Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)

A chronicle of how American Indians were displaced as the U.S. expanded west. Based on the book by Dee Brown.

Director:

Yves Simoneau

Writers:

Daniel Giat (screenplay), Dee Brown (based on the book by)

Stars:

Anna Paquin, August Schellenberg, Aidan Quinn

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 20 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Paquin	...	Elaine Goodale
Chevez Ezaneh	...	Ohiyesa / Young Charles
August Schellenberg	...	Sitting Bull
Duane Howard	...	Uncle
Aidan Quinn	...	Henry Dawes
Colm Feore	...	General Sherman
Fred Dalton Thompson	...	President Ulysses S. Grant (as Fred Thompson)
Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse	...	One Bull (as Nathan Chasing Horse)
Wayne Charles Baker	...	Jacob
Brian Stollery	...	Bishop Whipple
Shaun Johnston	...	Col. Nelson Miles
Gordon Tootoosis	...	Chief Red Cloud
Billy Merasty	...	Young Man Afraid
Morris Birdyellowhead	...	American Horse
Eddie Spears	...	Chasing Crane

Storyline

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, né Ohiyesa, a young, Dartmouth-educated, Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation; Sitting Bull, 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, who was one of the architects of the government policy on Indian affairs. While Eastman and patrician schoolteacher Elaine Goodale work to improve life for the Indians on the reservation, Senator Dawes lobbies President Grant for more humane treatment, opposing the bellicose stance of General William Tecumseh Sherman. Hope rises for the Indians in the form of the prophet Wovoka and the Ghost Dance - a messianic movement that promises an end of their ...

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Plot Keywords:

government | general | senator | u.s. government | chief | 

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Taglines:

The Epic Fall of the American Indian

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Genres:

Drama | History | Western

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Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Wounded Knee Project

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Wolf Films, Traveler's Rest Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally began development in 1995 as a two-part miniseries for ABC.

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Goofs

Shaun Johnston as Col. Nelson Miles is shown at the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty of April 29, 1868 wearing a Civil War Medal and an Indian Wars Medal. The first Civil War Campaign Medal was issued on May 26, 1909. The blue and gray ribbon shown in the film was not in use until August 12, 1913. The first Indian Wars Medal was issued July 15, 1908. The ribbon shown in the film with two dark bands was not in use until 1917.

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Quotes

Wovoka AKA Jack Wilson: A vision came to me when the sun went into shadow, and I lay dying. And in my death, I saw the Heavens of the white robes. And yes, it is as they describe it. But also there, my children, all the Indians that ever roamed this earth, all your beloved ancestors, and mine, and those young ones who were taken by the white man's diseases. Do not grieve for them. They want you to know that they are happy. Yes. And you should not grieve for yourselves, because here is what the white robes did not tell...

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Connections

Featured in 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Death Song"
Written by Gabe Desrosiers
Performed by Marina Rose and Barbara Scout

User Reviews

A big disappointment

The only reason I'm giving this movie 3 stars is because of the casting and the acting. Both were well done. The movie, however, is a disappointment.

I first read Dee Brown's book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, when I was 10 years old and found out that I was part Cherokee. It struck a cord with me that continues to resonate today, 30 some years later. Expecting a long overdue movie that would capture the eloquent and heart-breaking words and stories of the book, I was disappointed to find the movie barely resembled the book at all. As a college lecturer who frequently refers to the book in my classes, I am quite familiar with its contents. The movie version was barely recognizable.

Indian heroes such as Sitting Bull and Red Cloud come across as arrogant and foolish in this movie. They are not characters that we can sympathize with; in fact, no one in this movie is. While the story of Charles Eastman is worth telling, it is not part of the book and is sloppily woven into the storyline of the Sioux resistance at the Battle of the Little Bighorn to the massacre at Wounded Knee. That the Wounded Knee massacre should be told in flashbacks rather than as direct action is appalling.

So much has been left out of this movie that it does nothing more than commit a great injustice to both the book and the people whose stories are being told. Hasn't America taken enough away from the Indian? Must another Hollywood movie strip Indian people of yet another aspect of their culture, namely their stories, their history, and their heroes? In this movie, it does all three.