Casey Camp-Horinek is an award-winning Native American actress well-known for portraying Gran Gran in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon’s animated TV series “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
Before her role as Gran Gran, Casey played Grandma Irene in Hulu’s TV series “Reservation Dogs,” and Grandmother in the 2024 film “The Windigo.”
Early Life and Background
Casey Camp-Horinek was born into a Native American tribe called the Ponca Nation, Oklahoma on June 6, 1948. Camp-Horinek is currently 75 years old.
In terms of siblings, she has a brother named Carter Camp who serves as the leader of the American Indian Movement and War Chief of Wounded Knee in 1973
Camp-Horinek is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, a Native rights activist, environmentalist, and the traditional Drumkeeper for the Ponca Pa-tha-ta, Woman’s Scalp Dance Society.
She has spent 40 years of her life with her family in Ponca Nation. Also, she has visited different parts of the current as a result of her career.
Acting Career
Casey Camp-Horinek has been acting for many years and has played various roles in different movies and TV shows. She started in 1988 with a TV movie called The Trial of Standing Bear.
Over the years, she took on roles like Goyahkla’s mother in Geronimo (1993) and Aunt Elsie Flood in Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee (1994).
Casey continued acting, playing different characters in movies like The Broken Chain (1993) and Lakota Moon (1999). In 2003, she portrayed Sky Woman in DreamKeeper.
As the years went by, Casey was in films such as Barking Water (2009), Behind the Door of a Secret Girl (2014), and Painted Woman (2017).
She also acted in recent projects like Rutherford Falls (2021), Asking for It (2021), and Reservation Dogs (2021–2023).
In 2021, she played in Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher and Fancy Dance, and in 2023, she was in a short film called Water Has A Memory.
The latest project we know about is The Windigo in 2024, where she played the character Grandmother.
She’s currently part of the upcoming TV series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” (2024), playing the role of Gran Gran (the grandmother of Katara and Sokka portrayed by Kiawentiio Tarbell and Ian Ousley) in eight episodes.
Additionally, Casey is featured in the short film “Other Plans,” where she portrays the character Ruth.
Moreover, Casey has recently completed her work in “The Heart Stays,” where she will be seen portraying the character I-ko.
Casey Camp-Horinek Husband, Children, Grandchildren, and Great-grandchildren
Casey Camp-Horinek has enjoyed decades of marriage with her husband Michael Horinek, who is from Newkirk, Okla.
The couple has four grown-up children whose names are Julie, Mekasi, Suzaatah, and Jeff. For now, we were only able to identify two grandchildren Casey Mi’tainga and Louise, and a great-grandson named Tayven.
Filmography
- Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024)
- Other Plans (Post-production)
- The Heart Stays (Completed)
- The Windigo (2024)
- Found (2023)
- Water Has A Memory (2023)
- Fancy Dance (2023)
- Reservation Dogs (2021–2023)
- Asking for It (2021)
- Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher (2021)
- Rutherford Falls (2021)
- Painted Woman (2017)
- Behind the Door of a Secret Girl (2014)
- “Sometimes you must lean into the wind to stand straight.” (2013)
- Running Deer (2013)
- Barking Water (2009)
- Share the Wealth (2006)
- Goodnight Irene (2005)
- DreamKeeper (2003)
- Lakota Moon (1999)
- Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee (1994)
- The Broken Chain (1993)
- Geronimo (1993)
- The Trial of Standing Bear (1988)