Mona Darkfeather
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Mona Darkfeather (January 13, 1882 – September 3, 1977) was an American silent film actress.
Born Josephine Mercedes Workman in Los Angeles, California, of Scottish/Chilean (Mother) and English/Native American (Father) ancestry, she got her start in film when she answered a Bison Motion Pictures advertisement in a local newspaper. The movie studio was looking for someone with the physical attributes that would allow them to portray an American Indian and who was physically capable of doing stunts and riding horses. While she had never acted before, Workman fit the appearance director Thomas Ince wanted. She apparently embellished her riding skills as she had none, but nevertheless quickly learned horsemanship. Given the stage name Mona Darkfeather, she was cast in the starring role as an Indian maiden named Owanee in the 1911 film "Owanee's Great Love." She soon became famous as Princess Darkfeather noted for leaping onto her pony "Comanche" and galloping away on bareback. She told reporters she was an Indian Princess, saying she had been made a blood member of the Blackfoot Nation and given the title of Princess by Chief Big Thunder. So successful was the studio's promotion of Princess Mona Darkfeather that over the years, and even in 2005, she is frequently referred to as an American Indian actress.
Although her film career only lasted about 9 years (1909-1917), she appeared in eighty-six one-reel western melodramas and feature-length films playing an Indian or Spanish woman. During her career, Darkfeather made films for the Selig Polyscope Company then worked under director George Melford at Kalem Studios before joining Universal Studios in 1914. While at Universal, she made a number of films for director Frank Montgomery. The two began a relationship that led to marriage. Divorced in 1928, she remarried Frank Montgomery in 1937. She is reported to have been married to actor Artie Ortego at some point, but there is no evidence to support this to date.
In 1917, Darkfeather made her last film and for a time afterwards performed on stage headlined as Princess Darkfeather. She died in 1977 in Los Angeles and was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. There is information on her prominent Workman family at the Homestead Museum in City of Industry, California.
