He picked all the worst movies in my opinion what about dream keepers or little big man or thunder heart instead he picked two movies without any Indians in it lol what a clown
He’s Cherokee I believe his family members had to walk the Trail of Tears. What was done to the Cherokee should never have happen. Walk all the way to Oklahoma and start over. I’m a desolate environment. Major resilience.
Val Kilmer starred in an excellent movie titled THUNDER HEART. Young FBI Agent with Native blood is sent on a case to a Reservation and discovers his roots.
@Bruce Wilson @Savannah2751 @Sherrel Hauhe @Ted Ecker ...FYI if you folks enjoyed "Thunder Heart" you should check out the movies from the (New Mexican?) author Tony Hillerman and the EXCELLENT novels Hillerman wrote. Adam Beach and Wes Studi starred in a film called "Skinwalkers" which is a theme and variation on Val Kilmer's character as well as the Graham Greene cop character in the Alaskan based movie already listed. Like Graham Greene yet the theme of trying to solve a crime on a reservation with all the cultural bias and prejudice is an old one. It would be better if a more serious factual and documentary film or films were made about ALL aspects of life on a reservation ...and how most to all tribes literally got "screwed" by policy makers in Washington. The best film that brings this to mind is "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" - Adam Beach, Aiden Quinn and Anna Paquin before she did the X-men series. Awesome movie, scary movie since the corporate miners today are not seeking silver or gold in the Black Hills of Lakota territory for example -- rather they are ripping up the environment and destroying incomes of all races "Fracking" for coal as well as uranium and other industrial minerals. The story of the 19th Century injustice from corporate miners is NOT DONE!!!!!
I think 'Windtalkers' should be on this list. This movie reflects the underrated bravery and significance that North American first nations played in the fight for world freedom against true tyranny.
I remember one of those Navajo code talkers came to our school as a guest speaker, and some kid asked how accurate the movie was. The guy chuckled, and said "Five percent."
We need more movies about are native Americans they aren't enough and i know there so much more about all of the tribes we even need a station on tv of all there truths as a dedication to all our elders
"Little Big Man" changed the way that Indians were portrayed by Hollywood forever. It was a landmark, much better than DW Wolves..and it gave us Chief Dan George, reason enough right there for top ratings...
@@dragons8822 This shows you have no clue what our tribes were like. There were scenes in this Movie that shows that our Tribes were living in Peace, but even your Pilgrims and Settlers did not know the difference.
@@nicholashalsey2150 That movie was shot near where I live, Alberta, and my dad met Chief Dan George. They got beers and a bunch chatted for a while. Dad said that Dan was a really funny guy who would barely let you get a word in! Picked up the tab that night too. Classy man.
I’m Native American and, I’ve seen all these movies and Wind River was such a sad but great movie, I loved the ending, other great movie’s are Dance Me Outside, Smoke Signals, Lakota Woman, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, Ishi the Last of His Tribe, Geronimo with Wes Studi was also very good, all five movies mentioned were good the Indian in the Cupboard was pretty cute
Another one worth mentioning is the 1995 movie "Last of the Dogmen" with Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, and Kurtwood Smith. It's about an unknown tribe of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers living in the Oxbow quadrangle in northern Montana.
Yes! Last of the Dogmen is excellent. (I didn't care for the Wilford Brimley voiceover, though. Made me think of Mature Jenny Explains it For You at the end of each episode of Call The Midwife.)
Last of the Dog Men always seems to be overlooked and I'm not sure why. 'Could be because it's fairly far fetched. Tom Berenger is somewhat obscure but nonetheless turns in a brilliant performance. The same can be said of Barbara Hershey.
The thing I appreciate the most about Dances with Wolves is the extensive use of the Lakota language. I don't know why this isn't being done more and more, if only to preserve what are quickly becoming dead or dying languages. Why, for example, does Hollywood need to "invent" languages for science fiction films (e.g., Klingon), when any number of dying languages could be used in the same place?
Agree. Dances was one of the first movies where the language was consciously spoken with accuracy and with an understanding of the philosophy behind the language. There were a number of Lakota language teachers involved.
My friend Mary is Lakota and Cheyenne and she was one of the people teaching the actors the Lakota language. I knew Floyd Red Crow Westermen, he used to go to my reservation a lot, he played Ten Bears he was so nice and kind, he had even did a public service announcement on TV about how to get help with gambling addiction and yes we have a casino on my reservation. I’ve been fortunate to meet a few Native American actors.
@@theresareynolds3133 Good to know. I've heard there are now more than one schools in the Dakotas that teach/immerse children in Lakota language? If so, great!
Not only are "Last Of The Mohicans" and "Dances With Wolves" in the top 5 of this genre, IMO they are also two of the best movies in any category ever made.
1 Medicine Man with Sean Connery 2 The Emerald Forest John Boormans 3 Thunderheart with Val Kilmer 4 The Emereld Forest 5Last of the Mohicans 6 Grey Owl with Pierce Brosnan 7 Apocalypto Mel Gibson 8 Dances with Wolves 9 The New World
Wes Studi as Magwa, is the best acting I have ever seen. Daniel Day Lewis's performance as HawkEye, is his best ever as well. These two, make this not only my favorite Native American Movie, but also my favorite Movie.
- I Am the Walrus🤣🤣🤣🤣 You're right Dance Me Outside definitely belongs on this list. And let's not forget Powell Highway, Thunderheart, Clear Cut to name a few.
Last of the Dogman, Windwalker, The Last of the Mohicans, Wind River, and Dances with Wolves are among my list of favorite Native American movies. The last of John Ford's movies in Monument Valley masterpiece of Cheyenne Autumn is a tale of the Trail of Tears of Cheyenne natives imprisoned in Oklahoma and escape back to Wyoming. The problem with this film is that they used Navajo Natives as Cheyenne Natives. The Navajo language was used in the movie. MacKenna's Gold, Little Big Man, The Searchers, and A Distant Trumpet are also a list of great classics that used Natives in their films.
@@kathleenanderson1353 West Point graduate Lt. Hazard is posted to Fort Delivery, Arizona, where he has to deal with lax discipline, romantic complications, Apaches and his conflicting feelings toward the Indians.
Not about natives of the USA, but Apocolypto is incredible and special. Huge release, non Hollywood actor: but all in Maya and local languages, incredible sets. Very violent and action oriented Two notes: they took huge liberties in mixing different periods of the mayan empire, and a couple anachronisms are egregious, which is a huge shame as it is unique.
not gonna lie, I clicked on this video hoping the comment section would fill my watchlist with movies I hadn’t heard of yet… and it did not disappoint! Shout out to everyone who listed additional recommendations, regardless of rankings :)
It was also a place of slaughter. I visited the site when on an American history road trip. Wounded Knee was such a stark and reminder of what really happened.. I think it was one of the saddest places I have ever been in USA. Having visited the Wounded Knee Museum at the same time was the saddest experience. I remember getting all chocked up and the feathers hanging from the ceiling representing all the native people who were killed that day, The worst thing I have ever ever seen in my life was the chard baby in a chard papoose on display. I saw this in 2007. I Still cry in 2024 remembering that baby
I love how you included Thunderheart on your list. It's one of my favorites, too, and I can't understand how it wasn't even mentioned. That, to me, is an absolute travesty!
1 Medicine Man with Sean Connery 2 The Emerald Forest John Boormans 3 Thunderheart with Val Kilmer 4 The Emereld Forest 5Last of the Mohicans 6 Grey Owl with Pierce Brosnan 7 Apocalypto Mel Gibson 8 Dances with Wolves 9 The New World
I think "A Man Called Horse" should at least be in the list and I believe it should be up close to the top! It was a lot more about the Native Americans than a lot of these movies. One of my favorite movies is "Jeremiah Johnson" but it is only nominally about Native Americans.
