywood and the conservation movement.