Mala

Mala (1906–1952, Canada/United States) Mala was an Inuk actor born Ray Wise on Baffin Island, who became one of the first Native American performers to achieve prominence in Hollywood during the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in several Republic Pictures productions, most notably as the Polynesian character in the serial Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island (1936), and appeared in films like The Jungle Princess (1936) and Call of the Yukon (1938). His career provided early representation for Indigenous actors in mainstream American cinema, though he often portrayed non-Inuit roles due to limited opportunities.