Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (film)

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is a 2007 American Western historical drama television film based on the 1970 non-fiction book of the same name by Dee Brown. It is directed by Yves Simoneau and was produced by Wolf Films for HBO. It stars Aidan Quinn, Adam Beach, August Schellenberg, Anna Paquin, Colm Feore, and Gordon Tootoosis.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Genre	Western Historical drama
Based on	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Written by	Daniel Giat
Directed by	Yves Simoneau
Starring	Aidan Quinn Adam Beach August Schellenberg Anna Paquin
Music by	George S. Clinton
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Dick Wolf Tom Thayer
Producer	Clara George
Production locations	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Cinematography	David Franco
Editors	Michael Brown Michael D. Ornstein
Running time	132 minutes
Production companies	Wolf Films Traveler's Rest Films
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	May 27, 2007 (2007-05-27)

The film dramatizes the history of Native Americans in the American West in the 1860s and 1870s, focusing upon the transition from traditional ways of living to living on reservations and their treatment during that period, through the lives of four main characters: Charles Eastman (Beach), Sitting Bull (Schellenberg), Henry L. Dawes (Quinn), and Red Cloud (Tootoosis). The title of the film and the book is taken from a line in the Stephen Vincent Benét poem "American Names."

The film premiered on HBO on May 27, 2007. It received positive reviews from critics, and won seven Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Television Movie. It was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards: Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film, Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for Beach, and Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for Paquin.

Plot

The plot, which is based on events covered by several chapters of Brown's book, other sources, and on real events, revolves around four main characters:

• Charles Eastman né Ohiyesa, a young, mixed-race Sioux doctor educated at Dartmouth and Boston University, who is held up as proof of the success of assimilation
• Sitting Bull, the Sioux chief who refuses to submit to U.S. government policies designed to strip his people of their identity, their dignity and their "sacred" land, the gold-laden Black Hills of the Dakotas
• U.S. Senator Henry L. Dawes, an architect of government policy for allotment of Indian lands to individual households to force adoption of subsistence farming
• Red Cloud, whose decision to make peace with the American government and go to a reservation disturbed Sitting Bull.

While Eastman and his future wife Elaine Goodale, a reformer from New England and Superintendent of Indian Schools in the Dakotas, work to improve life for Native Americans on the reservation, Senator Dawes lobbies President Ulysses S. Grant for more humane treatment of the Native Americans. He opposes the adversarial stance of General William Tecumseh Sherman. The Dawes Commission (held from 1893 to 1914)^[1] develops a proposal to break up the Great Sioux Reservation to allow for American demands for land while preserving enough land for the Sioux to live on. The Commission's plan is held up by Sitting Bull's opposition. He has risen to leadership among the Sioux as one of the last chiefs to fight for their independence. Dawes, in turn, urges Eastman to help him convince the recalcitrant tribal leaders. After witnessing conditions on the Sioux reservation, Eastman refuses.

The prophet Wovoka raised Western Native American hopes with his spiritual movement based on a revival of religious practice and the ritual Ghost Dance; it was a messianic movement that promised an end of their suffering under the white man. The assassination of Sitting Bull, and the massacre, by the 7th Cavalry, of nearly 200 Native American men, women and children at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890, ended such hopes.

Henry L. Dawes wanted to increase the cultural assimilation of Native Americans into American society by his Dawes Act (1887) and his later efforts as head of the Dawes Commission. During the 47 years of implementing the Act, Native Americans lost about 90 million acres (360,000 km²) of treaty land, or about two-thirds of their 1887 land base. About 90,000 Native Americans were made landless. The implementation of the Dawes Act disrupted Native American tribes' traditional communal life, culture, and unity.^[2][3]

Cast

• Adam Beach as Ohiyesa / Charles Eastman
  • Chevez Ezaneh as Young Ohiyesa / Charles Eastman
• Aidan Quinn as Henry L. Dawes
• August Schellenberg as Chief Sitting Bull
• Anna Paquin as Elaine Goodale
• Colm Feore as General William Tecumseh Sherman
• Gordon Tootoosis as Chief Red Cloud
• Fred Dalton Thompson as President Ulysses S. Grant
• Duane Howard as Uncle
• Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse as One Bull
• Brian Stollery as Bishop Whipple
• Shaun Johnston as Colonel Nelson A. Miles
• Billy Merasty as Chief Young Man Afraid of His Horses
• Morris Birdyellowhead as Chief American Horse
• Eddie Spears as Chasing Crane
• Sean Wei Mah as Bull Head
• Eric Schweig as Chief Gall
• Jimmy Herman as Yellow Bird
• Patrick St. Esprit as Major James Walsh
• J.K. Simmons as James McLaughlin
• Wes Studi as Wovoka / Jack Wilson
• Marty Atonini as Colonel James W. Forsyth
• Lee Tergesen as Daniel F. Royer

