Observations on Indians in the Movies

Hey Everybody,

  Can anybody name me a famous movie about Indians?  Outside of the cowboy pictures, of course.  I mean movies about Native Americans.  Here’s a short list of all of the ones you could probably come up with if I gave you a few minutes:  A Man Called Horse, Little Big Man, Thunderheart, Dances With Wolves, most recently, Windtalkers, and how about Geronimo, An American Legend?

  What do all these movies about Indians have in common?  Nope, it’s not the Native Americans, it’s the white guys who starred in them.  Richard Harris became famous for his dramatic portrayal of a sun dance.  Dustin Hoffman played a white guy who told a story about him being an Indian but no one would believe him.  Val Kilmer was supposed to have an Indian parent, I believe and then went on a vision quest!  Kevin Costner tried to produce and direct the most ‘authentic’ picture depicting Indians ever and went way over the top in his zealousness.  Windtalkers, right.  That was that Nicholas Cage movie where he protected that Navajo code talker.  What was that code talker's name again?  Anyone?

  What about a movie with a grandiose title like Geronimo, An American Legend?!  I picked up the dvd to check it out at the rental store lately and who’s pictured on the cover?  Jason Patric, Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall and Matt Damon.  Which one of them was the American Legend in the starring role?  I’ll give you a couple of minutes to think about that one.

  This has always been my biggest gripe about Native themed pictures.  They never star a Native.  I know Hollywood is all about the bottom line and all that, but if you’re not going to do it right, please stop.  I’ve been insulted enough.

  Then there’s the plot contrivance of the Indian guy in the picture always having a ‘vision quest’ or some other mystical, magical, spiritual experience or power.  Puh-lease.  The only thing magical on the rez is the frybread.  Now that’s something to experience!

  If you’re curious about watching a film with a realistic portrayal of Native life, scour the local video rental place for a copy of one of these:  Pow Wow Highway, Smoke Signals, Skins, or Naturally Native.

  I took my daughter to see Smoke Signals at the theater when it came out.  After a while, she asked me why I was crying.  At the time, I told her I just thought the movie was sad, but truth be told, that movie nailed my father and I to the wall.  It was like so much of my life’s experience was on celluloid.  It was happier at the ending and my daughter and I left the theater singing that song about George Washington’s teeth but this one cut close.

  I would also request that you continue to keep an eye out for Native American actors.  It’s hard for them to get cast as Natives unless the movie’s Native produced, so they do a lot of character stuff as rough and tumble types and crazies and such.  Notable in the last 10-20 years is the work of Wes Studi (the star of that there Geronimo pic mentioned earlier), Gary Farmer, Graham Greene, Rodney Grant, Irene Bedard, Valerie Red-Horse, and Floyd Red Crow Westerman.

  I’d also like to give a salute to the first Native I remember seeing in the pictures, Mr. Will Sampson.  His portrayal of Natives was dead on in every picture I saw him in.  Ha!  Then again, I always wondered why we didn’t see more Indians in the pictures.

  I’ve been very fortunate, I’ve had the chance to meet several of these notable actors; Valerie Red-Horse (who’s husband when I met her was an Oakland Raiders linebacker who nearly crushed my hand when I shook hands with the guy); Irene Bedard, (whom was very cordial with my daughter so I had to get their picture taken together); Floyd Westerman (who I had the pleasure to hang out drinking with one night in Palm Springs); and Mr. Rodney Grant (who got involved with an organization I belong to and have since become personal friends with).

  Gary Farmer, Graham Greene and I are all from the same reservation, the Six Nations Indian Reservation in Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada.  Also notable from this same reservation are Robbie Robertson (of The Band fame), and another actor whose work you probably saw on one of them Saturday morning serials, Harold Smith.  Harold was widely known as his stage name:  Jay Silverheels.

  Harold Smith had notable work in Hollywood following WWII and worked in pictures with Tyrone Power, Jimmy Stewart, Maureen O’Hara, Audie Murphy, Anne Bancroft and even a Bob Hope movie.  He became world reknown though when in the early 1950’s he took on the part of Tonto opposite Clay Moore as the Lone Ranger.

  So as you can tell, I’m especially proud of those of us who have made it in the larger society to make a name for our people.  In recent years, the one Native American actor who can best illustrate the Indian way of life has been Adam Beach.  Adam was that code talker that Nick Cage said he’d kill if it looked like he was going to get captured.  Nice dramatic delivery of that line there Nick.

  And I know some of you are thinking about that recent movie that wasn’t about that Indian guy but the movie seemed to be all about him the longer it went on.  I’m referring, of course, to Flags Of Our Fathers.  Adam Beach portrayed Ira Hayes in Clint’s movie.

  So I’m talking about this movie with a friend of mine at work.  He asked me about it because I was in the Marines (76-80).  Then he made an off-hand remark to the effect, “Yeah it was really a compelling film but the second half turned into a movie about that Indian guy.”  By now, you could probably picture the expression on my face when this guy blurted this out.  (And yes, he still lives.)

  I think that movie took such a turn after a while because of the four that the movie was about, Ira Hayes had the more gut-wrenching, tragic story.  Indian life can be like that and when the picture shows us what Ira was like and did after he got out of the Marines, he nailed what I think was the ethics and world view were for him.  There didn’t appear to be anything glossed over and from what I know about Ira Hayes’ story, there were no plot contrivances here, he did what did.

  The only thing I can tell you about him is that the belief in Indian country is that he just didn’t die one night of exposure as shown in the movie, he was beaten and left for dead after a gambling dispute on another night of drinking and yes, by another Indian.  Then again, dead Indians just aren’t investigated as being a possible murder.  Who cares about dead Indians?

  And speaking of dead Indians, let me close with a few comments on John Ford and John Wayne, two guys that caused a lot of them.  John Wayne made his persona on cowboy pics and that didn’t always mean fighting the injuns.  John Ford, on the other hand, seemed to have it in for the red man.  In Indian country, John Ford’s westerns are largely viewed as racist and demeaning and insulting to Natives.  Notwithstanding that the film community largely considers John Ford’s westerns to be classics.

  Here’s some links for those of you interested in following up on this topic and for making up your own mind.

Here’s a quick overview with some relative information:

http://www.lipmagazine.org/articles/revichurchill_35.htm

For you movie buffs:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/imagesnatives.html

http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/indices/NAmovie.html

For those of you who enjoy a good book:

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/IndigenousBib.html

http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmai/naster.htm