Native American Culture in American Media

Legendsof the Fall is a movie about three brothers who grew up in a remote area of Montana with their father, an ex-colonel in the war who has grown tired of the ill-treatment of Native Americans by the US government. In the movie, the family is heavily influenced by Native American culture, particularly the middle brother Tristan, who becomes very close with One Stab, his father’s Cree friend.   

Throughout the movie, the influence of Native American culture is very apparent. Although most of the Native American people in the film, primarily One Stab and Pet, who are both Cree, have conformed greatly to American culture, they are still take part in Native American practices. One Stab, the most prominent Native American character in the movie teaches Tristan about Native American belief’s in a good death and an honest kill. The film also characteristics of him being a wise man with a great knowledge of the earth. Things such as these are common tropes associated with Native American characters in the media.  

One thing I found really interesting about the movie was the way One Stab and Pet fit into the Ludlow’s lives. They dressed like American people and worked on the land for the Ludlows. They were all friends and they still held on to their Native American heritage, but they were very Americanized. The movie didn’t take away their Native American background entirely, but it seemed as though it was sending the message that Native American people were okay as long as they conformed to what was considered to be entirely American.

Times when this is very apparent are when Tristan, the middle son, takes interest in the Cree lifestyle. One Stab teaches him Cree philosophy, showing him how to hunt and telling him about Cree funeral practices and other things of that nature. What is interesting about this is that most of the time it is Tristan who is seen actually doing the Native American Practices instead of One Stab. It’s like One Stab practicing his own culture is viewed as a threat, but Tristan practicing the culture is safe. 

While the depiction of Native American people in this movie isn't overtly racist in the sense that they aren’t seen riding horses and wearing feathers like they have been depicted as doing in the past, I still think the characters in the movie conform to commonly held stereotypes about their people. One Stab and Pet are still able to hold on to their culture, but they are still working to serve white people just as Native American people have always been seen doing in film and TV.