ACultureLost

KeltyEdraney

BurymyHeartatWoundedKnee
isadocumentaryfilmbyDanielGiat,chroniclingthe
U.S.scontinuingaggressionandmanipulationofNativeAmericans,specificallytheSiouxtribe.
Thisfilmtakesplaceafterthe1880s,whichisaftertheU,S.sdefeatatthebattleofLittle
Bighorn,furtherportrayingthesinglemindednessoftheU.S.governmentinpushingSioux
Indiansoffoftheirland.Thefilmfollowstheexperiencesofvarioushistoricalfigures,like
ChiefSittingBull,famousforhisrefusaltogiveintopressuresfromthegovernment,Senator
HenryDawkes,whointroducedlegislationtoprotectNativeAmericanrights,andDr.Charles
Eastman,aSiouxnativetakenfromhisculture,educated,andlearnedinthewaysofbeingmore
European.Dr.Eastmansstrugglewithhisidentityisexplored,andtheeffectsoferasinga
cultureareshownthroughhismentalandemotionalstruggles.
Thisfilmwasmovinganddeeplyupsettingattimes.Assomeonewhohasgrownupina
typicalAmericanpublicschoolsystem,myexposuretoNativeAmericanculture,andthetrue
historyofwhathastakenplaceinourcountry,hasbeenlimitedandcensored.Icanremember
still,asayoungthirdgrader,beingtaughtallaboutthepeacefulandbeneficialrelationshipthat
theIndiansandSettlersshared.Wewereledtobelieve,byomissionoffact,thatthesegroups
coexistedforamajorityoftheirinteractions.Wewerenotexposedtotheviolentandsaddening
realityofthefoundingofthiscountry,andIfindthattobeaninjusticetoAmericanchildren
everywhere.
BuryMyHeart
bringswithittheopportunityforanewperspectiveonwhathad
transpiredthecoercionoftheSiouxpeopleisshowncreativelyandoftenthroughoutthefilm,an
aspectofthishistoricaltopicthatcansometimesbehardtograsp.TheEuropeanmanmakesuse
ofhistechnologiesendlessly,tothebenefitofhimselfandthedestructionoftheSioux.The
settlersevengosofarastomanipulatetheSiouxslackofunderstandingsurroundinglaw,
Englishlanguageandpolicyastohavethesepeoplesignontocontractsthatwerenotonly
unfairtobeginwith,butoftendidnotevenfulfillthebenefitsthat
were
promised.
Afterseeingthisfilm,IwouldliketolearnmoreaboutthebattleofLittleBighorn,for
thesakeofhavingabetterhistoricalunderstandingoftheeventsthatthesepeoplewereinvolved
in.Additionally,Iwouldliketolearnmoreaboutspecificindividuals.Ifoundtheresilienceof
ChiefSittingBulltobeaninspiringexampleforthoseinvolvedinsocialchangeandresistance.I
wouldalsobeinterestedinexaminingthepsychological,emotionalandsocialeffectsof
whitewashingagroupofpeoplefromadifferentcultureerasingtheirhistory,culture,
customs,andreplacingitwithourown.Iwanttolearnaboutandunderstandtheemotional
traumathiscanandhascausedtopeople,andIwanttomakeconnectionstootherculturesthat
havealsoexperiencedthiseffect.