Burn My Heart At Wounded Knee Analysis

"Burn My Heart at Wounded Knee" is a very intense look into what the Native American 's went through in the late 1800 's as whites attempted to "civilize" and assimilate them. The events of the movie, like the events that took place in real life, were incredibly brutal and some scenes were difficult to watch. For the most part, I think this movie was not so much intended for entertainment as it was to give a glimpse into the horrors of American and Native American history, as it is based on the book by the same name that is a history of Native Americans in the 1860 's and 70 's. While this movie focuses particularly on the Sioux tribe, Charles Eastman, and Sitting Bull, it is mostly representative of what Native Americans went through as a whole. Of course, all movies take some creative liberties in order to make them more "interesting" to their viewers, but "Burn My Heart at Wounded Knee" is actually rooted in a lot of history. The main character of the film, Ohíye S’a, or Charles Eastman, was a real man, and the majority of his story that was told in the film is all based in fact and real events of his life. The filmmakers definitely did …show more content…
For example, in the movie, Ohíye S’a sits in front of his father as he gets his hair cut off. This is his fathers will, as he has brought him here. However, in many instances, children were ripped from their families against their will and sent to these boarding schools. Ohíye S’a was punished in the form of not being called on for not choosing a Christian name, but children were treated much worse in reality for speaking in their native tongue instead of English. I 'm not entirely sure why the filmmakers decided to cut out some of the brutality, but I could guess that it may have something to do with the fact that the movie was made for television and had to be somewhat