By portraying them in a more sympathetic light, Hollywood has revised its outlook on Indigenous Natives after decades of stereotyping them as bloodthirsty warriors bent on annihilating the white settlers intruding on their lands. Films such as 1990's 'Dances with Wolves" and 2007 'Four Sheets to the Wind' humanize the Native American's unique plight in co-existing with a dominating Western civilization.
Western author Zane Grey had serialized a story looking at the Navajo tribe and its struggles to preserve its culture in the face of the United States government. The articles, first appearing in the 1922 The Ladies' Home Journal, were greeted with heated debate, most disagreeing with its author that missionaries and the U. S. writ large were destroying the Native population. The adapted script for October 1925's release, "The Vanishing America," toned down Grey's blanket animosity toward whites in general and placed direct blame on certain greedy and corrupt Indian agents working for the government. Nonetheless, the Paramount film is one of the first Hollywood movies describing the poverty-ridden plight of North America's original settlers.
"The Vanishing America" is unique in its wide-scope telling of the Indian history. The movie begins with the Navajos conquering the cliff dweller tribes, only to be overcome by the onrushing Europeans. The message is that no tribe or government is eternally permanent, that the power of nature overgrows every human structure. The problem is that during the interim, there exists oppressed people, through the actions of racists' prejudices, that make life nearly impossible to co-exist.
The hero of "The Vanishing America" is a tribal leader, Nophaie (Richard Dix-not an unusual practice of white actors in the roles of Indians back then), who is persuaded to enlist in the 'white man's war (World War One)' by a white female teacher (Lois Wilson). He and other tribesmen volunteer, and prove to more than capable fighters. When they return to their reservation, they find life far more destitute than before, mainly because the government agent has raked the Natives and their good horses for immense profit for himself.
Director George Switz, who helmed "The Perils of Pauline" serials, illustrates the immensity of nature by filming the majestic landscape within the Navajo reservation in Norther Arizona and Utah. The remote locale created many challenges for the film crew, with horrible road conditions blowing out tires and finicky summer weather causing havoc in the shooting schedule. But the results on screen were stunning: the movie was one of the first to reveal the Monument Valley, a favorite location for John Ford films.
Despite previous few humane depictions of the Native Americans in film, "The Vanishing America" was stark in showing their mistreatment by white settlers. As film historian Kevin Brownlow wrote, "The problem of the Indian and his betrayal by the government was more clearly etched in this picture than in any other silent film." The movie proved to be an inspiration for future directors examining the Native Americans in contemporary terms and their efforts to simultaneously preserve their age-old customs while assimilating in civilization.
Western author Zane Grey had serialized a story looking at the Navajo tribe and its struggles to preserve its culture in the face of the United States government. The articles, first appearing in the 1922 The Ladies' Home Journal, were greeted with heated debate, most disagreeing with its author that missionaries and the U. S. writ large were destroying the Native population. The adapted script for October 1925's release, "The Vanishing America," toned down Grey's blanket animosity toward whites in general and placed direct blame on certain greedy and corrupt Indian agents working for the government. Nonetheless, the Paramount film is one of the first Hollywood movies describing the poverty-ridden plight of North America's original settlers.
"The Vanishing America" is unique in its wide-scope telling of the Indian history. The movie begins with the Navajos conquering the cliff dweller tribes, only to be overcome by the onrushing Europeans. The message is that no tribe or government is eternally permanent, that the power of nature overgrows every human structure. The problem is that during the interim, there exists oppressed people, through the actions of racists' prejudices, that make life nearly impossible to co-exist.
The hero of "The Vanishing America" is a tribal leader, Nophaie (Richard Dix-not an unusual practice of white actors in the roles of Indians back then), who is persuaded to enlist in the 'white man's war (World War One)' by a white female teacher (Lois Wilson). He and other tribesmen volunteer, and prove to more than capable fighters. When they return to their reservation, they find life far more destitute than before, mainly because the government agent has raked the Natives and their good horses for immense profit for himself.
Director George Switz, who helmed "The Perils of Pauline" serials, illustrates the immensity of nature by filming the majestic landscape within the Navajo reservation in Norther Arizona and Utah. The remote locale created many challenges for the film crew, with horrible road conditions blowing out tires and finicky summer weather causing havoc in the shooting schedule. But the results on screen were stunning: the movie was one of the first to reveal the Monument Valley, a favorite location for John Ford films.
Despite previous few humane depictions of the Native Americans in film, "The Vanishing America" was stark in showing their mistreatment by white settlers. As film historian Kevin Brownlow wrote, "The problem of the Indian and his betrayal by the government was more clearly etched in this picture than in any other silent film." The movie proved to be an inspiration for future directors examining the Native Americans in contemporary terms and their efforts to simultaneously preserve their age-old customs while assimilating in civilization.