Totally agree, and "A Man Called Horse" was actually more authentic than "Dances With Wolves", and I personally would put it number one. One should also not forget "Windwalker" 1981 and a film of the modern age plight of two Lakota brothers "Skins"... one can also replace "Last of the Mohicans" with "Black Robe" which is excellent
@@gregengel1616 At the end of the novel Lord of The Flies an officer asks a little boy his name and the boy breaks down crying. He is one of the lesser ones and hasn't heard his name in a year, and can't remember it. A woman who has spent decades out of earshot of her own language would not be able to tell John Dunbar that Kicking Bird is "a holy man". This is not a serious objection, though, and most of the other objections are trivial.
I served 9 years as an instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Firearms Training Division and the shootout in “Wind River” is without doubt the most realistic I have ever seen.
Also, being a great movie, finally someone deals with the Rape, Murder & Abuse of Indian women. No one else has that I know of. An oil rig would be the perfect thing for getting into remote country on The Wind River Res, I know this as I live in Wyoming not all that far from the Res, besides 3/4 of our state is that remote & more so depending on where you go. Lots of hunters get further into the back country during hunting season. Most of us live here for the remoteness & lack of people.
@@dragons8822 Except it pins it on RACIST HUWHITE MEN when in reality they are mostly killed by their own people. It's also ridiculous that the FBI chick gets all those cops murdered and nothing happens to her.
One of my fondest child hood memories was watching this movie late night with my father everytime it came on TV. One of the best movies in cinema history.
Missing Windwalker. With the exception of the voice-over narration, only the Cheyenne and Crow languages are spoken with English subtitles. It holds a special place in my heart. The scene where he pays the bride-price for the woman he loves is not to be missed.
@@bradleyrobinson7552 Also, a white guy played the young Windwalker!! Good movie though!! I saw Windwalker in theaters when it first came out!! Loved it!!
'A man called horse' with the great Richard Harris deserves to be on this list. It's an old Movie, but I remember it a kid growing up. it's also equally as brilliant as 'Dances with Wolves'...IMO
"Songs My Brothers Taught Me", a small Indie produced by Forrest Whitaker, has an all=Native American cast to tell a contemporary story. Modest but real. No tomahawks.
Little Big Man (1970) In 2014, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Agree whole heartedly. This is a set of choices suffering from "recency" and largely Native American legacy from a whites view. I'm a mutt white with distant Native American blood 5 generations back.
I can't believe Powwow Highway is not on this list. Last Christmas I watched "Christmas in the Clouds," and I know, the title makes it sound like a hokey Hallmark movie. But it was a gas. All my favorite native actors were in it: Graham Greene was hilarious, Wes Studi wore a kilt, and Sheila Tousey rocked a bouffant and read trashy Indian romances. When the friends of the main character were trying to help him repair his fractured relationship, they read him a steamy passage from said trashy romance, by way of encouragement. I was in the mood for silly, and this movie did not disappoint.
Hostiles was one of the most amazing surprises I ever had. The name put you off because you expect something else but it's a sensitive and extraordinarily beautiful film. I've seen it seven times.
My favorite Native American movies are: "Crazy Horse,"A war leader from the Lakota Tribe. "Geronimo," An Apache Shaman who fought America and Mexico for his tribe's land. These two Native leaders were taught in the American education system in the 1970s. I remember being taught how to make Teepees from paper.
There was this other movie about Geronimo (not talking about the movies from '39 or '62). It was just like Geronimo an american legend released in 93 if I remember correct.) But not for theatre but for tv only. I liked that tv movie better.
@@downhomesunset Did you know the Lakota nation is and has been against this monument. They don’t believe you have to destroy a mountain made by the creator to honor a man. Crazy Horse himself never would have wanted it as he shunned the glory spotlight his whole life. He will always be remembered forever in their
"Dances With Wolves" is an excellent movie with respect to Lakota Culture in history, YET how disrespectful could it be to acknowledge Kevin Costner as a filmmaker in this category and NOT post his groundbreaking documentary of Indigenous/Native American culture found in "500 Nations"? Why is this documentary NOT on this list? Why is it NOT #1???? I agree with @Mark Klass 100% in his comments about "A Man Called Horse" as well as the questionable need to place "Jeremiah Johnson" in this category at all! Where is the Tom Hanks western that does reflect well on Kiawa Culture in history; "News of the World"? This movie more than Redford's picture shows our cultural contrasts in history with Native Culture, i.e. the Kiawa Culture of the Southern Plains! Where is "Black Robe"? There were other comments about Dustin Hoffman in "Little Big Man"! Where is this movie? Thank you @Storbokki ...among others! Where is "Geronimo"? Good Comment @t. c. ...among many others! The Disney version of "Squanto" is respectful of Nantucket Culture in New England. Where is this Movie?? Where is "The Last of the Dogmen"? Thank you @MsAppeljack ...among others! Where is "Windwalker"? Thank you @Dana ...among others! Another well reviewed film. There are several films and documentary films about the WWII Navajo Code Talkers ...one of them being "A Secret Code of Honor"!!!! Recommend it! And with further reflection on this posted list... "The Last of the Mohicans" is a good movie, YET SADLY it is a remake of a DATED screenplay written in the 1930s. The original "Leather-Stocking Tale" by Cooper is NOT a romance! The original story is about RACISM on many levels; i.e. the main protagonist Cora is a Caribbean Mulatto girl born to Col. Munro and his slave bought "wife", whom he frees after marriage and the birth of his daughter while he was a younger and lower ranking officer. Without great detail it is worth repeating that "The Last of The Mohicans" in its original novel form is about RACISM NOT ROMANCE! This ignores the reality of the novel's power in its original telling. Hopefully one day a group of filmmakers will render "Mohicans" true to the novel! Thank you @Hike with Mike as "Panther in the Sky" is a well researched historical novel that enthralled me, yet I have not seen the well reviewed movie. "Broken Cord" is also well reviewed and I would enjoy viewing that movie as well! The documentary "Songs My Brother Taught Me" is well reviewed and I hope to see it soon. Thank you @bbbartolo !!! Thank you @Rangers Fan Jill and others - "Dance Me Outside" and "Smoke Signals" are also well reviewed and those are two other movies I hope to see soon. The CBC production of "Riel" is excellent! It is a T.V. documentary YET it plays well on DVD like "500 Nations" and to this day the First Nations struggle for autonomy or semi-autonomous rights in Canada are found in the birth of the Cree/Chippewa Nation joining with French Canadians in bringing about The Metis Culture in history. There are MANY quality actors in this series INCLUDING William Shatner who ironically plays an American! "Riel" is Highly Recommend to everyone!!! Where is the DreamWorks animated feature "Spirit"? A respectful representation of the Lakota Horse Culture of the North American Great Plains. A better example of history for young people and children than ...possibly... Disney's "Pocahontas"?! "New World" does struggle with historical accuracy better than Disney's animation in dealing with Pocahontas. There are many other well reviewed movies in the comments including "River Wild" and movies from Hillerman's novels etc. Is this movie list a big budget, albeit corporate sellout? So aside from two movies on this list "Dances With Wolves" & "Hostiles" ...the rest are questionable at best.
That summed it up I guess, I have seen a few of these, but I can see I have a lot more to see to get a more complete prospective of Native Americans / Indian's. Thank you for taking the time to educate us on what is available if we really want to learn.
You have so many movies here that i've never heard of, would be great if you could put these movies into a list form that's alot easier to read & look thru for a specific title & short description. There are a couple I own that you don't list that deal with the mystical side of native beliefs. Also, being as knowledgeable as you sound, I'm surprised you didn't use their correct names that they call themselves. Either way Thanks for movies I've not heard of.
