{{Short description|Navajo actor from Arizona (born 1951)}} {{use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Geraldine Keams | image = | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1951|08|19}} | birth_place = Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | citizenship = Navajo Nation and U.S. | years_active = 1976–present | occupation = actor | known_for = | notable_works = | spouse = | website = }} '''Geraldine Keams''' (born August 19, 1951) is a Navajo actress. She is best known for her work in numerous television series, often playing a maternal role.<ref name="aaanativearts">{{cite web |last=SiJohn |first=Raven |title=Navajo actress has last laugh on Dharma and Greg |url=http://www.aaanativearts.com/native-actors-movies-tv/native-american-actors-actress/427-navajo-actress-has-last-laugh-on-dharma-and-greg.html |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709100054/http://www.aaanativearts.com/native-actors-movies-tv/native-american-actors-actress/427-navajo-actress-has-last-laugh-on-dharma-and-greg.html |archive-date=2014-07-09 |access-date=2017-12-27 |website=AAA Native Arts}}</ref>
==Biography== Keams was born on August 19, 1951, in Flagstaff, Arizona. She was raised on the Navajo reservation then went to the University of Arizona, where she studied drama and film.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=ees |access-date=2026-03-09 |website=scholarscompass.vcu.edu}}</ref>
After graduating from college, Keams moved to New York City to pursue theater.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://gerikeams.com/?page_id=71|title=Geri Keams » Biography – Geri Keams|website=gerikeams.com|access-date=2018-04-03|archive-date=2018-04-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404073104/http://gerikeams.com/?page_id=71|url-status=dead}}</ref> In New York, she wrote and performed with Hanay Geiogamah's (Kiowa/Delaware) Native American Theater Ensemble at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Entities/3646 "Resident Company: Native American Theatre Ensemble". Accessed April 3, 2018.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241126231158/https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Entities/3646 |date=November 26, 2024 }}</ref> She adapted a Navajo creation story for the 1972 production ''Na Haaz Zan'' and also performed in Geiogamah's ''Body Indian''.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/1163 "Production: 'Na Haaz Zan' and 'Body Indian' (1972)". Accessed April 3, 2018.]</ref> The ensemble took both pieces on tour in 1972 and 1973, performing at the University of New Mexico, the College of Santa Fe, Haskell Indian Junior College, the Walker Art Center, the American Indian Center in Chicago, the Smithsonian Institution, Rough Rock Demonstration School in Chinle, Arizona, Springfield College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Dartmouth College, and the University at Buffalo, among other places.<ref>La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. [https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/Occurrences/2952 "Tour: American Indian Theatre Ensemble US Tour (Feb-April 1973)". Accessed April 3, 2018.] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722005258/https://catalog.lamama.org/Detail/occurrences/2952 |date=July 22, 2024}}</ref> In 1976, she also directed the show ''Flight of the Army Worm,'' which performed at the Navajo Nation Health Symposium.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1194&context=nhd |access-date=2026-03-09 |website=digitalrepository.unm.edu}}</ref>
Keams made her film debut playing Little Moonlight in Clint Eastwood's western ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' (1976).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Geraldine Keams |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/geraldine-keams/bio/3000455797/ |access-date=2026-03-09 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}</ref>
In 2021, she had a recurring role in the Peacock sitcom ''Rutherford Falls'', about relationships between a fictional Native American tribe and the New England town it borders. Showrunner Sierra Teller Ornelas described Keams as "Navajo royalty", saying, "When she walked on the set, I was starstruck".<ref name="Nav">{{cite news |title=New TV comedy 'Rutherford Falls' involves 4 Diné |url=https://navajotimes.com/ae/new-tv-comedy-rutherford-falls-involves-4-dine/ |access-date=May 21, 2021 |agency=Navajo Times |date=April 1, 2021 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522014507/https://navajotimes.com/ae/new-tv-comedy-rutherford-falls-involves-4-dine/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In addition to her film work, Keams gives live performances and workshops. She is a resident artist at the Los Angeles Music Center.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}} Keams currently resides in Pasadena, California.{{Citation needed|date=March 2026}}
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1976 |''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' |Little Moonlight |film |- |1977 |''The Car'' |Donna |film |- |1982 |''Born to the Wind'' |Wind Woman |television series |- |1991 |''Twin Peaks'' |Irene Littlehorse |television series |- |1991 |''Northern Exposure'' |Great Aunt |television series |- |1993 |''Shadowhunter'' |Doctor |TV movie |- |1996 |''The Secret of Lizard Woman'' |Lizard Woman |television series |- |2001 |''Dharma & Greg'' |Meditation Leader |television series |- |2002 |''The Slaughter Rule'' |Gretchen Two Dogs |film |- |2002 |''Angels Don't Sleep Here'' |Arlene Grey Eagle |film |- |2002 |''Skinwalkers'' |Gina |TV movie |- |2003 |''DreamKeeper'' |Iktome's Wife |TV movie |- |2003 |''Edge of America'' |Mother Tsosie |TV movie |- |2003 |''Scrambled'' |Dora |film |- |2005 |''A Thousand Roads'' | |short film |- |2005 |''Buffalo Dreams'' |Abuela Rose |TV movie |- |2008 |''Comanche Moon'' |Hema |mini-series |- |2010 |''Pickin' and Grinnin''' |Hopi Woman |film |- |2010 |''Faster'' |Preacher's Wife |film |- |2012 |''Arcadia'' |Security Guard |film |- |2021 |''Rutherford Falls'' |Rayanne |television series<ref name="Nav" /> |- |2021 |''Reservation Dogs'' |Mabel |television series |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=ees Transcribed interview with Keams (1983)] * {{IMDb name|id=0443789}} * [http://gerikeams.com Geri Keams' website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404073156/http://gerikeams.com/ |date=2018-04-04 }} * [http://catalog.lamama.org/index.php/Detail/Entity/Show/entity_id/4395 Keams' page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections] * [http://filmcatalog.nmai.si.edu/person/365/ Keams on the National Museum of the American's Indian Film & Media Catalog]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keams, Geraldine}} Category:American film actresses Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Actresses from Arizona Category:American stage actresses Category:Navajo Nation people Category:20th-century Native American people Category:21st-century Native American people Category:20th-century Native American women Category:21st-century Native American actresses Category:Native American people from Arizona Category:Navajo women Category:People from Flagstaff, Arizona Category:Actors from Coconino County, Arizona