Native American Movies & Movie Books

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES & GERONIMO: An American Legend (Double Feature DVD)
Columbia Pictures. Cast photos front and back of box. Condition: NEW (shink-wrapped) Columbia Pictures box containing individually wrapped DVDs. Content: ALL THE PRETTY HORSES: A Young Texan drifter embarks on an illicit and dangerous affair with the beautiful daughter of a wealthy Mexican landowner. Directed by Billy Bob Thornton, the movie stars Matt Damon, Penelope Cruz, Ruben Blades, Robert Patrick, Bruce Dern, Lucas Black, & Henry Thomas. CERONIMO: An American Legend: Tired of the U.S. Government's broken promises, the great Apache chief Geronimo akes to the warpath to reclaim his people's land and honor. Directed by Walter Hill, the movie stars Wes Studi, Rodney A. Grant, Jason patric, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, and Matt Damon. Excellent! [2 copies available]
$ 7.19 + $ 3.19 media shipping.

CHEYENNE AUTUMN (An American Epic)
by Mari Sandoz. Condition: Gently pre-read c. 1971 Discus paperback, 8th printing. Spine crease with small edgewear. Interior clean & tight but tanning. Not collectible but a good reading copy. Content: In the autumn of 1878 a band of Cheyenne Indians set out from Indian Territory, where they had been sent by the U.S. government, to return to their homeland in Yellowstone country. Mari Sandoz tells the saga of their heartbreaking fifteen-hundred-mile flight. One of the worst episodes in US history. The 1964 movie was directed by John Ford (many surmise that this was his "appology" for portraying Native Americans in a poor light over his career). It starred Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Sal Mineo, Dolores del Rio, Ricardo Montalban, Pat Wayne, Gilbert Roland, Edward G. Robinson, Jimmy Stewart (in an interesting aside as Wyatt Earp), and Bing Russell (Kurt's dad). This is a good and powerful movie, but I would love to see a remake with today's extraordinary Native American actors. [1 copy available]
$ 2.49 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

CLEARCUT [Not on DVD yet]
1993 Academy Home Videos VHS (NTSC). Starring the great Graham Greene. Condition: NOT an ex-rental video. Private collection viewed once or twice. Tape excellent. Box has small edgewear bottom edges. Movie stills front and back cover. GUARANTEED. Content: Reviewer: "A mystical and powerful tale of anger and revenge. This film is a shattering experience, and must be seen more than once to appreciate the mystical overtones within it. Graham Greene is fantastic as Arthur, a Native man who has had enough of white greed destroying his peoples' land and who decides to make someone pay. The true identity of Arthur and his origins become clearer after the second viewing. To me he was a deeply spiritual avenging spirit called up by the anger of the white lawyer who tried to defend the Natives against the logging industry. Be warned that there are a few scenes of graphic violence not meant for the faint-hearted, but this film is a must-see for anyone who is outraged at the rape and plundering of the earth by industry, whether it be in Canada or the States or the equatorial rainforests. This movie puts you in a downward spiral of rage and insanity. Not for everyone. A cautionary tale for greedy corporate types that is still relevant - maybe Enron execs should have viewed it. Not to be missed. [1 copy available]
$ 21.50 + $ 3.20 first class shipping.

COWBOYS AND INDIANS: The Shooting of J. J. Harper (2000 Arthur Ellis Award Winner, Best Non-Fiction)
by Gordon Sinclair, Jr. 2 B&W photo sections. Condition: Gently pre-read (it was my book - read twice) 1999 M&S large Trade Paperback, first printing. I didn't store this book well, and it is out of square with spine creases and small edge wear. Interior clean. Content: When J.J. Harper of the Island Lake Tribal Council was fatally shot on a wintry Winnipeg street in 1988, the city police department was quick to absolve the officer involved from all blame. Less than a day after the shooting, Police Chief Herb Stephen announced that Harper had died during a struggle for Constable Robert Cross’s gun. But the truth was not so cut and dried. Far from closing the case, Stephen’s remarks were just the start of this dramatic tale of sex, death, threats, flimsy charges, and a police force so out of control that a prominent lawyer, a senior Crown attorney, and a respected journalist all had reason to suspect they were being watched by the police. Pursued doggedly by Winnipeg Free Press columnist Gordon Sinclair Jr., the stranger-than-fiction story of the shooting of J.J. Harper points a finger at the growing disaster of race relations and policing in Canada’s inner cities. For nearly twenty years, Gordon Sinclair Jr. has been a writer for the Winnipeg Free Press, producing thrice-weekly, wide-ranging columns on whatever catches his eye about the city. Sometimes it is about wild trips with Governor General Ed Schreyer and writer Farley Mowat, sometimes it is about investigating a police shooting where the whole police department seems intent on covering up the truth. Sinclair pursued the story of the shooting of J.J. Harper so single-mindedly and so painstakingly, he became a character in this remarkable story, and a target for the police. He won a Manitoba Human Rights Award and a National Newspaper Award (the first of two) for his columns on the Harper case. Well worth the read, IMHO. The 2003 made-for-TV (APTN?) movie was directed by Norma Bailey and starred the great Adam Beach (J.J. Harper) and the equally great Eric Schweig (brother Harry) with Gordon Tootoosis and Currie Graham. Satisfying but not yet on DVD. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 5.59 + $ 3.29 media shipping.