@@dragons8822 A justifiably Janus-like reply from a two headed Hydra dragons? A corporate lackey are we or you or we... oh my which two-faced or two headed tiger or dragon am I addressing? Why not make the list yourself instead of nebulously nattering on about it? And do your seemingly intelligent comments make sense? Or are your nervous "knee-jerk" reactions just that -- reactionary and ultimately without merit? Ultimately this gets way off into a meaningless "left field" discussion and I am no longer a fan of baseball unlike the decent filmmaker Kevin Costner. Do your list on a separate blog string and be done with it! And for what it is worth... I have consolidated many films already listed and I am only familiar with the films themselves or their titles through my personal historical research at the public library. There is ANOTHER Native Related Film starring Aiden Quinn ...a leading actor from the very popular "Legends of the Fall"...yet another film with respectful Native American references and respectful Native American characters. To site the title I am thinking of ... I would have to research Quinn's career to name a title that tells a story of 19th Century corporate corruption and greed by American Mining Companies and their manipulation of Washington politics to steal mineral rich lands from Native American Tribes!!! It WAS A GREAT FILM. Have at it!!! Most of the movies listed are no longer for sale on DVD regardless and might be found in libraries or somewhere online. Coincidence? Movies that tell the TRUTH in a less than flattering way about the history of our culture. 'The Truth will out' ...pretty old English language idiom of great power and wisdom!!!
@@M7TOPGEAR Why ask a question ...even at a corporate level ...if you cannot face the truth of the answer or multiple answers? So these folks asked a question and everyone, everyday makes a choice of how to be entertained as well as what to learn .. common sense. Otherwise you are welcome should your comment prove sincere.
One of my faves is Thunder heart starring Val Kilmer. Two that really touched me, though a bit difficult to follow if you're not paying attention, are The Bygone and Black Spruce-- contemporary with today's societies. Well worth the time if you enjoy a flick that makes you think.
I’ve become increasingly facinated with the original peoples of America. Could anyone be my hero and list as many serious native movies as they can. Movies actually saying something important and/or educational about them. Even though they are romantic adventures DWW and LOTM tells you something about the complexity of their history. Anyone know of any Canadian historic movies or social dramas on the subject? Please 🙏
I saw a great documentary at The Bayou Film Festival titled The Seventh Generation. It focused on Black Elk's prophesy that the land would be returned to the native people in the seventh generation, and just recently more than 1/2 of Oklahoma was given to 6 tribes by a Supreme Court ruling... I am Houma tribe on my mother's side, and Catahoula Tribe on my father's side.
Dances With Wolves is far and above the best Indigenous American movie of all time. It is a pity more indigenous movies have not been made to this high standard. Hopefully in the future.
Two more movies that should be considered are "Black Robe" and "Little Big Man". There is a movie called "The Good Indian" that is really good even though it is not set in the old old old west setting. More about the turn of the century.
It was little Big Man that opened my eyes and heart to the atrocities perpetrated by the white man on our indigenous people. I was 21. I've been fighting for reparations & acknowledgement of their plight for 53 years now.
Dreamkeeper here on youtube, mostly I'd say 98 percent native cast, produced by a native lady, all about native legends, it's a beautiful movie, I might have a bias because I was in this movie but, this movie has almost every single famous native actor in it, I highly recommend it. It's Hallmark entertainment and ABC, from 2003
@paulagloberson4758 I think you will enjoy it, mine and my son's favorite story is spider and coyote legend. I was cheifs daughter in the dun pony segment
Wind River and Dances With Wolves are my favourites on this list. However, the one film in this genre that will stay with me forever, the one that tore me to pieces when I first saw it in the 1970s and made me ashamed to be white, is Soldier Blue. Based on the Sand Creek Massacre, it says everything about the ignorance and brutal inhumanity shown by one race to another. Unforgettable.
So are you proud of what the white man did to the Native Americans? Do you know history? Do you respect other peoples' opinions?Perhaps you should consider others before saying there's something wrong with them @@KnivenKnaven
Soldier Blue was a horrific depiction of a brutal massacre. It was one of the reasons I went to work with native people later in life to learn of their cultures and encourage them. It was a fulfilling time.
My brother was editor on Dances With Wolves - but he was also editor on what I consider to be a more authentic Native movie called "Windwalker" from 1980 with Trevor Howard, Nick Ramus and Dusty IronWing McCrea. It is one of my favorite movies...it can be rented or purchased on youtube but it was magnificent on the big screen.
So glad you mentioned it, Windwalker. When I was a kid my dad brought it home on a reel with a projector, in the 70s, and we all watched it. Very well done show, and to me it was a great story.
I loved Windwalker--one of my all-time favorite movies. Also liked Wes Studi in Geronimo (1993), and Smoke Signals. Did NOT like The Last of the Mohicans; the talents of Daniel Day Lewis were IMO wasted on this two-dimensional cartoon-like movie.
"Jeremiah Johnson" will always be a GREAT movie. So, too, "Dances with Wolves". You can't overlook "Billy Jack", though. I'd watch that any day rather than the Mohican one... There is a 2018 movie called "Woman Walks Ahead"... That's pretty good, too.
I lived in South Carolina and visited many of the places (also in NC) where they made "Last of the Mohicans" I still have the score on ANY playlist. Hostiles is another movie which I really Love. Actually the are all outstanding .
I would add "Panther in the Sky: the Story of Tecumseh" to this list and for a more late 20th century movie topic "The Broken Cord" both excellent movies
Wind River is my choice, seen it dozens of times. Dances With Wolves would be my second choice. But A Man Called Horse is a great native american movie.
The film "Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner" won awards for best film, best director, best actor and best actress at the 2002 American Indian Film Festival. It also received The Camera d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival, along with a plethora of other prestigious accolades. Roger Ebert called it "passion filtered through ritual and memory" and gave it 4 stars.
I'd agree with Mark in that A Man Called Horse , like Dances With Wolves featured Indigenous People as human beings, going about their business. They are the core of both of these films. Instead of the usual " circle the wagons !!" scenes .
Hostil was a great movie. Entertaining and exciting, yet the ending was sad. And the meaning was received, understood, accepted. The writing of that movie I believe was awesome and should have got an Academy Award, and maybe more.
I think one short movie that no one has put down was narrated by the great late Richard Boone. It was called Conquista. It was only about 25 minutes long but it was about when the first Indian came up on the first horse.... it really did a good job portraying that one day when they first met and explained really well how it changed the Indians culture.
"Smoke signals" is a Rez Fav!!! Lots of relatable subject matter, someone has a relative or tribe member that drove their car backwards, because it was the only gear that would work!!!😆 LMBO
The best! 8.- The New World. 7.- Geronimo. 6.- Little Big Man. 5.- The Last of the Mohicans. 4.- Windtalkers. 3.- Apocalypto. 2.- The Emerald Forest. 1.- Dances with Wolves.
Terrific movies all but not sure Jeremiah Johnson should be categorized as "Native American" movie, maybe replace it with Smoke Signals or the wonderful Last of the Dogmen. So happy to see Wind River on this list, grossly underrated movie, it should have won the Academy Award for Best Film and Jeremy Renner for Best Actor and Gil Birmingham for Best Supporting Actor that year.
Back in 1976 was a movie called "Greyeagle" that was pretty good, but didn't receive much notice. Although the lead character was not actually a Native American, he did do a great job of acting. Greyeagle was portrayed by the late Alex Cord.
Skins with Graham Greene was a good one. I am glad Wind River made the list. The last of the mohicans and Dances with Wolves are both on my list of favorites.
With the major amount of money that Dances With Wolves made at the Box Office, and also with Blockbuster Rentals, VHS Sales, DVD Sales, and The Director's Cut, that have been sold, and that you are still able to buy, you could pretty much see it coming. Dances With Wolves was an easy shoo-in for the Number 1 spot on this list. If it hadn't been Number 1, you'd of probably thought that something was way off, in this list.
Yes, woman walks ahead and kidnapped woman captured hearts are two films I would put on the list. It was nice to the native men in an emotional role shown as people with feelings and strong ties with their families and culture. Michael Grayeyes does a wonderful job of making it possible to see this.
The Last of Mohicans and Dances with Wolves are both classics. When I saw Hostiles I realised I know Wes Studi. He played another Native. He was Neytiri's Father, Omaticaya Chief in Avatar. What's more Avatar and Dances with Wolves have similiar storylines.
Yeah, he played an English lord or something..i will never forget.the scene where he's hanging by the chest, pierced with sharpened bone & gripped on to with eagle talons...it was a ritual done to mark the transition from boyhood to being an Indian brave
Tony Hillerman DVD Collection (Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, A Thief of Time) This is a must-have anthology from one of the great masters of suspense. In Skinwalkers, three shotgun blasts explode into the trailer of Officer Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police. Chee survives to join partner Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn in a frightening investigation that takes them into a dark world of ritual, witchcraft, and blood - all tied to the elusive and evil “skinwalker.” In A Thief of Time, a noted anthropologist vanishes at a moonlit Indian ruin where “thieves of time” ravage sacred ground for profit. When two corpses appear amid stolen goods and bones at an ancient burial site, Starring Adam Beach and Wes Studi. I found all three movies on TH-cam!!
When I saw your title"top American natives movies" I thought you present movies if not MADE by natives or at least about their life, habits, believes. And all I saw were well known movies (except no 5, never heard about it) about white heroes who mostly killed the natives. You should put also The Searchers, one of - If not THE- best John Wayne's movies!
Love these films. The common denominator for three of the five is Wes Studi. Not just a great representative for the Native Peoples of this land, but a phenomenal role model for all Americans, seeing as how he also served this country.
What no Skins, Thunderheart, Pow Wow Highway, Smoke Signals, Dance Me Outside, Dream Keeper, Little Big Man, Windwalker, Windtalkers, Geronimo: An American Legend, Last of the Dogmen, or Apocalypto?
I know and love 4 out of 5. I have to watch the 70s movie now. Dance Me Outside and Smoke Signals are good too. Next I want to watch Woman Walks Ahead.
There was a movie made several decades ago called "The Legend of Walks Far Woman". It's kinda cheesy by today's standards but it's still my favorite and, I think, is based on a true story.
IMDB says "The real-life Walks Far Woman died in 1953 at the age of one hundred two", so true story. Starring Raquel Welch, but Ebay says it's rare and expensive now.
@@keithselmes6079 Aw man, that's too bad. I had it on VHS for a long time and then the player broke so I haven't seen it in many years. Loved it tho. I wish it would come back on Hulu or something.
I don’t understand how you would leave off Smoke Signals. It was the first written directed and fully acted by native people.
I was working at our Tribal School ( Ojibwe)and the kids really related to that movie. We had a private showing for tbe school at our local theatre.
Haven’t seen that film. Gonna search for it.
Good dramatic movie with a mix of comedy...dance me outside is another great film every native should see
He picked all the worst movies in my opinion what about dream keepers or little big man or thunder heart instead he picked two movies without any Indians in it lol what a clown
My thoughts exactly. I was thinking the same thing.
Wes Studi performed in 3 out of 5 of these movies. He’s a freaking rock star!
If they include Geronimo will be 4
Gets the should have been listened to military leader role to a T
One of the BEST!
A movie star, actually ... !
He’s Cherokee I believe his family members had to walk the Trail of Tears. What was done to the Cherokee should never have happen.
Walk all the way to Oklahoma and start over. I’m a desolate environment. Major resilience.
Best Native American film ever Stolen Women Captured Hearts. How could you leave it out of the list? It is so heartfelt, beautiful and sad.
Totally unknown. It was shot for television, and didn't win any prize, that explains.
I have watched that movie so many times
Excellent film
Val Kilmer starred in an excellent movie titled THUNDER HEART. Young FBI Agent with Native blood is sent on a case to a Reservation and discovers his roots.
Yes, I love that movie too.
I found that movie recently and loved it too....sad that things like that actually happen on Reservations.
@@sherrelhauhe7791 the “Indian cop” character was partly based on the real life officer J.T. Iron Moccasin.
@Bruce Wilson @Savannah2751 @Sherrel Hauhe @Ted Ecker ...FYI if you folks enjoyed "Thunder Heart" you should check out the movies from the (New Mexican?) author Tony Hillerman and the EXCELLENT novels Hillerman wrote. Adam Beach and Wes Studi starred in a film called "Skinwalkers" which is a theme and variation on Val Kilmer's character as well as the Graham Greene cop character in the Alaskan based movie already listed. Like Graham Greene yet the theme of trying to solve a crime on a reservation with all the cultural bias and prejudice is an old one. It would be better if a more serious factual and documentary film or films were made about ALL aspects of life on a reservation ...and how most to all tribes literally got "screwed" by policy makers in Washington.
The best film that brings this to mind is "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee" - Adam Beach, Aiden Quinn and Anna Paquin before she did the X-men series. Awesome movie, scary movie since the corporate miners today are not seeking silver or gold in the Black Hills of Lakota territory for example -- rather they are ripping up the environment and destroying incomes of all races "Fracking" for coal as well as uranium and other industrial minerals. The story of the 19th Century injustice from corporate miners is NOT DONE!!!!!
Val was awesome as well as the Graham Green. Stellar cast!
I think 'Windtalkers' should be on this list. This movie reflects the underrated bravery and significance that North American first nations played in the fight for world freedom against true tyranny.
You mean, after their tribes were killed about several hundred years, they fought against true tyranny?
@@geraldtrumpp2340 Yes, that is what makes these great men true heroes.
I think more of an movie titeled "Windwalker"
I remember one of those Navajo code talkers came to our school as a guest speaker, and some kid asked how accurate the movie was. The guy chuckled, and said "Five percent."
Each "Wind talker" had a shadow. The shadow was there to shoot them before they got captured. Navajo is the only code from WW2 that wasn't broken.
We need more movies about are native Americans they aren't enough and i know there so much more about all of the tribes we even need a station on tv of all there truths as a dedication to all our elders
"Little Big Man" changed the way that Indians were portrayed by Hollywood forever. It was a landmark, much better than DW Wolves..and it gave us Chief Dan George, reason enough right there for top ratings...
I loved this movie, it's worth watching
One of my all time favorites! I was disappointed that it didn't make the list.
Not a serious film, for heavens sake Hoffmans in it !
@@dragons8822 This shows you have no clue what our tribes were like. There were scenes in this Movie that shows that our Tribes were living in Peace, but even your Pilgrims and Settlers did not know the difference.
@@nicholashalsey2150 That movie was shot near where I live, Alberta, and my dad met Chief Dan George. They got beers and a bunch chatted for a while. Dad said that Dan was a really funny guy who would barely let you get a word in!
Picked up the tab that night too. Classy man.
I’m Native American and, I’ve seen all these movies and Wind River was such a sad but great movie, I loved the ending, other great movie’s are Dance Me Outside, Smoke Signals, Lakota Woman, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, Ishi the Last of His Tribe, Geronimo with Wes Studi was also very good, all five movies mentioned were good the Indian in the Cupboard was pretty cute
@Paul Hollywood that was beautiful, yes I’m doing well, I hope you are as well
Bury my heart at wounded knee is a good 👍
Where can i find these movies DVD ?
@Theresa Reynolds, The last of the Dogmen was a great underrated movie with Tom Berenger it should of been on this lis as well as Thunderheart
@@mogarcia9755 I had actually forgotten about Last of the Dogmen
Another one worth mentioning is the 1995 movie "Last of the Dogmen" with Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey, and Kurtwood Smith. It's about an unknown tribe of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers living in the Oxbow quadrangle in northern Montana.
Yes! Last of the Dogmen is excellent. (I didn't care for the Wilford Brimley voiceover, though. Made me think of Mature Jenny Explains it For You at the end of each episode of Call The Midwife.)
