Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)

A historic chronicle based on the book by Dee Brown explains how Native Americans were displaced as the United States expanded west.

Director:

Yves Simoneau

Writers:

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

Stars:

Aidan Quinn, Adam Beach, August Schellenberg

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 29 wins & 27 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

In the 1880s, after the U. S. Army's defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the government continues to push Sioux Indians off their land. In Washington, D.C., Senator Henry Dawes introduces legislation to protect Native Americans rights. In South Dakota, school teacher Elaine Goodale joins Sioux native and Western-educated Dr. Charles Eastman in working with tribe members. Meanwhile, Lakota Chief Sitting Bull refuses to give into mounting government pressures.

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Plot Keywords:

reservation | massacre | lakota tribe | based on novel | senator | 

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Taglines:

The Epic Fall of the American Indian

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Genres:

Drama | History | Western

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Certificate:

TV-14

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

August Schellenberg previously played Sitting Bull in both Witness to Yesterday (1973) and Crazy Horse (1996).

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Goofs

The mouse that craws under the blanket is clearly not the same mouse that is hit with the pan by the Indian woman and then removed from under the blanket.

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Quotes

Sitting Bull: Hear me, then for one last time. They mean to take our land away from us. You may say, "They wish to give us land. This patch to you, this patch to you." But here is the truth - each patch is for a man and all generations that follow him. And they know that this land cannot feed but one generation, not even so much as that.
McLaughlin: All right, you've had your say.
Gall: Do not interrupt.
Sitting Bull: You teach our children the words of your God, "Be fruitful and multiply." But it seems these words are not meant for the ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2009)

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Soundtracks

Stand with Courage
Written and Performed by Nathan Chasing Horse

User Reviews

Not highly memorable, but informative.

Looking through the reviews, there seem to be lots of people complaining that this wasn't a $100million 5 part epic with most of the dialogue in Sioux. Still, HBO should be congratulated for simply making this movie.

The movie could be best described as informative, about events that probably few people know anything about. It covers quite a lot of territory, and renders it digestible.

The movie has the usual TV syle camera methods. The acting is a little wooden, and parts are clichéd. It also tries to include the events, the legal matters, and personal stories, which is always difficult, but succeeds to a reasonable degree. There's a story about a young Sioux man and his white wife threaded in, probably to stop the movie simply being about the Sioux and white bureaucrats and soldiers. But this is the price of getting an audience.

Not highly memorable, but informative and interesting. Pretty good, by the standards of television movies of the time. Who knows, maybe by 2100 there will be a film about how the US conquered/stole half of Mexico too.