Wounded Knee
In this assignment we were asked to critically read and annotate 1o historical documents about the events that accrued at wounded knee. For each document we were asked to fill out a historical thinking inquiry sheet. We then wrote a text book passage that was meant to reflect a non-bias view point, below you can read my textbook passage. We then watched the film "Berry my heart at wounded knee" and wrote an reflective essay, in which you can also read below.
Film: does it tell the story right?
Wounded knee, located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota marks the place of an 1890 massacre that left 150 Native Americans dead and marked one of the final clashes between North American Indians and representatives of the U.S. government. It was a massacre of the Native American people, who’s culture dies with them and acts as a stain on the American flag. The movie “Burry my heart at wounded knee” portrays events somewhat differently then how they accrued in history. However, the movie should still be considered historically accurate.
Film can teach us about history without being perfectly accurate in an effort dramatize important events and details.
One detail that is slightly different in the film “Berry my heart at wounded knee” is the actions of none other then General Miles. In the film he is portrayed as a rootless war monster who’s words in the film are no less then oppressing. “No matter what your legends say, you didn't sprout from the plains like the spring grasses. You came out of the Minnesota woodlands armed to the teeth and set upon your fellow man. The proposition that you were a peaceable people before the appearance of the white man is the most fanciful legend of all. And yet you claim the Black Hills as a private preserve bequeathed to you by the Great Spirit. By ceding the Black Hills to us, so say Red Cloud and the other chiefs, who demand that you end this war and take your place on the reservation.” In reality, he was known for having acted in a way that supported the Native American culture much more then his fellow colleges. One of his famous quotes that exhibits his view more accurately is: “On the contrary, if they are [Native Americans] treated with justice and humanity the coming years will be as bright and prosperous to the unfortunate race as the past has been dark and painful.” This quote was said in one of many debates over how the Native American peoples should be treated. Turning General Miles into a war monster with a knack for oppression allows for the audience to get “heated” and blame the horror in the movie on one individual resulting in a deeper dramatic effect.
Another detail the film has that is not perfectly accurate is how all of the Native American people are portrayed as English speakers. Granted, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Black Elk were somewhat fluent in English. In spite of this, there is no evidence to support the three leaders spoke English fluently. However, in the opening seen Black Elk announces that his people will not be moving from their land in flawless English that portrays he not only is capable of speaking English but also can create poetic speeches with flawless grammar. This is incorrect on the filmmakers side, using English allows for viewers to connect to the characters more strongly, thus resulting in a stronger dramatic effect.
Though the movie shows some concepts incorrectly it also portrayed some events historically accurate. One aspect of this film that was historically accurate is how the famous ghost dance was shown. The ghost dance was a religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems during the events surrounding Wounded Knee. According to the Native American prophet, Jack Wilson, the proper practice of the dance would reunite the living with the spirits of the dead and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to native peoples throughout the region. However, the dance was preserved to “bring the end to the white race.” (Wikipedia) The film showed visions of Native American people doing the “circle dance,” which the ghost dance was based upon and accurately showed the terrier that the ritual struck into the white person population. The filmmakers showing this truthfully, impacts dramatic effect because the truth has enough dramatic effect in itself.
Though the story of Wounded Knee has been flawed though many story tellings, it remains one of the worst events to accrue on US soil. The importance falls within learning from our past so we can keep the future clean. William James, a peace Philosopher and the first educator of a psychology course in the United States said: “The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away with sorry’s and keep the promises we make, to expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.” In the future if we learn from the events that lead to Wounded Knee we could accept others ideologies we can see an image what peace looks like on American Soil.
Wounded knee, located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota marks the place of an 1890 massacre that left 150 Native Americans dead and marked one of the final clashes between North American Indians and representatives of the U.S. government. It was a massacre of the Native American people, who’s culture dies with them and acts as a stain on the American flag. The movie “Burry my heart at wounded knee” portrays events somewhat differently then how they accrued in history. However, the movie should still be considered historically accurate.
Film can teach us about history without being perfectly accurate in an effort dramatize important events and details.
One detail that is slightly different in the film “Berry my heart at wounded knee” is the actions of none other then General Miles. In the film he is portrayed as a rootless war monster who’s words in the film are no less then oppressing. “No matter what your legends say, you didn't sprout from the plains like the spring grasses. You came out of the Minnesota woodlands armed to the teeth and set upon your fellow man. The proposition that you were a peaceable people before the appearance of the white man is the most fanciful legend of all. And yet you claim the Black Hills as a private preserve bequeathed to you by the Great Spirit. By ceding the Black Hills to us, so say Red Cloud and the other chiefs, who demand that you end this war and take your place on the reservation.” In reality, he was known for having acted in a way that supported the Native American culture much more then his fellow colleges. One of his famous quotes that exhibits his view more accurately is: “On the contrary, if they are [Native Americans] treated with justice and humanity the coming years will be as bright and prosperous to the unfortunate race as the past has been dark and painful.” This quote was said in one of many debates over how the Native American peoples should be treated. Turning General Miles into a war monster with a knack for oppression allows for the audience to get “heated” and blame the horror in the movie on one individual resulting in a deeper dramatic effect.
Another detail the film has that is not perfectly accurate is how all of the Native American people are portrayed as English speakers. Granted, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Black Elk were somewhat fluent in English. In spite of this, there is no evidence to support the three leaders spoke English fluently. However, in the opening seen Black Elk announces that his people will not be moving from their land in flawless English that portrays he not only is capable of speaking English but also can create poetic speeches with flawless grammar. This is incorrect on the filmmakers side, using English allows for viewers to connect to the characters more strongly, thus resulting in a stronger dramatic effect.