Barbara Hershey is very alluring in this film!
Loved this movie! ❤️
Last of the Dog Men always seems to be overlooked and I'm not sure why. 'Could be because it's fairly far fetched. Tom Berenger is somewhat obscure but nonetheless turns in a brilliant performance. The same can be said of Barbara Hershey.
That was a very good movie 😊
The thing I appreciate the most about Dances with Wolves is the extensive use of the Lakota language. I don't know why this isn't being done more and more, if only to preserve what are quickly becoming dead or dying languages. Why, for example, does Hollywood need to "invent" languages for science fiction films (e.g., Klingon), when any number of dying languages could be used in the same place?
Because they are trying to bury the past.
Agree. Dances was one of the first movies where the language was consciously spoken with accuracy and with an understanding of the philosophy behind the language. There were a number of Lakota language teachers involved.
Yes, why do they have to invent? Take some pride by using the languages which are on the verge of extinction.
My friend Mary is Lakota and Cheyenne and she was one of the people teaching the actors the Lakota language. I knew Floyd Red Crow Westermen, he used to go to my reservation a lot, he played Ten Bears he was so nice and kind, he had even did a public service announcement on TV about how to get help with gambling addiction and yes we have a casino on my reservation. I’ve been fortunate to meet a few Native American actors.
@@theresareynolds3133 Good to know. I've heard there are now more than one schools in the Dakotas that teach/immerse children in Lakota language? If so, great!
Not only are "Last Of The Mohicans" and "Dances With Wolves" in the top 5 of this genre, IMO they are also two of the best movies in any category ever made.
So is Wind River, criminally underrated movie, a masterpiece
1 Medicine Man with Sean Connery
2 The Emerald Forest John Boormans
3 Thunderheart with Val Kilmer
4 The Emereld Forest
5Last of the Mohicans
6 Grey Owl with Pierce Brosnan
7 Apocalypto Mel Gibson
8 Dances with Wolves
9 The New World
Don't know how you could over look the 1970 film with Dustin Hoffman, "Little Big Man". It was ground-breaking (and radical) for its time.
Wes Studi as Magwa, is the best acting I have ever seen. Daniel Day Lewis's performance as HawkEye, is his best ever as well. These two, make this not only my favorite Native American Movie, but also my favorite Movie.
“To become free, Magwa became blood brother to the Mohawk…”
Absolutely 100% right!.
Lewis went to the William Shatner School of Overacting for this role.
It's a good movie, but the main role should've been a native actor, there r plenty 2 choose from
@@larrydickman6016 stupid comment
I remember watching a movie when I was a kid: "A Man Called Horse".
At the time, I was impressed with him.
I thought he would be on this list.
My thoughts exactly
absolutely !
A top 10 should include "Dance Me Outside" and "Smoke Signals," both excellent.
Smoke Signals is awesome, I have not seen the other
I was hoping someone would remember those, they need a bigger audience.
--I AM THE WOLVERINE
Smoke signals
- I Am the Walrus🤣🤣🤣🤣
You're right Dance Me Outside definitely belongs on this list. And let's not forget Powell Highway, Thunderheart, Clear Cut to name a few.
Came here to post Smoke Signals
Last of the Dogman, Windwalker, The Last of the Mohicans, Wind River, and Dances with Wolves are among my list of favorite Native American movies. The last of John Ford's movies in Monument Valley masterpiece of Cheyenne Autumn is a tale of the Trail of Tears of Cheyenne natives imprisoned in Oklahoma and escape back to Wyoming. The problem with this film is that they used Navajo Natives as Cheyenne Natives. The Navajo language was used in the movie. MacKenna's Gold, Little Big Man, The Searchers, and A Distant Trumpet are also a list of great classics that used Natives in their films.
Great choices!
What was Distant Trumpet about???
Good list. Soul City used some Natives too.
Hello Michelle how are you doing hope you’re having a great time with your family over there may God bless you all
@@kathleenanderson1353 West Point graduate Lt. Hazard is posted to Fort Delivery, Arizona, where he has to deal with lax discipline, romantic complications, Apaches and his conflicting feelings toward the Indians.
Not about natives of the USA, but Apocolypto is incredible and special. Huge release, non Hollywood actor: but all in Maya and local languages, incredible sets.
Very violent and action oriented
Two notes: they took huge liberties in mixing different periods of the mayan empire, and a couple anachronisms are egregious, which is a huge shame as it is unique.
Mexicans and "latinos" are half Indians, hihihihihi ,🤭
@laurolavanda1807 Mexico has the largest indigenous population in the americas lol More than Canada and the United States combined 🤣
@@Ese361 according to DNA tests modern Mexicans are 65% Native Indigineous
not gonna lie, I clicked on this video hoping the comment section would fill my watchlist with movies I hadn’t heard of yet… and it did not disappoint! Shout out to everyone who listed additional recommendations, regardless of rankings :)
I'm doing the same thing right now
"Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" deserves a mention.
Such a good film that hits you in the feels!
It was a book, never a movie
It was also a place of slaughter. I visited the site when on an American history road trip. Wounded Knee was such a stark and reminder of what really happened.. I think it was one of the saddest places I have ever been in USA. Having visited the Wounded Knee Museum at the same time was the saddest experience. I remember getting all chocked up and the feathers hanging from the ceiling representing all the native people who were killed that day, The worst thing I have ever ever seen in my life was the chard baby in a chard papoose on display. I saw this in 2007. I Still cry in 2024 remembering that baby
@ccbarr58 Yes it is also a movie. Adam Beaxh plays Dr. Eastman.
1 Dances with Wolves
2 Thunderheart
3 Windtalkers
4 Last of the Mohicans
5 The last of the dogmen
Honorable mention...
Powwow Highway...
My favorites
I love how you included Thunderheart on your list. It's one of my favorites, too, and I can't understand how it wasn't even mentioned. That, to me, is an absolute travesty!
They have forgotten the " Cheyenne Warrior"!??
Last of dogmen definitely!! Not windtalkers.. movie could have been better. Seemed, it was put together just to satisfy Natives.
1 Medicine Man with Sean Connery
2 The Emerald Forest John Boormans
3 Thunderheart with Val Kilmer
4 The Emereld Forest
5Last of the Mohicans
6 Grey Owl with Pierce Brosnan
7 Apocalypto Mel Gibson
8 Dances with Wolves
9 The New World
Couldn't argue with the list and all this mentioned in the comments. Need more of this kind of movie!
I think "A Man Called Horse" should at least be in the list and I believe it should be up close to the top! It was a lot more about the Native Americans than a lot of these movies. One of my favorite movies is "Jeremiah Johnson" but it is only nominally about Native Americans.
Totally agree, and "A Man Called Horse" was actually more authentic than "Dances With Wolves", and I personally would put it number one. One should also not forget "Windwalker" 1981 and a film of the modern age plight of two Lakota brothers "Skins"... one can also replace "Last of the Mohicans" with "Black Robe" which is excellent
absolutely "... Horse " was/is a great movie
Indian being played by a white man
@@raymondpilarczyk2773 out of curiosity, what part of Dances with Wolves do you think wasn't authentic? I do agree with your choices of movies though.
@@gregengel1616 At the end of the novel Lord of The Flies an officer asks a little boy his name and the boy
breaks down crying. He is one of the lesser ones and hasn't heard his name in a year, and can't remember
it. A woman who has spent decades out of earshot of her own language would not be able to tell John
Dunbar that Kicking Bird is "a holy man". This is not a serious objection, though, and most of the other
objections are trivial.
I served 9 years as an instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Firearms Training Division and the shootout in “Wind River” is without doubt the most realistic I have ever seen.
