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Billy Mills

Makata Taka Hela

Mills reacted modestly and with great dignity to all the media attention that was focused on him after his 10,000-meter win. He took a tour to more than fifty countries, emphasizing his drive to win and his pride in his Native American heritage. In an article in Biography Resource Center, Mills said, "I wanted to make a total effort, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Even if I lost, with this effort I believed that I would hold the greatest key to success."

In response, Mills's tribe, the Lakota, honored him with traditional gifts, made him a warrior, and gave him a Lakota name, Makata Taka Hela, which means "respects the earth" or "loves his country." He became a hero for Native American youth on his home reservation at Pine Ridge. Mills typically downplayed his own accomplishments, often saying that other Native American people were more talented than he was, and simply needed opportunity to achieve their goals.

After his Olympic win, Mills continued to train. He set a world record in the six-mile run in 1965, with a time of 27:11.6, and set American records in the 10,000-meter run and the 3-mile run. He also continued to serve in the Marines. At the time, the Vietnam War was at its height. Mills felt that he could not indulge himself in running for sport when his contemporaries were fighting and being killed. Although the Marines never sent him to Vietnam, he was deeply saddened by the deaths of men in his unit. He finished his Marine career as a captain, then worked for the Department of the Interior.

In 1968, Mills tried out for the Olympic team, but missed making the team because of a technical flaw on his application form. He still ran in the qualifying race, and beat the official "winner"—who did go to the Games—by thirteen seconds.

Running Brave

Billy Mills's life story was dramatized in the 1983 film Running Brave. Starring Robby Benson as Mills, the movie is a powerful statement not only about Mills's Olympic achievement, but also the effects of racism on Native Americans. In CultureDose.com, John Nesbit wrote, "There really is a special feeling, a sense of pride that occurs within Native Americans when one of their own succeeds in the white world, and Running Brave captures this well."

The film opens at a high school track meet, where Mills's performance impresses white University of Kansas coach Bill Easton. When Mills accepts the track scholarship Easton offers, he finds himself isolated and uprooted on the predominantly white campus. Mills relies on his own inner sense of pride and the will to achieve to get through this tough time.

As Mills moves on to compete and win in the Olympic 10,000 meters, the film accurately depicts the race and its outcome; as Nesbit wrote, "even the incredible final finish mirrors archive footage."

Where Is He Now?

In addition to his own speaking work, Mills is also the national spokesperson for Running Strong for American Indian Youth, a charitable organization that helps poor Native American people meet their needs for food, health care, clothing, water, and shelter, and teaches them how they can become self-sufficient and take pride in their heritage. In addition, the organization sponsors young Native American runners and encourages them to succeed. On the Running Strong for American Indian Youth Web page, an article about Mills explained, "In Lakota culture, someone who has achieved success would have a 'giveaway' to thank the support system of family and friends who helped him achieve his goal. Billy's work with Running Strong is his way of giving something back to American Indian people." In People, a reporter quoted Mills as saying, "I've designed my life so that I can continue to give."

In addition to his work as a speaker, Mills teamed up with writer Nicholas Sparks to write Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Understanding. In the book, which is a parable of a young man's spiritual journey, a young man is given a mysterious scroll by his father after his sister dies. Through the teachings in the scroll, he learns to move through his grief and pain and find happiness and spiritual insight. In Booklist, reviewer Pat Monaghan called it "an optimistic book likely to appeal widely." By 2002, the book had gone through four printings.

This experience left Mills bitter at the fact that red tape could keep him out of the Olympics. However, as

Billy Mills, left, crossing finish line

before, he moved on with his life instead of remaining discouraged. According to a writer in Contemporary Heroes and Heroines he said, "A man has a lot to do with deciding his own destiny. I can do one of two things—go through life bickering and complaining about the raw deal I got, or go back into competition to see what I can do."

Mills' Olympic win was the inspiration for a 1983 movie, Running Brave, which Mills wrote with his wife Pat. The film, starring Robby Benson as Mills, was produced by Englander Productions.

In 1984, Mills was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. He told Jay Weiner in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "The first thing I think of when I think Olympics is that it shows how there can be unity through diversity. It's such a powerful thing."

Mills eventually moved to Sacramento, California, with his wife, Pat, and their three daughters, Christy, Lisa, and Billie JoAnne. He became a successful insurance salesperson, and then became a motivational speaker, running his own organization, the Billy Mills Speakers Bureau. Through this bureau, he works with many charities, such as the Christian Relief Services and the Native American Sports Council.

In addition to his charitable work, Mills has become a quiet advocate for political change. He sees the reservation system under which many Native Americans live as a form of apartheid, and believes that the way Native Americans elect senators and congressional representatives should be reorganized in order to give them fair representation.

However, Mills was opposed to an idea presented by some Native American sports advocates. They suggested that Native Americans have their own sports team that would compete as an independent nation at the Olympics. Mills told Weiner, "As long as we benefit from being citizens of the United States we should compete for the U.S. team."

In 1997, Mills was made a member of the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, and in 1999, Mills was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame in Utica, New York. Of his induction, he told a Runner's World reporter, "I feel very fortunate and very thrilled, because I'm aware of the people who are in there already."

Additional topics

Famous Sports StarsTrack and FieldBilly Mills Biography - "live Your Life As A Warrior", "my Indianness Kept Me Striving", Chronology, Awards And Accomplishments - CONTACT INFORMATION, SELECTED WRITINGS BY MILLS: