Rent Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)

A sombre and poignant account of final days of the native American Indian. - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee review by CP Customer

Based on the book by Dee Brown, ‘Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee’ is a dramatised account of the final days of the native American Indian in which they had semi-independence and autonomy over their own affairs on large areas of reservation land set aside by the American government. Set between 1876 and 1890 the film chronicles the final moments of the battle of Little Bighorn, to the assassination of Chief Sitting Bull and the massacre of hundreds of innocent Indian men women and children by the 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee Creek fourteen years later. The story is part told through the experiences of Charles Eastman a Sioux Indian who after his father converted to Christianity was taken from his native tribe as a young boy and sent away to be educated and brought up as an American citizen. Now qualified as a doctor Charles is championed by Senator Henry Dawes as to how Indians can be assimilated into western life, and after gold is discovered in the Black Hills of Dakota deep within Indian territory, Charles is hired to advise Dawes on how to redraw previously agreed Sioux territorial boundaries so that a railroad can be laid to create a large scale mining operations. The film then chronicles how the government repeatedly forced the Indian people into accepting unfair deals for their land and banned then from hunting until they were forced into living in state run reservations where they were stripped of their cultural identity and dignity and forced to live, work, dress and attend church as westerners. I'm not a particularly big fan of westerns, but this is a great story, up to the usual high standard of HBO productions with good direction and universally first-rate performances from the entire cast; and although somewhat depressing it’s an enlightening look at a dark and often veiled part of American history. There is a nice epilogue to the film which wraps the story up and how the American supreme court of the 1980’s later accepted the wrongdoing of the government against the Native American people.

American Treachery - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee review by NO

Good story especially as it is basically true although Eastman & Ward are not mentioned in the book which I have read.

The Sitting Bull tale is only one small part of the book which deals with the tragedy of the Apache,Cheyenne etc & all the

other tribes.In the final massacre Big Foot was the main chief but does not feature in the film.As a film it deserves 4 stars

but as a portrayal of the book it fails.Rather melancholy with too much dialogue but definitely worth seeing.