Woman Walks Ahead

This movie is to me as part American Indian enjoyable as it is told. I disagree with Roger Ebert's comments that it is too violent. However, I do not give it a high rating because it fictionalizes the story. The woman, Catherine Weldon, had an unsavory past which is not disclosed in the movie. She had been married but ran away with another man with whom she had a child. He also left her and her husband divorced her. She had a dream of living with Sioux. She joined the National Indian Defense Assn. and contrary to what is stated in the movie, it was on behalf of the Assn. that she traveled to the Dakota Territory. She did not go there for the purpose of painting Sitting Bull. And her son accompanied her on the journey and actually lived with the Sioux. When the Ghost Dancers became active, she warned Sitting Bull against them and warned him as to what would happen if he supported them. As a result, Sitting Bull rejected her and because of that and that her son was ill, she left him. Her son died on the way as she moved to Kansas City. She had a small inheritance which funded her trip but she never had any political influence as she asserted in the movie.

Aside from these discrepancies, the picture is a lesson in what happened to the Sioux and the acting is good. Setting aside the involvement of the artist, the overall story is informative and the scenery is grand.