Production

The film was shot in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
Artios Awards	2007	Outstanding Achievement in Casting – TV Movie of the Week	René Haynes	Won	[4]
Hollywood Post Alliance Awards		Outstanding Color Grading – Television	Kevin O’Connor	Nominated	[5]
		Outstanding Editing – Television	Michael Ornstein	Won
Online Film & Television Association Awards		Best Motion Picture		Won	[6]
		Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Aidan Quinn	Nominated
			August Schellenberg	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Anna Paquin	Won
		Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Yves Simoneau	Won
		Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Daniel Giat	Nominated
		Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Won
		Best Costume Design in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Won
		Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Nominated
		Best Lighting in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Won
		Best Makeup/Hairstyling in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Nominated
		Best Music in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Won
		Best Production Design in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Won
		Best Sound in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards		Outstanding Made for Television Movie	Dick Wolf, Tom Thayer, Yves Simoneau, and Clara George	Won	[7]
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Aidan Quinn	Nominated
			August Schellenberg	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	Anna Paquin	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special	Yves Simoneau	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special	Daniel Giat	Nominated
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards		Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie	Ian Thomas, D.A. Menchions, and Paul Healy	Nominated
		Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	René Haynes, Rhonda Fisekci, and Candice Elzinga	Nominated
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	David Franco	Won
		Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Mario Davignon, Micheline Rouillard, and Jill Blackie	Nominated
		Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Iloe Flewelling, Chris Harrison, Heather Smith, and Penny Thompson	Nominated
		Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Non-Prosthetic)	Gail Kennedy, Rochelle Pomerleau, and Joanne Preece	Won
		Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)	George S. Clinton	Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie	Michael Ornstein and Michael Brown	Won
		Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	Stephen Hunter Flick, Avram Gold, Steffan Falesitch, Eric Hertsgaard, Patricio Libenson, Denise Horta, Adam Johnston, Paul Berolzheimer, Dean Beville, Jeff Sawyer, Ken Young, Mike Flicker, David Lee Fein, and Hilda Hodges	Won
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie	George Tarrant, Rick Ash, and Edward C. Carr III	Won
		Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special	David Goldberg, Chris Del Conte, Joseph Bell, Justin Mitchell, Erik Bruhwiler, Tommy Tran, Benoit Girard, Tammy Sutton, and Andrew Roberts	Nominated
Satellite Awards		Best Motion Picture Made for Television		Nominated	[8]
		Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	Aidan Quinn	Nominated
American Cinema Editors Awards	2008	Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television	Michael Ornstein and Michael Brown	Nominated	[9]
American Society of Cinematographers Awards		Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Television Movie/Miniseries/Pilot	David Franco	Nominated	[10]
Cinema Audio Society Awards		Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Miniseries	George Tarrant, Rick Ash, and Edward C. Carr III	Won	[11]
Costume Designers Guild Awards		Outstanding Made for Television Movie or Miniseries	Mario Davignon	Won	[12]
Critics' Choice Awards		Best Picture Made for Television		Won	[13]
Directors Guild of America Awards		Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television or Miniseries	Yves Simoneau	Won	[14]
Golden Globe Awards		Best Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated	[15]
		Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	Adam Beach	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Anna Paquin	Nominated
Golden Reel Awards		Best Sound Editing – Dialogue and ADR for Long Form Television	Stephen Hunter Flick, Avram D. Gold, Steffan Falesitch, Eric Hertsguaard, and Patricio A. Libenson	Won	[16]
		Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects and Foley for Long Form Television	Stephen Hunter Flick, Avram D. Gold, Paul Berolzheimer, Dean Beville, Adam Johnston, Jeff Sawyer, Kenneth Young, David Fine, and Hilda Hodges	Won
Humanitas Prize		90 Minute or Longer Network or Syndicated Television	Daniel Giat	Won	[17]
NAACP Image Awards		Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special		Nominated	[18]
		Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Adam Beach	Nominated
Producers Guild of America Awards		David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television	Clara George, Tom Thayer, and Dick Wolf	Won	[19]
Screen Actors Guild Awards		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Anna Paquin	Nominated	[20]
Visual Effects Society Awards		Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Broadcast Program, Commercial or Music Video	Phi Tran, Matthew Lee, Martin Hilke, and Justin Mitchell (for "002_05")	Won	[21]
Western Heritage Awards		Television Feature Film		Won	[22]
Writers Guild of America Awards		Long Form – Adaptation	Daniel Giat – Based on the book by Dee Brown	Nominated	[23]
Young Artist Awards		Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Leading Young Actor	Chevez Ezaneh	Won	[24]

References

1. Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine|Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes (The Dawes Commission), 1893-1914
2. Case DS, Voluck DA (2002). Alaska Natives and American Laws (2nd ed.). Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Press. pp. 104–5. ISBN 978-1-889963-08-2.
3. Gibson, Arrell M. Gibson. "Indian Land Transfers." Handbook of North American Indians: History of Indian-White Relations, Volume 4. Wilcomb E. Washburn & William C. Sturtevant, eds. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1988. pp. 226–29
4. "2007 Artios Awards". Casting Society of America. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
5. "2007 HPA Awards". Hollywood Professional Association. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
6. "11th Annual TV Awards (2006-07)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
7. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
8. "2007 Satellite Awards". International Press Academy. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
9. "ACE Eddies announce nominations". Variety. January 11, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2008.
10. "Past Nominees & Winners". American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
11. "The Winners and Nominees for the Cinema Audio Society Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for 2007". Cinema Audio Society Awards. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011.
12. "10th Costume Designers Guild Awards". Costume Designers Guild. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
13. "Critics' Choice Awards nominations". Penske Media Corporation. December 11, 2007. Retrieved December 11, 2007.
14. "60th Annual DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
15. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
16. "2008 Golden Reel Award Nominees: Feature Films". Jason Ryder. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
17. "Past Winners & Nominees". Humanitas Prize. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
18. "The 39th NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety. 8 January 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2008.
19. DiOrio, Carl (January 21, 2008). "PGA unveils final producer lists". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
20. "The 14th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
21. "6th Annual VES Awards". Visual Effects Society. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
22. "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
23. "Previous Nominees & Winners: 2007 Awards Winners". Writers Guild of America Awards. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
24. "29th Annual Young Artist Awards". Young Artist Awards. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2012.

External links

• Official website
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee at AllMovie
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee at Rotten Tomatoes
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee at IMDb