Also, being a great movie, finally someone deals with the Rape, Murder & Abuse of Indian women. No one else has that I know of. An oil rig would be the perfect thing for getting into remote country on The Wind River Res, I know this as I live in Wyoming not all that far from the Res, besides 3/4 of our state is that remote & more so depending on where you go. Lots of hunters get further into the back country during hunting season. Most of us live here for the remoteness & lack of people.
Especially the legal jurisdiction dilemma on reservation/federal/state-private land hence the shoot out tension
@@dragons8822 Love Wyoming/South Dakota area. Haven’t been there in 30 years. Love Crazy Horse Mountain!
@@dragons8822 Except it pins it on RACIST HUWHITE MEN when in reality they are mostly killed by their own people. It's also ridiculous that the FBI chick gets all those cops murdered and nothing happens to her.
The final scene in Jerimiah Johnson is Priceless. Robert Redford's best performance ever!
One of my fondest child hood memories was watching this movie late night with my father everytime it came on TV. One of the best movies in cinema history.
Just rewatched it recently....the fights at the end of the film are quite brutal.....and awesome.
Missing Windwalker. With the exception of the voice-over narration, only the Cheyenne and Crow languages are spoken with English subtitles. It holds a special place in my heart. The scene where he pays the bride-price for the woman he loves is not to be missed.
Oh Yes wonderful film
...except the aged Windwalker was played by a white guy from England.
@@bradleyrobinson7552 Also, a white guy played the young Windwalker!! Good movie though!! I saw Windwalker in theaters when it first came out!! Loved it!!
Winter hawk, and Gray eagle are the most amazing beautiful movie's ever filmed...
'A man called horse' with the great Richard Harris deserves to be on this list.
It's an old Movie, but I remember it a kid growing up.
it's also equally as brilliant as 'Dances with Wolves'...IMO
100%
"Songs My Brothers Taught Me", a small Indie produced by Forrest Whitaker, has an all=Native American cast to tell a contemporary story. Modest but real. No tomahawks.
Little Big Man (1970)
In 2014, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
One of the definite all time best.
Agree whole heartedly. This is a set of choices suffering from "recency" and largely Native American legacy from a whites view. I'm a mutt white with distant Native American blood 5 generations back.
Better than any movie in the above list - a classic by any measure.
How can Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee not be included, that is such a powerful piece...
3 out of five have the great Wes Studi in them. The Last of the Mohigans is my favorite but not an easy choice out of these great movies.
I can't believe Powwow Highway is not on this list.
Last Christmas I watched "Christmas in the Clouds," and I know, the title makes it sound like a hokey Hallmark movie. But it was a gas. All my favorite native actors were in it: Graham Greene was hilarious, Wes Studi wore a kilt, and Sheila Tousey rocked a bouffant and read trashy Indian romances. When the friends of the main character were trying to help him repair his fractured relationship, they read him a steamy passage from said trashy romance, by way of encouragement. I was in the mood for silly, and this movie did not disappoint.
Powwow Highway is a great, but overlooked movie and book.
PowwowHighway. Great movie and book.
This is a good list. Dreamkeeper is really great but hardly anyone has heard of it. War Party, Last of the Dogmen, and Thunderheart are great as well.
Last of the Dogmen - - hardly anyone knows of it - - but great choice
Couldn't agree more with you! Plenty of south American Native American films too! Blueberry being the most profound!
Thunderhawk
Hell yea warparty our half white brother
Haha! My son looks like Eagle Boy! He is half Navajo, and part Choctaw... Choctaw come from his dad. Me! LOL!
Hostiles was one of the most amazing surprises I ever had. The name put you off because you expect something else but it's a sensitive and extraordinarily beautiful film.
I've seen it seven times.
My favorite Native American movies are:
"Crazy Horse,"A war leader from the Lakota Tribe.
"Geronimo," An Apache Shaman who fought America and Mexico for his tribe's land.
These two Native leaders were taught in the American education system in the 1970s. I remember being taught how to make Teepees from paper.
Have you ever been to Crazy Horse Mountain in South Dakota? Along with the carving, they are building a University and all kinds of stuff.
@@downhomesunset
No, I haven't...
There was this other movie about Geronimo (not talking about the movies from '39 or '62). It was just like Geronimo an american legend released in 93 if I remember correct.) But not for theatre but for tv only. I liked that tv movie better.
@@downhomesunset Did you know the Lakota nation is and has been against this monument. They don’t believe you have to destroy a mountain made by the creator to honor a man. Crazy Horse himself never would have wanted it as he shunned the glory spotlight his whole life. He will always be remembered forever in their
I would have added "Last of the Dogmen" (1999)
"Dances With Wolves" is an excellent movie with respect to Lakota Culture in history, YET how disrespectful could it be to acknowledge Kevin Costner as a filmmaker in this category and NOT post his groundbreaking documentary of Indigenous/Native American culture found in "500 Nations"? Why is this documentary NOT on this list? Why is it NOT #1????
I agree with @Mark Klass 100% in his comments about "A Man Called Horse" as well as the questionable need to place "Jeremiah Johnson" in this category at all!
Where is the Tom Hanks western that does reflect well on Kiawa Culture in history; "News of the World"? This movie more than Redford's picture shows our cultural contrasts in history with Native Culture, i.e. the Kiawa Culture of the Southern Plains!
Where is "Black Robe"?
There were other comments about Dustin Hoffman in "Little Big Man"! Where is this movie? Thank you @Storbokki ...among others!
Where is "Geronimo"? Good Comment @t. c. ...among many others!
The Disney version of "Squanto" is respectful of Nantucket Culture in New England. Where is this Movie??
Where is "The Last of the Dogmen"? Thank you @MsAppeljack ...among others!
Where is "Windwalker"? Thank you @Dana ...among others! Another well reviewed film.
There are several films and documentary films about the WWII Navajo Code Talkers ...one of them being "A Secret Code of Honor"!!!! Recommend it!
And with further reflection on this posted list... "The Last of the Mohicans" is a good movie, YET SADLY it is a remake of a DATED screenplay written in the 1930s. The original "Leather-Stocking Tale" by Cooper is NOT a romance! The original story is about RACISM on many levels; i.e. the main protagonist Cora is a Caribbean Mulatto girl born to Col. Munro and his slave bought "wife", whom he frees after marriage and the birth of his daughter while he was a younger and lower ranking officer.
Without great detail it is worth repeating that "The Last of The Mohicans" in its original novel form is about RACISM NOT ROMANCE! This ignores the reality of the novel's power in its original telling. Hopefully one day a group of filmmakers will render "Mohicans" true to the novel!
Thank you @Hike with Mike as "Panther in the Sky" is a well researched historical novel that enthralled me, yet I have not seen the well reviewed movie. "Broken Cord" is also well reviewed and I would enjoy viewing that movie as well!
The documentary "Songs My Brother Taught Me" is well reviewed and I hope to see it soon. Thank you @bbbartolo !!!
Thank you @Rangers Fan Jill and others - "Dance Me Outside" and "Smoke Signals" are also well reviewed and those are two other movies I hope to see soon.
The CBC production of "Riel" is excellent! It is a T.V. documentary YET it plays well on DVD like "500 Nations" and to this day the First Nations struggle for autonomy or semi-autonomous rights in Canada are found in the birth of the Cree/Chippewa Nation joining with French Canadians in bringing about The Metis Culture in history.
There are MANY quality actors in this series INCLUDING William Shatner who ironically plays an American! "Riel" is Highly Recommend to everyone!!!
Where is the DreamWorks animated feature "Spirit"? A respectful representation of the Lakota Horse Culture of the North American Great Plains. A better example of history for young people and children than ...possibly... Disney's "Pocahontas"?!
"New World" does struggle with historical accuracy better than Disney's animation in dealing with Pocahontas.
There are many other well reviewed movies in the comments including "River Wild" and movies from Hillerman's novels etc. Is this movie list a big budget, albeit corporate sellout?
So aside from two movies on this list "Dances With Wolves" & "Hostiles" ...the rest are questionable at best.
