Dances with Wolves, a film made in the year 1990, revolves around John Dunbar, a United States soldier who decides to restore and old fort in the Great Plains. When doing this restoration, Dunbar realizes that no white men seem to be coming, so he decides to explore and finds an Indian reservation of Sioux Indians. While they are frightened of him at first, they later start to bond. The Indians accept John Dunbar into their clan and call him Dances with Wolves. After learning the Sioux language and their way of life, Dances with Wolves falls in love with one of their white members, Stands with a Fist. The two get married, but shortly after, an army of white men comes to attack the Indians, and they capture Dances with Wolves. However, a group of valiant Sioux Indians comes to save Dances with Wolves, and they take him back to their new winter village. Dances with Wolves, however, is worried that the white men will come after him, and he does not want to put the Sioux in danger. Therefore, Dances with Wolves and Stands with a Fist escape to new land, and leave the Indians behind in order to keep them safe the American soldiers.
When watching this movie, I noticed that the way of Indian and Great Plains life depicted in the movie was extremely similar to what we have learned this semester in class from our readings. In The Comanche Empire, by Pekka Hamalainen, Comanche Indians took Mexican women and children hostage and then adapted them to the Indian way of life. These Mexicans would marry into the tribe and usually become so happy that they did not want to return to their families in Mexico. Similarly, Stands with a Fist was abducted from her white, English-speaking family at a young age. Years later, she married a man in the Sioux tribe. She became so accustomed to the Sioux way of life that when she first saw John Dunbar, she was frightened of the strange white man. She felt that she was part of the Sioux tribe and did not want to leave.
Another thing that I learn from my readings this semester was that trade and gifts were imperative to Indian lifestyles. Trading forts such as Taos and Bent’s Fort provided Indians with food, horses, slaves, and more. In the movie, Dances with Wolves and another Sioux Indian traded an American hat for an Indian garment. Also, Dances with Wolves was offered a buffalo hide to show that the Sioux came in peace and wanted to befriend him. In The Comanche Empire, Mexicans and Americans often provided the Comanche Indians with goods in order to make peace and form alliances.
Animals, I have learned this semester, were necessities for all people living on the Great Plains. Horses were key for battle and transportation, while buffalo were used for food and clothing. Most Indians had a nomadic lifestyle, especially after the introduction of the horse. As the seasons changed and buffalo migrated, they would pack up their tipis and leave. Likely, in Dances with Wolves, the Sioux Indians migrated to a new location when winter came. During battle, whether the Indians were battling with other Indian tribes or white Americans, horses were pivotal. The Sioux defeated the Americans when they came to take Dances with Wolves away, and they annihilated another tribe with the help of horses. Additionally, John Dunbar, when a member of the United States army, was saved during battle because of his horse, Cisco. Buffalo were imperative hunting items to all Indians until their numbers dwindled in the late nineteenth century. In the film, Dances with Wolves was acclaimed for tracking down a herd of bison and shooting one buffalo. A large celebration was thrown for him that night, and mass amounts of buffalo meat were eaten.
In Common & Contested Ground, by Theodore Binnema, the horse and gun revolution was a topic that often popped up. Binnema noted that when the gun was introduced to the Indians, they disposed of their bows and arrows and became valiant fighters. In comparison, Dances with Wolves introduced the gun to the Indians, and with the help of their horses, they became true warriors after obtaining this new weapon. If it were not for this weapon, the Americans may have likely captured Dances with Wolves, and the Sioux tribe could have been either taken to a reservation or murdered.
Overall, Dances with Wolves is a great depiction of Great Plains history. This film is perfect for viewers who are interested in learning more about the Great Plains. Viewing this movie, I obtained an even better understanding of Great Plains life, and I gained a greater respect for Indians. While some people view Indians as only fighters and rebels, this movie showed that they really have a great sense of family pride, and they will do anything for those in their tribe.
