Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Movie Guide
Main Characters
Tatanka Iyotanka
(Sitting Bull)
Henry Dawes
Ohiyesa
Elaine Goodale
Wovoka
(Charles Eastman)
(Jack Wilson)
Makhpiya Luta
(Red Cloud)
Nelson Miles
(Bear Coat)
Other Characters
George Armstrong Custer
Places
•
•
•
•
•
Little Big Horn
Dakota Territories
Black Hills
Pine Ridge
Wounded Knee
Terms
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Lakota Sioux
Crow
Paiute
Assimilation
Dawes Act
Ghost Dance
Reservation
Northern Pacific
Railroad
• Buffalo
“Great Father”
Buffalo Bill Cody
Gen. William T. Sherman
Crazy Horse
Classroom Discussion
Questions
Why did the U.S. government “give” the Sioux the Black Hills, only to take away much of the land
later on?
2) How was Canadian Indian policy different from U.S. Indian policy?
3) How did U.S. Indian policy change in the late 1800s? What were the consequences of these changes?
4) What methods did the U.S. government use to carry out its assimilation policy?
5) What challenges prevented the Sioux from being able to keep their land?
6) Why couldn’t the Sioux thrive on reservations?
7) What role did the Ghost Dance play in Sioux culture? What were its consequences?
8) How is Eastman caught between two cultures? Sitting Bull?
9) What is the significance of the railroad dream? The feather? The cross?
10) How would you describe the film’s portrayal of Native Americans? Romantic? As “savages”?
Honest? Regular people?
1)
Quotes
“Every man is a chief.”
–Sioux Agency
“Have you no idea the efforts I have expended on your behalf?”
–Senator Henry Dawes
“There is no word in the Sioux language for that, sir: to own the land.”
-Charles Eastman
“It would be an honor for me to take more of your money.”
-Sitting Bull
“The mistakes of the past are in the past.”
-Senator Henry Dawes
“The white man will not see my mark again on his paper for the rest of my days on this earth.”
-Red Cloud
“I very nearly jumped.”
-Charles Eastman
“We have always feared your guns the least.”
-Red Cloud
“Bury my heart at Wounded Knee.”