That summed it up I guess, I have seen a few of these, but I can see I have a lot more to see to get a more complete prospective of Native Americans / Indian's.
Thank you for taking the time to educate us on what is available if we really want to learn.
You have so many movies here that i've never heard of, would be great if you could put these movies into a list form that's alot easier to read & look thru for a specific title & short description. There are a couple I own that you don't list that deal with the mystical side of native beliefs. Also, being as knowledgeable as you sound, I'm surprised you didn't use their correct names that they call themselves. Either way Thanks for movies I've not heard of.
@@dragons8822 A justifiably Janus-like reply from a two headed Hydra dragons? A corporate lackey are we or you or we... oh my which two-faced or two headed tiger or dragon am I addressing? Why not make the list yourself instead of nebulously nattering on about it?
And do your seemingly intelligent comments make sense? Or are your nervous "knee-jerk" reactions just that -- reactionary and ultimately without merit?
Ultimately this gets way off into a meaningless "left field" discussion and I am no longer a fan of baseball unlike the decent filmmaker Kevin Costner.
Do your list on a separate blog string and be done with it!
And for what it is worth... I have consolidated many films already listed and I am only familiar with the films themselves or their titles through my personal historical research at the public library. There is ANOTHER Native Related Film starring Aiden Quinn ...a leading actor from the very popular "Legends of the Fall"...yet another film with respectful Native American references and respectful Native American characters.
To site the title I am thinking of ... I would have to research Quinn's career to name a title that tells a story of 19th Century corporate corruption and greed by American Mining Companies and their manipulation of Washington politics to steal mineral rich lands from Native American Tribes!!! It WAS A GREAT FILM.
Have at it!!! Most of the movies listed are no longer for sale on DVD regardless and might be found in libraries or somewhere online. Coincidence? Movies that tell the TRUTH in a less than flattering way about the history of our culture.
'The Truth will out' ...pretty old English language idiom of great power and wisdom!!!
@@M7TOPGEAR Why ask a question ...even at a corporate level ...if you cannot face the truth of the answer or multiple answers?
So these folks asked a question and everyone, everyday makes a choice of how to be entertained as well as what to learn .. common sense.
Otherwise you are welcome should your comment prove sincere.
One of my faves is Thunder heart starring Val Kilmer. Two that really touched me, though a bit difficult to follow if you're not paying attention, are The Bygone and Black Spruce-- contemporary with today's societies. Well worth the time if you enjoy a flick that makes you think.
I loved that film-it really delved into the white man/red man issues of the time.
Dances with wolves and thunder heart. This are my favorite native American movies.
I’ve become increasingly facinated with the original peoples of America. Could anyone be my hero and list as many serious native movies as they can. Movies actually saying something important and/or educational about them. Even though they are romantic adventures DWW and LOTM tells you something about the complexity of their history. Anyone know of any Canadian historic movies or social dramas on the subject? Please 🙏
All great films, so yes I agree. I also would have loved to see Last Of The Dogmen on the list. Cheers.
I saw a great documentary at The Bayou Film Festival titled The Seventh Generation. It focused on Black Elk's prophesy that the land would be returned to the native people in the seventh generation, and just recently more than 1/2 of Oklahoma was given to 6 tribes by a Supreme Court ruling... I am Houma tribe on my mother's side, and Catahoula Tribe on my father's side.
My coworker is Houma! We live in California.
Dances With Wolves is far and above the best Indigenous American movie of all time. It is a pity more indigenous movies have not been made to this high standard. Hopefully in the future.
I agree. Dances is one of the best movies ever and my favorite western. I also like Little Big Man.
Wind River is a treasure. Everyone should watch it. One of my favorites
The FBI girl got everyone killed at the end and the movie treats her like a hero. Disgusting.
I absolutely adore The Last of the Mohicans. I have watched it countless times. It inspired me to read Cooper's novel.
Ruth How are you doing hope you're fine and staying safe?
Two more movies that should be considered are "Black Robe" and "Little Big Man". There is a movie called "The Good Indian" that is really good even though it is not set in the old old old west setting. More about the turn of the century.
Yeah, Black Robe was pretty good.
It was little Big Man that opened my eyes and heart to the atrocities perpetrated by the white man on our indigenous people. I was 21. I've been fighting for reparations & acknowledgement of their plight for 53 years now.
Dreamkeeper here on youtube, mostly I'd say 98 percent native cast, produced by a native lady, all about native legends, it's a beautiful movie, I might have a bias because I was in this movie but, this movie has almost every single famous native actor in it, I highly recommend it. It's Hallmark entertainment and ABC, from 2003
Hello Marie how are you doing hope you’re having a great time with your family over there may God bless you all
Hello Marie how are you doing hope you’re having a great time with your family over there may God bless you all
I’ll check that movie out
@paulagloberson4758 I think you will enjoy it, mine and my son's favorite story is spider and coyote legend. I was cheifs daughter in the dun pony segment
Wind River and Dances With Wolves are my favourites on this list. However, the one film in this genre that will stay with me forever, the one that tore me to pieces when I first saw it in the 1970s and made me ashamed to be white, is Soldier Blue. Based on the Sand Creek Massacre, it says everything about the ignorance and brutal inhumanity shown by one race to another. Unforgettable.
Ashamed?!?
Something is wrong with you!
So are you proud of what the white man did to the Native Americans? Do you know history? Do you respect other peoples' opinions?Perhaps you should consider others before saying there's something wrong with them @@KnivenKnaven
No need for white guilt. There were plenty of massacres during inter -tribal warfare. The native people, like the whites, were not saints.
Soldier Blue was a horrific depiction of a brutal massacre. It was one of the reasons I went to work with native people later in life to learn of their cultures and encourage them. It was a fulfilling time.
Great movies 🍿 long live the American Indians❤️
Thunderheart with Val Kilmer. Like
a modern day Dances With Wolves
and based on real events.
Yes I also enjoyed the THUNDER HEART " movie...Val Kilmer was great as usual !!
Nice dear 💗
Hello
My brother was editor on Dances With Wolves - but he was also editor on what I consider to be a more authentic Native movie called "Windwalker" from 1980 with Trevor Howard, Nick Ramus and Dusty IronWing McCrea. It is one of my favorite movies...it can be rented or purchased on youtube but it was magnificent on the big screen.
So glad you mentioned it, Windwalker. When I was a kid my dad brought it home on a reel with a projector, in the 70s, and we all watched it. Very well done show, and to me it was a great story.
I loved Windwalker--one of my all-time favorite movies. Also liked Wes Studi in Geronimo (1993), and Smoke Signals. Did NOT like The Last of the Mohicans; the talents of Daniel Day Lewis were IMO wasted on this two-dimensional cartoon-like movie.
One of my favorite movies, ever.
I think soldier blue also deserves to be included among these beautiful movies, greetings from Italy
"Jeremiah Johnson" will always be a GREAT movie. So, too, "Dances with Wolves". You can't overlook "Billy Jack", though. I'd watch that any day rather than the Mohican one... There is a 2018 movie called "Woman Walks Ahead"... That's pretty good, too.
A Man Called Horse (1970) started it all. Prior to that, all we saw was stereotypes of the Native American.
I lived in South Carolina and visited many of the places (also in NC) where they made "Last of the Mohicans" I still have the score on ANY playlist. Hostiles is another movie which I really Love. Actually the are all outstanding .
Trevor Jones' soundtrack in LOTM is perhaps the most powerful soundtrack of all time.
Black Robe should be on this list and also the Revenant
The Rehab and isn't a Native American movie.
I would add "Panther in the Sky: the Story of Tecumseh" to this list and for a more late 20th century movie topic "The Broken Cord" both excellent movies
Wind River is my choice, seen it dozens of times. Dances With Wolves would be my second choice. But A Man Called Horse is a great native american movie.
