Reel Indians: Native American Representation in Film, 1950-1970
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REEL INDIANS: NATIVE AMERICAN REPRESENTATION IN FILM, 1950-1970 By CHRISTOPHER COLT CHANEY Bachelor of Arts in History Southwestern Oklahoma State University Weatherford, Oklahoma 2008 Master of Arts in History Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma 2012 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May, 2017 REEL INDIANS: NATIVE AMERICAN REPRESENTATION IN FILM, 1950-1970 Dissertation Approved: Dr. L.G. Moses Dissertation Adviser Dr. William Bryans Dr. Michael Logan Dr. Stephen Perkins ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people that deserve credit for me making this far. It is vital that I thank my parents, Ken and Nolona Chaney for the support they have provided along the way. They provided a great example of work ethic and emotional support. My wife Katie has been more helpful than I can express on this page. From providing a soundboard to bounce ideas off of, to the occasional editor, and reminding me that I would complete the work. My committee members, Dr. Bill Bryans, Dr. Michael Logan, Dr. Ron McCoy, and Dr. Stephen Perkins have been helpful both inside and outside of the classroom. My advisor, Dr. L.G. Moses deserves credit for allowing me to find my way in the field, while subtly directing me in the right direction. He also taught me not to let my education get in the way of my learning. For that I am eternally grateful. My professors at Southwestern deserve credit for getting me ready for graduate school, once it became evident that pharmacy school was not for me. The late Dr. Richard Bromert started me along the journey to pursue American West and Native American history. Dr. Fred Gates, Dr. John Hayden, and David Hertzel also deserve acknowledgement for their guidance as well. Many friends have provided encouragement along the way. In particular Dr. Cody Smith, he kept me grounded along the way, with no help from me in certain situations. Without him, much of this would not have been possible This dissertation is dedicated to my grandparents, in particular Noel Crowson because of his fondness of history that comes through in me. iii Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. Name: CHRISTOPHER COLT CHANEY Date of Degree: MAY, 2017 Title of Study: REEL INDIANS: NATIVE AMERICAN REPRESENTATION IN FILM, 1950-1970 Major Field: HISTORY Abstract: The perception of Native Americans has constantly been in flux since Europeans began to colonize North America. Whether it was the Spanish, British, or later the Americans, each had a vision for what Indians were and could be. As popular culture mediums have changed, so have perceptions. From dime novels to Wild West Shows to big budget Hollywood films, Indians and frontier stories have received top billing. However, westerns have not always been accurate in their portrayal of Indians. Indian activists have been trying to get their voices heard and affect changes in the film industry since the early days of filmmaking. There has been lot of research describing the failures of filmmakers in representing native cultures; nevertheless, not all have been negative. Starting in 1950, before the peak of the civil rights movement and while westerns were still popular, some in Hollywood were making westerns that attempted to show Native Americans as real three-dimensional people and not caricatures of a forgotten time. Throughout the 1950s, there were westerns that began to focus on Indian stories or put Indians at the forefront of the film. By 1960, the western genre was waning in popularity. With the counter culture movement and a shift in the political climate, it is understandable that frontier stories were becoming outdated. The anti-war and satirical western are the most memorable involving Indians, from 1970, closing the tumultuous 1960s. Modern Native American filmmakers are finally seeing the changes for which the previous generations fought. These modern artists are able to tell their own stories and represent what they deem important to a larger audience. By studying the politics, activists, and films from 1950-1970 it is possible to tie in historical events from the frontier and examine what people from the era thought about the American West and Indians. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page PREFACE ......................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................4 I. THE EVOLUTION OF INDIAN PORTRAYAL AND PERCEPTION IN AMERICAN SOCIETY ...............................................................................................................26 II. INDIANS IN MOVIES AND TELEVISION: FROM SILVERHEELS TO SKYHAWK ...........................................................................................................40 III. THE 1950s .............................................................................................................59 Section I: Broken Arrow .......................................................................................65 Section II: Tomahawk ...........................................................................................72 Section III: Sitting Bull .........................................................................................84 Section IV: Apache ...............................................................................................89 Section V: The Searchers ......................................................................................98 Section VI: Reprisal!...........................................................................................105 Section VII: Westward Ho, the Wagons! ...........................................................114 Section VIII: Run of the Arrow ..........................................................................118 IV. THE 1960s ...........................................................................................................130 Section I: A Distant Trumpet ..............................................................................144 Section II: Hombre ..............................................................................................147 Section III: Soldier Blue .....................................................................................150 Section IV: Little Big Man .................................................................................157 V. EPILOGUE: TELLING THEIR OWN STORIES: 1989-2009 ..........................165 VI. CONCLUSION....................................................................................................180 VII. REFERENCES ...................................................................................................184 v PREFACE “Perhaps inevitably, even with the best intentions of being true to one’s subject (and it has to be recognized that best intentions have not always been to the fore in Hollywood), films made by white people for white audiences will inevitably produce an image of Indians designed to serve a white agenda. We see in Indians what we want to see, what we need to see.” 1 It is important in the study of history to focus on all aspects of society, not simply the majority or even the minority. All people are interconnected and deserve to have their stories told. Mainstream American culture has had a fascination with Indians since the inception of the United States. Native Americans have had thousands of stories told about them, but not necessarily by them. Wild West Shows provided Indians a place to relive their past that was disappearing and scholars believed that Indians were disappearing as well. Then with the invention of the moving picture, scholars began to try to capture their customs because of the belief that they were a dying race. Through this evolution people realized they could make money by telling stories involving Native Americans. Typically, there were frontier stories and the Indians were the villains that tried to kill 1 Edward Buscombe, ‘Injuns!’: Native Americans in the Movies (Bodmin, Cornwall: Reaktion Books LTD, 2006), 16. 1 hard working settlers by making war against them and the United States. While these stories might be intriguing, a simple study of history will show that Indians were three dimensional people and not caricatures from a dime store novel. Beginning in 1950 with the release of Broken Arrow there is stream of westerns that try to show the Indian side of the story that takes place along the frontier. The introduction describes what a western is and how that definition is important to the discussion. Along with the ideas about what constitutes a western film, there is an investigation into what the themes of the genre are concerning Native Americans during the 1950s and 1960s. Frontier is another term that is defined by the standards of Frederick Jackson Turner and modern sensibilities. To complete the definition there is historiographical section addressing the development of the term and how it was used. The historiography also shows the development of Native American scholarship. It concludes with a discussion of shared memory. Chapter one describes the evolution of the portrayal and perception of Indians from the early of the United States progressing to the dime novel and later to films. Chapter two provides an analysis of Native American participation