This blog post will deal with the actor and comedian Tatanka Means. The assignment requires a search topic, and I find it inspirational that Tatanka Means has followed in the footsteps of his father, celebrated activist Russell Means. Both men have taken it upon themselves to bring the issues and history of Native-Americans into the mainstream community, and this activism is very much welcomed and appreciated. Without it, some may not even know what a true Native-American even looks like or sounds like, and commentary on our existence may be regulated to the stereotypes of old. Fortunately, thanks to those like Tatanka, this is not the case.

Discussion on Search Engine Results

The assignment requires that several search engines be consulted regarding information about the subject at hand. The results are below. Before getting to the results, I present the part of the assignment in which we were asked to compare and contrast the sequence of search results. Interestingly, this has proven to be quite fruitful regarding the workings of how each search engine “thinks”.

For example, both Google and Bing display the actor’s main page first, and the IMDb page second. Interestingly, they diverge there. A significant aspect of this divergence is that Bing found it necessary to include a result on the meaning of the word Tatanka, because the actor’s last name is “Means”. Consequently, it seems that the search engine found it prudent to include results that explain what the word tatanka “means”. This is actually helpful for anyone who does not have the background to already know that “tatanka” means “Buffalo” in the Lakota language.

Equally as interesting, Yahoo placed the IMDb site at the top, and the actor’s own site was the second result. All three included the actor’s Twitter page in the top five, but only Google placed the actor’s Facebook page in the top five. Certainly there is a way to determine the popularity of certain forms of social media from these results, ans well as the relationships of between the search engines and the sites that appear in their search results, but since the obligations of the assignment have been met, I digress.

Discussion on Meta-Search Results

The Meta-Search results were very similar to the previous search results. Interestingly, just like Bing, all three of the meta searches included one result detailing the meaning of the word tatanka. It causes one to wonder if this is truly because of the last name “Means”, which could possibly confuse the search by making it seem that one is asking what tatanka means, or is this because the engines have some built-in function that automatically determine that a definition of the word tatanka is relevant.

Also, just like Google, only ixquick placed the actor’s Facebook page in the top five. Other results were similar across the board, with the IMDb site and the actor’s own personal site jockeying for position at the top.

Search Engine Results

Search String: Tatanka Means

Search Engine: www.Google.com

Top 5 Results:

http://www.tatankameans.com/

Welcome to Tatanka Means.com. Thank you for taking the time to visit Tatanka’s official website. Here you will find background information, resume, fan forum, and more.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1877441/

Tatanka Means was born on February 19, 1985 in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA as Tatanka Wanbli Sapa Xila Sabe Means. He is known for his work on A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), The Scorch Trials (2015) and The Host (2013)

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/05/30/tatanka-means-talks-million-ways-die-and-future-projects-155084

Actor/comedian/speaker Tatanka Means’ star continues to rise. His performance in Tiger Eyes reaped critical praise in 2013 and he’s been a regular supporting character on the Cinemax series Banshee in 2014; now you can see him, albeit briefly, alongside Wes Studi in the Seth MacFarlane comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West. He shared his thoughts on the film and his upcoming projects with ICTMN.

https://twitter.com/TatankaMeans?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

SCREEN ACTOR // STAND-UP COMEDIAN // Believe in Yourself. Healthy Living. Sobriety. Watch SAINTS & STRANGERS now on DVD Oglala Lakotah | Omaha | Dine’

https://www.facebook.com/meanstatanka/

North Dakota! Get to the polls and VOTE for my brotha Chase Iron Eyes Chase Iron Eyes TODAY for CONGRESS. Spread the word n let’s help get one of our own into office to represent correct. ‪#‎northdakota‬

Search String: Tatanka Means

Search Engine: Bing.com

Top 5 Results:

http://www.tatankameans.com/

Welcome to Tatanka Means.com. Thank you for taking the time to visit Tatanka’s official website. Here you will find background information, resume, fan forum, and more.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1877441/

Tatanka Means was born on February 19, 1985 in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA as Tatanka Wanbli Sapa Xila Sabe Means. He is known for his work on A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), The Scorch Trials (2015) and The Host (2013)

http://www.tatankameans.com/Bio.html

Tatanka Means is an award-winning actor, stand-up comedian and motivational speaker from Chinle, Arizona. He represents the Oglala Lakota, Omaha and Navajo Nations. His most recent movie credits include Saints & Strangers for the National Geographic Channel, A Million Ways to Die in The West with director Seth Macfarlane, and in his role as “Wolf” in, Tiger Eyes, based upon the acclaimed novel by author, Judy Blume. His performance for this breakout role was well received including positive reviews from Rolling Stone Magazine. Means won Best Actor awards at multiple film festivals for this role.

http://www.answers.com/Q/What_does_Tatanka_mean

Search String: Tatanka Means

Search Engine: Yahoo.com

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1877441/

Tatanka Means was born on February 19, 1985 in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA as Tatanka Wanbli Sapa Xila Sabe Means. He is known for his work on A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), The Scorch Trials (2015) and The Host (2013)

http://www.tatankameans.com/

Welcome to Tatanka Means.com. Thank you for taking the time to visit Tatanka’s official website. Here you will find background information, resume, fan forum, and more.

http://www.tatankameans.com/Bio.html

Tatanka Means is an award-winning actor, stand-up comedian and motivational speaker from Chinle, Arizona. He represents the Oglala Lakota, Omaha and Navajo Nations. His most recent movie credits include Saints & Strangers for the National Geographic Channel, A Million Ways to Die in The West with director Seth Macfarlane, and in his role as “Wolf” in, Tiger Eyes, based upon the acclaimed novel by author, Judy Blume. His performance for this breakout role was well received including positive reviews from Rolling Stone Magazine. Means won Best Actor awards at multiple film festivals for this role.

Meta-Search Engine Results

Search String: Tatanka Means

Search Engine: www.Dogpile.com

Search String: Tatanka Means

Greetings all,

I am a senior at Georgia State University majoring in History and minoring in Anthropology. Human civilization fascinates me, and I hope to use the skills that I attain to work in any number of fields in Anthropology and Historic Preservation.