Wind River is a great movie.
Everyone should watch Wind River. Fantastic film.
IMO Soldier Blue is the greatest Native American Movie ever made! It's hard to believe the horrific butchery the NA people suffered was actually true.
"smoke signals" a non violent story of native American life on the reservation. great sound track as well
Hi
There is a movie called A Man called Horse with Richard Harris was a cool movie.
definitely
The film "Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner" won awards for best film, best director, best actor and best actress at the 2002 American Indian Film Festival. It also received The Camera d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival, along with a plethora of other prestigious accolades. Roger Ebert called it "passion filtered through ritual and memory" and gave it 4 stars.
I'd agree with Mark in that A Man Called Horse , like Dances With Wolves featured Indigenous People as human beings, going about their business. They are the core of both of these films. Instead of the usual " circle the wagons !!" scenes .
Hostil was a great movie. Entertaining and exciting, yet the ending was sad. And the meaning was received, understood, accepted. The writing of that movie I believe was awesome and should have got an Academy Award, and maybe more.
I totally agree Douglas.
Thunderheart is my all time favorite.
I will add a third LIKE to this fabulous movie and Val Kilmer, of course !!!
I think one short movie that no one has put down was narrated by the great late Richard Boone. It was called Conquista. It was only about 25 minutes long but it was about when the first Indian came up on the first horse.... it really did a good job portraying that one day when they first met and explained really well how it changed the Indians culture.
"Smoke signals" is a Rez Fav!!!
Lots of relatable subject matter, someone has a relative or tribe member that drove their car backwards, because it was the only gear that would work!!!😆 LMBO
The best! 8.- The New World. 7.- Geronimo. 6.- Little Big Man. 5.- The Last of the Mohicans. 4.- Windtalkers. 3.- Apocalypto. 2.- The Emerald Forest. 1.- Dances with Wolves.
Little big man……….dances with Wolves…..a man called horse😎🏹🪶
Dances With Wolves is my all time favorite and an AMERICAN CLASSIC 💯
Terrific movies all but not sure Jeremiah Johnson should be categorized as "Native American" movie, maybe replace it with Smoke Signals or the wonderful Last of the Dogmen. So happy to see Wind River on this list, grossly underrated movie, it should have won the Academy Award for Best Film and Jeremy Renner for Best Actor and Gil Birmingham for Best Supporting Actor that year.
Back in 1976 was a movie called "Greyeagle" that was pretty good, but didn't receive much notice. Although the lead character was not actually a Native American, he did do a great job of acting. Greyeagle was portrayed by the late Alex Cord.
Jeremiah Johnson is one of my favorite movies of all time!
Skins with Graham Greene was a good one. I am glad Wind River made the list. The last of the mohicans and Dances with Wolves are both on my list of favorites.
With the major amount of money that Dances With Wolves made at the Box Office, and also with Blockbuster Rentals, VHS Sales, DVD Sales, and The Director's Cut, that have been sold, and that you are still able to buy, you could pretty much see it coming. Dances With Wolves was an easy shoo-in for the Number 1 spot on this list. If it hadn't been Number 1, you'd of probably thought that something was way off, in this list.
Hi
Costner’s Horizon series will start filming here in another week. After a casting call I was selected to be an indigenous extra. Should be fun.
Absolutely would love to be a bird on your shoulder. Enjoy, I'm sure it's going to be prodigious. 🐦
A year later, how did it go?
@@AussieFIag had other commitments, couldn’t do it. Heard from others that you have to be on set twelve hours each day at very little money.
@@tedecker3792
That's a shame. It would have been a great experience.
Thanks for the reply.
I watched Soldier Blue in history class in 1975 about the sand creek massacre I have never forgotten about it.
I love them all. I think Geronimo, Woman Walks Ahead, and more should be Included!
Hello Judith how are you doing hope you’re having a great time with your family over there may God bless you all
Yes, woman walks ahead and kidnapped woman captured hearts are two films I would put on the list. It was nice to the native men in an emotional role shown as people with feelings and strong ties with their families and culture. Michael Grayeyes does a wonderful job of making it possible to see this.
Wind River was just a KICK-ASS movie! I've watched it more than a dozen times & will watch it again & again!
The Last of Mohicans and Dances with Wolves are both classics. When I saw Hostiles I realised I know Wes Studi. He played another Native. He was Neytiri's Father, Omaticaya Chief in Avatar. What's more Avatar and Dances with Wolves have similiar storylines.
hey what about soldier blue? flapping eagle? smoke signals? dance me outside? winter hawk? chato's land? Geronimo? pillers of the sky?
"Smoke Signals" is my favorite
The last of the Mohicans is my favourite movie of all time. Have watched it dozens of times. Brilliant story line, acting and music.
Yeah, he played an English lord or something..i will never forget.the scene where he's hanging by the chest, pierced with sharpened bone & gripped on to with eagle talons...it was a ritual done to mark the transition from boyhood to being an Indian brave
Imo, native american people deserve the same attention/respect from Amazon tribes.
Tony Hillerman DVD Collection (Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, A Thief of Time) This is a must-have anthology from one of the great masters of suspense. In Skinwalkers, three shotgun blasts explode into the trailer of Officer Jim Chee of the Navajo Tribal Police. Chee survives to join partner Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn in a frightening investigation that takes them into a dark world of ritual, witchcraft, and blood - all tied to the elusive and evil “skinwalker.” In A Thief of Time, a noted anthropologist vanishes at a moonlit Indian ruin where “thieves of time” ravage sacred ground for profit. When two corpses appear amid stolen goods and bones at an ancient burial site, Starring Adam Beach and Wes Studi. I found all three movies on TH-cam!!
After seeing Wind River here, I want to buy the movie and will.
When I saw your title"top American natives movies" I thought you present movies if not MADE by natives or at least about their life, habits, believes.
And all I saw were well known movies (except no 5, never heard about it) about white heroes who mostly killed the natives. You should put also The Searchers, one of - If not THE- best John Wayne's movies!
Dances with Wolves is my all time favorite. I have watched it soooooo many times.
Dances With Wolves and Jeremiah Johnson are 2 of my all time favorite movies. And I'm 73. 😊
William Keck - those are my two favorites as well. it seems as if in the last 10 years or so, westerns have just not been very good...
Last of the mohikans valid for any place and time
Love these films. The common denominator for three of the five is Wes Studi. Not just a great representative for the Native Peoples of this land, but a phenomenal role model for all Americans, seeing as how he also served this country.
Last of the Mohicans is best, imho. But what I'd really like to know is which movie Native Americans like the best.
What no Skins, Thunderheart, Pow Wow Highway, Smoke Signals, Dance Me Outside, Dream Keeper, Little Big Man, Windwalker, Windtalkers, Geronimo: An American Legend, Last of the Dogmen, or Apocalypto?
Windwalker, my favorite.
Wind River is an excellent movie.
1.Skins
2.Last of the Dogmen
3.Black Robe
4.The Tracker -aboriginal film
5.Last of the Mohegan- Woodland Nations
6.Wind River has been mentioned
All those movies are wonderful, please add Thunderheart with Val Kilmer, it’s one of my favourite movies.
Just found this Val Kilmer movie and absolutely loved it !!!!
I know and love 4 out of 5. I have to watch the 70s movie now. Dance Me Outside and Smoke Signals are good too. Next I want to watch Woman Walks Ahead.
There was a movie made several decades ago called "The Legend of Walks Far Woman". It's kinda cheesy by today's standards but it's still my favorite and, I think, is based on a true story.
IMDB says "The real-life Walks Far Woman died in 1953 at the age of one hundred two", so true story. Starring Raquel Welch, but Ebay says it's rare and expensive now.
@@keithselmes6079 Aw man, that's too bad. I had it on VHS for a long time and then the player broke so I haven't seen it in many years. Loved it tho. I wish it would come back on Hulu or something.