DANCES WITH WOLVES (Movie Edition)
by Michael Blake. Costner cover photo. Condition: UNREAD 1990 Fawcett Gold paperback, 5th printing. Light edge wear. Content: Ordered to hold an abandoned army post, John Dunbar found himself alone, beyond the edge of civilization. Thievery and survival soon forced him into the Indian camp, where he began a dangerous adventure that changed his life forever. Relive the adventure and beauty of the incredible movie. The 1990 movie was directed (and starred) Kevin Costner and co-starred Mary McDonnell, the great Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant, Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman, Robert Pastorelli, and Tantoo Cardinal. [1 copy available]
$ 1.75 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

A GOOD DAY TO DIE (AKA Children of the Dust) [DVD]
by Trimark. Movie stills both covers. Based on the book Children of the Dust by Clancy Carlile. Condition: Very good +, 1999 Trimark DVD release of the 1995 TV miniseries. Buffed and cleaned. Content: Reviewer: "Gypsy Smith is a gunfighter and a bounty hunter. When he leads the US army into a Cheyenne camp to capture a suspected Indian renegade, a long train of events begins that finally lead to that 'good day to die'. White Wolf, only a child, is one of the few survivors of the massacre of his tribe that day, and Gypsy brings him to live with the Maxwell family, where he grows up not fully Indian and not really white but a bit too close to Rachel, the Maxwell daughter. And Gypsy now reappears, leading a group of Black settlers from the post-Civil War South to start a new life in a town of their own - Freedom in the Oklahoma Territory, its first black settlement. White Wolf (or Corby as a 'white' name') is now with his people, but all of these parts come back together in conflict, violence, loss, and Pyrric triumph." The theme of racism and intolerance are full-blown here. The TV movie was 4 hours long and this movie has been distilled to 2 hours. Directed by David Green, the cast included: Sidney Poitier, Billy Wirth, Shirley Knight, Joanna Going, Hart Bochner, Regina Taylor, James Cavezel, Robert Guillaume, Farrah Fawcett, the great Michael Moriarty, and Byron Chief-Moon. [1 copy available]
$ 8.29 + $ 3.09 first class shipping.

HOUSE MADE OF DAWN (Pulitzer Prize)
by N. Scott Momaday. Cover art by Laurie Dolphin. Condition: UNREAD, BUT NOT PERFECT, 1990 Harper & Row Trade paperback, third printing. Moderate tanning to page edges. Content: He was a young American Indian named Abel, and he lived in two worlds. One was that of his father, wedding him to the rhythm of the seasons, the harsh beauty of the land, the ecstasy of the drug called peyote. The other was the world of the twentieth century, goading him into a compulsive cycle of sexual exploits, dissipation, and disgust. Home from a foreign war, he was a man being torn apart, a man descending into hell. The 1987 movie was directed by Richardson Morse and the screenplay was written by Momaday. It starred Larry Littlebird, Judith Doty, Jay Varela and Mesa Bird. It is not a popular movie. Questions welcome. [1 copy available]
$ 1.29 + $ 3.09 media shipping.

