Little Big Man
(1970, 147 min.) US
Director: Arthur Penn
This landmark film was the best of a wave of sympathetic portrayals
of Native peoples from the 1960s and early 1970s, and was popular
enough to help forever change perceptions of American Indians.
Little Big Man tells the story of a white man who was raised by
the Cheyenne, then returned to fight against them under Custer.
Chief Dan George received an Oscar nomination for his role as
Old Lodge Skins, a deep, powerful, and conflicted man with a remarkable
sense of humor. The film also stars Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway.
Image credit: Audience at Club Red Radio,
2000 Native American Film and Video Festival - photograph by Amalia Córdova,
NMAI
