The original conservationists on our planet were indigenous peoples who handed down their wisdom for maintaining Nature’s balance from generation to generations for hundreds and even thousands of years.

Joseph Marshall III was born and raised on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation, a member of the Sicangu Lakota Sioux tribe and an eloquent advocate for the fundamental principals that allow humans to coexist with species and live more gently on the land.

His latest book, To You We Shall Return: Lessons About Our Planet from the Lakota, is a powerful testament for the traditional practices and lifestyles that Native Americans inherently know are essential for life on Earth. The book has won numerous awards and stellar reviews.

Raised with his first language being Lakota, Marshall is a natural storyteller who has written nine nonfiction works, three novels, a collection of short stories and a screenplay. Due for publication in 2012 is Returning to The Lakota Way: Old Values to Save the Modern World, a sequel to his very popular The Lakota Way: Stories and Lessons for Living.

An honored biographer of Sioux warrior Crazy Horse, Marshall works with corporations and students in his Crazy Horse Leadership Seminar based on his book, The Power of Four: Leadership Lessons of Crazy Horse. The focal point of the full-day session is how character is a necessary and empowering element of leadership. The course uses a historical and biographical case study of Crazy Horse for participants to learn the four-point philosophy of the famed warrior’s leadership style and how to apply that to any scenario or organization today. The seminar has been presented to executives from major labor unions to the federal government.

When he is not writing or lecturing, Marshall is a much sought after actor who has appeared in several television documentaries, served as a technical advisor to filmmakers and has had roles in major television network mini-series. He was technical advisor and narrator for the Turner Network Television (TNT) and Dreamworks six-part mini-series Into the West, as well as portraying the on-screen role of “Loved by the Buffalo,” a Lakota medicine man. He also appeared in the Emmy-winning sequel to Lonesome Dove, Return to Lonesome Dove, The Real West and How the West was Lost.

His inspiration narrative video, Keep Going, is used in cultural discourse around the world. As Marshall says, “Cante wasteya nape ciyuzapelo,” or “With a good heart, I take your hand.”