Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

The film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee took place during the mid 1870's, mainly in Native American reservations, during a time when Native Americans began to be moved to these reservations. The Americans (government) felt that they needed to be in control of these Indians. They also thought that the Indians were worth less than a white man, and treated them accordingly to those thoughts. They did not act fairly upon the agreements and treaties. I believe that this film was important to evaluate relationship between settlers and Indians because it was shown through a character with an Indian point of view, but expressed an american perspective, which helps us understand each side. This relates to the "New West" by showing us ways the west was expanded and adapted over the years.

When we look at films relating to Native Americans and reservations we usually see a bias from one side: Settlers or Indians. With Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Charles Eastman (aka Ohiyesa) originally lived as a Native American. As a young boy he was sent east to be schooled. Growing up as a civilized American, he wanted to advocate for the natives. He worked as a doctor and mapped out areas for reservations. He followed his orders from the American officials, but was still truly a native. He showed us a business perspective, but also his heart went out to the Indians. He did not have a bias towards the indians or towards the settlers. He was objective. This is very important because if he was biased towards one side or the other, we could not understand the American motives or the natives feelings. The film also showed us the hardships and mistreatment that the Indians had to face. The relationship between the two societies was very harsh and formal, not a friendly relationship. They also often disagreed. It was clear that some people were sympathetic towards the indians but did not treat them equally.

While we are learning about the “New West”, this film illustrates an important example of how the west was expanded and adopted. With Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, we are able to understand religious adaptation and discrimination, along with cultural differences through expansion as a whole. Not only did we learn about Native life, but also about governmental procedures during the period of growth and development of the New West. Native Americans played a big role in the New West, which was clearly shown. The film portrayed manifest

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