The%20American%20West%20on%20film

1
The American West on film

• Dances With Wolves Tombstone

2
Key Tensions
Native Americans
Buffalo HuntersRailroadsU. S. Government
Cattlemen
Sheep Herders
Ranchers
Farmers
3
Key Tensions
EthnicMinorities
Nativists
Big Business Interests mining,
timberLocal Govt. OfficialsFarmersBuffalo
Hunters
Environmentalists
Lawlessness of the Frontier
Civilizing Forces
4
Railroad Construction
5
Causes of the Indian Wars

• Clash of world views
• Corrupt Indian bureau
• Cattle take over the land
• Scandals/ bribes
• Massacres Sand Creek / Wounded Knee
• Discovery of gold
• Land taken by miners, farmers, railroads
• Broken promises/treaties promises of resources
• Killing buffalo Indians food source
• Reservation system a failure

6
Plains Indians

• NomadicTribes followed the seasonal grazing and
  migration of bison
• were the chief source for items which Plains
  Indians made from their flesh, hide and bones,
  such as food, cups, decorations, crafting tools,
  knives, and clothing
• Lived in tipis because they were easily assembled
  and allowed the nomadic life

7
Plains Indians Edward Curtis Photos
8
Plains Indians Edward Curtis Photos
9
Plains Indians Edward Curtis Photos
10
Bison Skulls mid-1870s
Original range Range as of 1870 Range as of 1889
dark numbers indicate number of bison as of
January 1st 1889 in remaining areas.
11
Why exterminate the bison?

• The main reason they were hunted was for their
  skins, with the rest of the animal left behind to
  decay on the groundBones were collected and
  shipped east (fertilizer)
• Government promoted bison hunting for various
  reasons
• to allow ranchers to range their cattle w/o
  competition
• weaken the Indian population and pressure them to
  remain on reservations
• W/o bison, the Indians would be forced to leave
  or starve
• The railroad industry also wanted bison herds
  eliminated
• Bison on tracks could damage locomotives when the
  trains failed to stop
• Herds took shelter in the artificial cuts formed
  by the grade of the track winding though
  mountains in winterthus delays

12
Indian Reservations Today
13
Crazy Horse Monument Black Hills, SD
Lakota Chief
14
Mt. Rushmore Black Hills, SD
15
Bury my heart at wounded knee (hbo)

• December 29, 1890 near Wounded Knee Creek on the
  Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Soth
  Dakota at least 150 men, women and children of
  the Lakota Sioux were killed and 51 wounded. Some
  estimates placed the number of dead at 300. 25 US
  troopers also died and 39 wounded. It's believed
  that many of these were the victims of friendly
  fire, as the shooting took place at close range
  in chaotic conditions.
• On that December morning the troops went into the
  camp to disarm the Lakota. One version of events
  claims a deaf tribesman named Black Coyote was
  reluctant to give up his rifle, claiming he paid
  a lot for it. A scuffle over Black Coyote's rifle
  escalated and a shot was fired which resulted in
  the 7th Cavalry's opening fire from all sides.
  Most of the men had already surrendered their
  weapons. The few warriors who still had weapons
  began shooting back, but were quickly suppressed.
  The surviving Lakota fled, but U.S. cavalrymen
  pursued and killed many...most were unarmed.

16
Bury my heart at wounded knee (hbo)
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vKIqxBajeHeM
17
Dances with wolves (1990)

• Directed by and starring Kevin Costner
• Film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name
  by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union
  Army lieutenant who travels to the American
  frontier to find a military post, and his
  dealings with a group of Lakota Indians
• Won 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture.
• Much of the dialogue is spoken in Lakota with
  English subtitles. It was shot in South Dakota
  and Wyoming

18
Dances with wolves Historical Background

• The film is set against the backdrop of the
  post-Civil War frontier, construction of the
  transcontinental railroad, and westward expansion
• Lakota Sioux--Indigenous people of the Great
  Plains.
• Occupied lands in both North and South Dakota
• At war with US govt for much of the mid-1800s
• Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868no mining or white
  settlement in Black Hills
• 4 years later gold discoveredthen what?
• Battle of the Little Bighorn-1876 (Custer, etc.)
• Great Sioux War 1877--Lakota were confined to
  reservations, prevented from hunting buffalo and
  forced to accept government food distribution.
• There was a real John Dunbar who worked as a
  missionary for the Pawnee in the 1830s40s, and
  sided with the Indians in a dispute with
  government farmers and a local Indian agent. It
  is unclear if the name "John Dunbar" was chosen
  as a corollary to the real historical figure.

19
The American West PaRT II

• Wild West Lawmen and Outlaws

20
Wild West

• Second half of the 19th century
• Pioneers pushed their way westward in search of
  land, better lives, gold and silver, and to
  escape the law
• The Turner Thesis (1893)
• the origin of the distinctive egalitarian,
  democratic, aggressive, and innovative features
  of the American character has been the American
  frontier experience
• Mining towns, railroad towns, cow towns and
  farming towns were the primary settlements
• Alcohol, gambling, prostitution, and a general
  lawlessness were central to life in these western
  towns

21
Outlaws and Lawmen

• After the Civil War, many of the men who had
  become accustomed to violence, and often having
  lost their lands or fortunes, turned quickly to
  the other side of the law
• Westward expansion proceeded well ahead of
  official peace officers and regular courts of law
  
• In the early days of the mining and cattle boom
  towns, there were no prisons in which to lock up
  outlaws
• Little option but to chain their captives to
  trees or wagons.
• These factors encouraged vigilantes to form
  illegal posses to hunt down outlaws
• Later, sheriffs and peace officers formed legal
  posses by calling together a group of men to
  assist them.
• Doc Holladay, Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, Billy
  The Kid, etc.

22
Characteristics of the Western

• Western films often depict conflicts with Native
  Americans
• Early films portray the "Injuns" as dishonorable
  villains
• Later films gave Native Americans a more
  sympathetic treatment
• Characters
• The rugged cowboy/sheriff with a strong sense of
  justice
• The reformed outlaw
• The main antagonist (hero often meets his
  double that he must kill)
• Setting
• Rugged mountains or gently sweeping landscapes,
  mostly - of course - far away from civilization.
• Saloons, jails, and main streets in small
  frontier towns
• Conflicts
• good vs. bad, new arrivals vs. Indians, virtue
  vs. evil, human vs. nature

23
Tombstone (1993)

• The film is based on events relating to the
  Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, along with the Earp
  Vendetta which followed it soon after in
  Tombstone, Arizona during the 1880s.
• Depicts a number of western outlaws and lawmen,
  such as Wyatt Earp, William Brocius, Johnny
  Ringo, and Doc Holliday as it explores crime,
  political corruption and law enforcement in the
  old American West.

24
tombstone Historical Background

• Tombstone, Arizona was a notoriously violent
  mining town
• Silver was discovered in 1877, and by 1881 the
  town had a population of over 10,000
• The Cowboys were a band of friends and who teamed
  up for crimes
• The Earp brothers assumed roles as lawmen which
  led to conflicts with the Cowboys
• The Gunfight at the O.K. Corralmost famous
  gunfight in the history of the American Old West