ISHI IN TWO WORLDS: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America
by Theodora Kroeber. B&W maps & photo section. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1961 University of California Press Trade Paperback edition, 18th printing. Small edgewear. Content: The Yahi lived peacefully in California for hundreds of years - until they were violently wiped out by the invading white man in the early 1900s. Only a few bold Yahi escaped into hiding, among them the man who became known as Ishi. Soon, one by one, the last of the Yahi died - until Ishi was left alone, the sole survivor of a pround people. When he stumbled into a small California mining town, the world learned his true story for the first time. This is the incredible story of the last hero of the Yahi tribe, and how he brought to civilization all the courage, faith, and strength of the Yahi Way of Life. The 1994 movie with the great Graham Greene as Ishi is wonderful! The movie was directed by Harryy Hook and starred (in addiiton to Greene): Jon Voight, David Ogden Stiers, Jack Blessing, Anne Archer, & Christianne Hauber. [1 copy available]
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LAKOTA WOMAN
by Mary Crow Dog with Richard Erdoes. B&W photos illustrate. Condition: NEW 1991 HarperPerennial Trade PB first thus, 36th printing. Tiny edgewear. Content: This is one of the best books available to people interested in contemporary Native Americans. Mary Brave Bird's life story sheds light on traditions of her Lakota (Sioux) people from the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations in South Dakota. She shows, in a very clear way, their tortured history with the missionaries, state bureaucracy, the courts, the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). We see to what extent the government has succeeded in destroying the old life and how small groups of the Sioux managed to preserve traditional ways and ceremonies. Reissued at the time of the TNT movie which, if you have not seen it, run to your local video store! [2 copies available]
$ 6.49 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority & International shipping available.

LET ME BE FREE: The Nez Perce Tragedy
by David Lavender. B&W photo section. End pages decorated with the map of the Nez Perce journey. Condition: UNREAD, but not perfect, 1992 HarperCollins hardcover & DJ (in mylar jacket), no printing given. Pale personal library stamp on title page. DJ shows shelf wear with nics and rubbings to edges. Interior perfect. Content: A sub, sub title of this book is "The U.S. Army's war against seven hundred Nez Perce men, women, and children." One of the great historians of the American West, author of the highly acclaimed The Way to the Western Sea and the classic Bent's Fort, here draws on his studies of the fur trade to recount the history of the Nez Perce. Despite a long, unstinting friendship with whites dating from the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1805, the Nez Perce later fared no better than other Native American tribes. Once nomads of a vast area where Idaho, Oregon and Washington converge, the Nez Perce were stripped of most of their land by treacherous politicians and economic interests under the so-called thief treaty of 1863. Lavender vividly traces the history of this tragic and illegal land grab from the arrival of Christian missionaries, like Marcus Whitman, to the capture of Chief Joseph's dissident band in 1877 following a long, bloody chase by U.S. troops. The author largely succeeds in demythologizing Chief Joseph, who reached heroic stature. Lavender has created a readable, informative account. This is the historical account basis for Cheyenne Autumn. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + $ 3.39 media shipping.

THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FIST FIGHT IN HEAVEN
by Sherman Alexie. Wendell Minor cover art. Condition: NEW 2001 HarperPerennial Trade Paperback, 34th printing. Very pale tanning to page edges. Content: The basis for the great movie Smoke Signals, this work chronicles modern life on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Victor, through whose eyes we view the community, is strongly aware of Native American traditions but wonders whether his ancestors view today's Indians--mired in alcohol, violence, and an almost palpable sense of despair--with sympathy or disgust. In spite of the bleakness of reservation life, the text brims with humor and passion as it juxtaposes ancient customs with such contemporary artifacts as electric guitars and diet Pepsi. The author of two previous poetry collections, Alexie writes with grit and lyricism that perfectly capture the absurdity of a proud, dignified people living in the squalor, struggling to survive in a society they disdain. The 1998 movie was directed by Chris Eyre and starred the greaet Adam Beach, Gary Farmer, Evan Adams, Irene Bedard, Tantoo Cardinal, Michael Greyeyes, Elaine Miles, and Michelle St. John. Not to be missed! [1 copy available]
$ 6.49 + $ 3.09 media shipping. International shipping available.

