The American West on film

Dances With Wolves Tombstone

Key TensionsKey TensionsKey TensionsKey TensionsNative

AmericansBuffalo HuntersRailroadsU. S. Government

Cattlemen Sheep Herders

Ranchers Farmers

Key TensionsKey TensionsKey TensionsKey TensionsEthnic

MinoritiesNativists

EnvironmentalistsBig Business Interests [mining, timber]Local Govt. OfficialsFarmersBuffalo Hunters

Lawlessness of the Frontier

“Civilizing” Forces

Railroad ConstructionRailroad ConstructionRailroad ConstructionRailroad Construction

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

Plains Indians• Nomadic…Tribes 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

Plains Indians: Edward Curtis Photos

Plains Indians: Edward Curtis Photos

Plains Indians: Edward Curtis Photos

Bison Skulls mid-1870s

Original rangeRange as of 1870Range as of 1889 – dark numbers indicate number of bison as of January 1st 1889 in remaining areas.

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 ground…Bones 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 winter…thus delays

Indian Reservations Indian Reservations TodayToday

Indian Reservations Indian Reservations TodayToday

Crazy Horse Monument: Black Hills, Crazy Horse Monument: Black Hills, SDSD

Crazy Horse Monument: Black Hills, Crazy Horse Monument: Black Hills, SDSD

Lakota ChiefLakota ChiefLakota ChiefLakota Chief

Mt. Rushmore: Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore: Black Hills, SDSD

Mt. Rushmore: Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore: Black Hills, SDSD

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.

Bury my heart at wounded knee (hbo)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIqxBajeHeM

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

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 gov’t for much of the mid-1800s• Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868—no mining or white settlement in Black Hills

– 4 years later gold discovered…then 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 1830s–40s, 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.

The American West: PaRT II

Wild West: Lawmen and Outlaws

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

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.

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

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.

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. Corral…most famous gunfight in the history of the American Old West