Though the movie shows some concepts incorrectly it also portrayed some events historically accurate. One aspect of this film that was historically accurate is how the famous ghost dance was shown. The ghost dance was a religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems during the events surrounding Wounded Knee. According to the Native American prophet, Jack Wilson, the proper practice of the dance would reunite the living with the spirits of the dead and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to native peoples throughout the region. However, the dance was preserved to “bring the end to the white race.” (Wikipedia) The film showed visions of Native American people doing the “circle dance,” which the ghost dance was based upon and accurately showed the terrier that the ritual struck into the white person population. The filmmakers showing this truthfully, impacts dramatic effect because the truth has enough dramatic effect in itself.
Though the story of Wounded Knee has been flawed though many story tellings, it remains one of the worst events to accrue on US soil. The importance falls within learning from our past so we can keep the future clean. William James, a peace Philosopher and the first educator of a psychology course in the United States said: “The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away with sorry’s and keep the promises we make, to expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.” In the future if we learn from the events that lead to Wounded Knee we could accept others ideologies we can see an image what peace looks like on American Soil.
The Battle of Little Big Horn Text book passage
The battle of the Little Bighorn, on June 25, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory, is known as the most disastrous defeats in American history. It is commonly referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand”. General George Armstrong Custer, a man recognized for his many victories lead 700 soldiers into Big Horn reservation to meet their death ageist the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes under the leadership of Sitting Bull. Tensions between the two groups had been rising since the refusal to share land with American settlers after the discovery of gold on Native American lands.
In the 1800's advocates of 'Manifest Destiny' fuelled by religious ideology believed in American cultural and racial superiority over the indigenous people. The settlers also had efforts to "civilize" the Native American population by forcing children to enroll in English boarding schools where they were given an English name, English outfit, and were taught English. This caused a major cause of conflict in the 1800's causing distrust and hostilities to grow between the indigenous population and the settlers. However, the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) had guaranteed the exclusive possession of the Dakota Territory to Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. In 1875 Custer led an expedition to the Black Hills of Dakota and reported that he had discovered gold. The US government attempted to buy the Black Hills of Dakota from the Native Americans whom refused due to the black hills being a sacred area to the two tribes. In 1876, Custer and his men attacked the Native American village on the banks of the Little Bighorn River to take the territory back.
Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. The total U.S. casualty count of originally 700 men turned into 432 with 268 dead and 55 injured.
In 1875, Sitting Bull created the Sun Dance alliance between the Lakota and the Cheyenne and a large number of "Agency Indians" who had slipped away from their reservations to join them. On the day of the battle, 6,000 to 7,000 Indians were camped on the flats beside the Little Bighorn River. During a Sun Dance on the day of the battle in Sitting Bull reportedly had a vision of soldiers falling into his camp like grasshoppers from the sky. “The vision lead us into a glorious victory,” said Sitting Bull after the battle with just after the battle accrued.
However, within fifteen years all Native Americans were confined to reservations, their culture in ruins. The Native Americans may have won the battle, but still ultimately lost the war. Two years after the Battle of Little Big Horn, nearly all of the Native Americans of the Great Plains had been chased to Canada. There, they were placed on reservations where many died from disease.
The battle of the Little Bighorn, on June 25, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory, is known as the most disastrous defeats in American history. It is commonly referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand”. General George Armstrong Custer, a man recognized for his many victories lead 700 soldiers into Big Horn reservation to meet their death ageist the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes under the leadership of Sitting Bull. Tensions between the two groups had been rising since the refusal to share land with American settlers after the discovery of gold on Native American lands.
In the 1800's advocates of 'Manifest Destiny' fuelled by religious ideology believed in American cultural and racial superiority over the indigenous people. The settlers also had efforts to "civilize" the Native American population by forcing children to enroll in English boarding schools where they were given an English name, English outfit, and were taught English. This caused a major cause of conflict in the 1800's causing distrust and hostilities to grow between the indigenous population and the settlers. However, the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) had guaranteed the exclusive possession of the Dakota Territory to Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. In 1875 Custer led an expedition to the Black Hills of Dakota and reported that he had discovered gold. The US government attempted to buy the Black Hills of Dakota from the Native Americans whom refused due to the black hills being a sacred area to the two tribes. In 1876, Custer and his men attacked the Native American village on the banks of the Little Bighorn River to take the territory back.
Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. The total U.S. casualty count of originally 700 men turned into 432 with 268 dead and 55 injured.
In 1875, Sitting Bull created the Sun Dance alliance between the Lakota and the Cheyenne and a large number of "Agency Indians" who had slipped away from their reservations to join them. On the day of the battle, 6,000 to 7,000 Indians were camped on the flats beside the Little Bighorn River. During a Sun Dance on the day of the battle in Sitting Bull reportedly had a vision of soldiers falling into his camp like grasshoppers from the sky. “The vision lead us into a glorious victory,” said Sitting Bull after the battle with just after the battle accrued.
However, within fifteen years all Native Americans were confined to reservations, their culture in ruins. The Native Americans may have won the battle, but still ultimately lost the war. Two years after the Battle of Little Big Horn, nearly all of the Native Americans of the Great Plains had been chased to Canada. There, they were placed on reservations where many died from disease.