A retired Canadian Mohawk wrestler, politician and activist, has died at 87.

Billy Two Rivers rose to fame as a wrestler in the ’50s, and spent nearly a quarter of a century in the ring before he turned to politics.

He was first elected to Kahnawake council in 1978 and served 10  terms, where he was an influential leader during the Oka crisis of 1990.

He stayed active in in his later years, acting in several movies and TV shows and remaining a prominent advocate for the promotion of the Mohawk language.

In 2017, he reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit against singer Van Morrison, whom Two Rivers had accused of using his photo on an album cover without permission.