BEST PORTRAYALS OF NATIVE AMERICANS IN FILM
by Tony-Scheinman | created - 01 Oct 2021 | updated - 28 May 2022 | PublicIf, like me, you've gotten tired of seeing films (not necessarily Westerns) with the Indians wearing feathered headdresses and speaking broken/semi-broken/pidgin English (or, even worse, going "HOW!" or "UGH!" and raising their right hands everything they meet a white man), then here is a list of films (in no particular order) that portray Native Americans more accurately (if not always sympathetically).
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1. Windwalker (1980)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
In 1797 Utah, an aged Cheyenne patriarch helps his kin to fight off a raiding party of rival Crow warriors and he tells his grandchildren the story of their family.
Director: Kieth Merrill | Stars: Trevor Howard, Nick Ramus, James Remar, Serene Hedin
Votes: 1,226 | Gross: $18.64M
One of the most beautifully filmed (and, as far as I know the ONLY film to be shot completely in Native American-language dialogue).
2. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
R | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Three trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig
Votes: 187,743 | Gross: $75.51M
Far superior to both the book it's based on and the 1936 film that it's also based on.
3. Dances with Wolves (1990)
PG-13 | 181 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Lieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Votes: 290,778 | Gross: $184.21M
4. Black Robe (1991)
R | 101 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In the 17th century, a Jesuit missionary nicknamed Black Robe by the natives and his small party of companions try reaching the Huron tribe in Canada all while facing mistrust, Iroquois warring parties and harsh winter conditions.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Lothaire Bluteau, Aden Young, Sandrine Holt, August Schellenberg
Votes: 7,667 | Gross: $8.21M
5. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
GP | 108 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Robert Redford, Will Geer, Delle Bolton, Josh Albee
Votes: 35,003 | Gross: $47.74M
6. Little Big Man (1970)
PG-13 | 139 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Jack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Native Americans and fighting with General Custer.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam
Votes: 37,906 | Gross: $31.56M
7. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
PG | 135 min | Drama, Western
Missouri farmer Josey Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George, Bill McKinney
Votes: 79,874 | Gross: $31.80M
8. I Will Fight No More Forever (1975 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Drama, History
In a period when many thought that "the only good Indian is a dead Indian," Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce won the admiration of the American public.
Director: Richard T. Heffron | Stars: James Whitmore, Sam Elliott, Ned Romero, Linda Redfearn
Votes: 749
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