The Stars of Twilight

Before I post this interview, I want to thank Gil for opening up and trying to share the Native heritage with everyone. I'm from the Choctaw and Cherokee tribes and I hold my heritage dear to my heart, so thank you Gil.

Twitter users are having fun discovering Native American talent thanks to the exciting New Moon spotlight of Native American characters. On the forefront is actor Gil Birmingham, Twilight's Billy Black. He's amassed an amazing 69,000 plus followers and has created much buzz on Twitter with his many public appearances. He created excitement at the Native American music awards in October and with the reprising of his Billy Black character in New Moon which debuted late last month.
Birmingham who is from the Comanche tribe, tells Examiner.com's Twitter Entertainment Examiner that as Native Americans, "We are a people with a strong sense of history and our traditions, but we are more than just our history. We live and work all over the country, and are not all living or were raised on reservations. People all over the world are fascinated with the Native American way of life, but they think we dress in traditional regalia and chant all the time, lol. We don’t. While we hold our sacred traditions very high, we dress, talk, act and live like everyone else. I believe in the oneness of human beings, and that all are connected."
When the Twitter Entertainment Examiner asked Birmingham what Billy Black would think of Native American Heritage Day falling on Black Friday he said, "The irony in choosing the biggest shopping day of the year as Native American Heritage Day would not be lost by Billy Black. Statistically, with an unemployment rate for Native Americans of 25% nationwide, which can climb as high has nearly 70% on the rez, it is hard not to see the irony of the date that was selected to honor Native American Heritage. That being said, it is good to focus attention on American Indians and our contributions to society."

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