12_-_Bury_My_Heart_at_Wounded_Knee_Film_Review_Assignment-1.doc Film Response #2 Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Beginning just after the bloody Sioux victory over General Custer at Little Big Horn, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee intertwines the perspectives of three characters: Charles Eastman (Beach), né Ohiyesa, a young, Dartmouth-educated, Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation; Sitting Bull (Schellenberg), the proud Lakota chief who refuses to submit to U.S. government policies designed to strip his people of their identity, their dignity and their sacred land - the gold-laden Black Hills of the Dakotas; and Senator Henry Dawes (Quinn), who was one of the architects of the government policy on Indian affairs. While Eastman and patrician schoolteacher Elaine Goodale (Paquin) work to improve life for the Indians on the reservation, Senator Dawes lobbies President Grant (Thompson) for more humane treatment, opposing the bellicose stance of General William Tecumseh Sherman (Feore). Hope rises for the Indians in the form of the prophet Wovoka (Studi) and the Ghost Dance - a messianic movement that promises an end of their suffering under the white man. This hope is obliterated after the assassination of Sitting Bull and the massacre of hundreds of Indian men, women and children by the 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee Creek on Dec. 29, 1890. (HBO Films) Some critics have suggested that the film Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee “gets to the heart of the divide between the consciences of the world of the Sioux and the European American. This is how the west was won, by a condescending arrogance and brutal violence, and this film asks serious questions as to whether U.S. attitudes have changed at all since these days now that the whole world is its backyard.” Another critic might offer that the film is more about the destruction of a group of people through failed legislation designed to “civilize” them. In a well-written response of approximately 300 words, discuss how you would respond to either one of these interpretations of the film. Your paper should be a thoughtful response in which you use specific examples to support your assertions. The paper is due according to the date shown on the syllabus. No late papers will be accepted.