SMOKE SIGNALS: A Screenplay
by Sherman Alexie. Movie still cover & B&W movie stills throughout. Condition: NEW 1998 Hyperion Trade Paperback, 6th printing. Tiny edge wear. Content: Set in Arizona, this is the story of two Coeur d"Alene Indian boys on a journey. Victor is the stoic, handsome son of an alcoholic father who has abandoned his family. Thomas is a gregarious, goofy young man who lost both his parents in a fire at a very young age. Through storytelling, Thomas makes every effort to connect with the people around him; Victor, in contrast, uses his quiet countenance to gain strength and confidence. When Victor's estranged father dies, the two men embark on an adventure to Phoenix to collect the ashes. Along the way, Smoke Signals illustrates the ties that bind these two very different young men and embraces the lessons they learn from each other. Reviewer: "For screenwriters, it reveals how a screenplay is transformed in the process of making a movie, in this case by the director, the performers, Miramax's Harvey Weinstein, preview audiences, and in particular the editor. Scenes were shifted or eliminated, and dialogue has been added to patch over some of these structural changes. The result is arguably a very different film from the one Alexie originally wrote. The 1998 movie won the Audience Award and the Filmmaker's Tropy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival - but most importantly, it brought us Adam Beach. The screen play was written by Alexie and was directed by Chris Eyre. It starred Adam Beach, of course, the under-appreciated Evan Adams, Irene Beddard, Gary Farmer, Tantoo Cardinal, Michelle St. John, and Elaine Miles. The screenplay is taken from Alexie's book of short stories, The Lone Ranger & Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. [1 copy available]
$ 4.75 + $ 3.19 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

THUNDERHEART (Movie Novelization)
by Lowell Charters. Based on the screenplay by John Fusco. Condition: Good+, 1992 Avon paperback, second printing. Edge wear with spine crease. Light tanning to page edges. Content: Reviewer: "An FBI man with Sioux background is sent to a reservation to help with a murder investigation, where he has to come to terms with his heritage. Slowly he rejects the intimidating tactics of his fellow FBI agents, who are not so interested in solving the crime as covering up an incriminating situation with the locals, and as he becomes more tuned to his heritage, the locals begin trusting him. Based on actual Reservation occurrences of the '70s." (Review from IMDb) This is an interesting and fast-moving movie - a very good 1992 movie directed by Michael Apted and starring Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard, the great Graham Greene, Fred Ward, Fred Dalton Thompson, the lovely Sheila Tousey, and Ted Thin Elk. Not to be missed. [1 copy available]
$ 4.75 + $ 2.94 media shipping. Priority shipping available.

WINDTALKERS (Movie Novelization)
by Max Allan Collins. Based on screenplay by John Rice and Joe Batteer. Nicholas Cage movie cover. B&W movie stills section. Condition: Gently pre-read 2001 Harper Entertainment paperback, fist printing. Pale spine creases. Interior clean & tight. Content: This book is considerably better than the movie - which was a bomb, IMHO. Worth reading. The movie was directed by John Woo starred Nicholas Cage (another month; another Cage movie) but the best performances were from the great Adam Beach and Roger Willie with strong back-up by Christian Slater, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich (love this guy!), Mark Ruffalo, and Jason Isaacs. Too bad the producers didn't think a Native American cast could carry a movie like this - it surely would have been better. [1 copy available]
$ 1.89 + $ 2.94 media shipping.

WINDWALKER (VHS movie)
directed by Kieth Merrill. Movie stills front & back box cover. 109 minutes run time. Condition: Very good 1991 CBS/Fox VHS movie in black plastic case with box cover inside mylar overlay. Private collection. GUARANTEED. Content: This 1980 movie is a splendid adventure for family viewing. Windwalker has the distinction of being named the #1 anthropological film of all time in an early 1990s poll of the American Anthropological Association. It's not particularly distinguished in terms of its filmmaking, but this authentic Native American tale is told with exciting vitality and careful attention to details of culture, language, costuming, and age-old traditions. The title character (convincingly played by British actor Trevor Howard) is an aged and dying Cheyenne warrior who, as a young husband and father (played by James Remar in flashbacks), watched helplessly as his wife was killed and one twin son kidnapped by Crow invaders. On his deathbed, he is spiritually revived to solve the mystery of his missing son, and in doing so sets his "windwalker" path to a peaceful afterlife. Featuring an abundance of natural beauty in the mountains of Utah and utilizing sparse, subtitled dialogue spoken in authentic Cheyenne and Crow languages, the film may be too intense for very young viewers (with scenes of PG-rated violence involving enemy warriors, wolves and a bear), but it's essential viewing for anyone interested in Native American cultural history. Windwalker was a decade ahead of Dances with Wolves in bringing real, vibrant Indian folklore to a mainstream audience. Additional cast: Nick Ramus, Serene Hedin, Dusty McCrea, Silvana Gallardo, and Chief Tug Smith. [1 copy available]
$ 4.59 + $ 3.20 first class shipping.