Today on TV1 in Spain they showed this movie (Corazón Trueno), and gee, was I surprised! I’ve been reading about the Peltier case, and Pine Ridge Reservation, and Goons (the Indians that help the FBI on that rez) and “traditionalists” or the AIM Indians (in the movie they use a different acronym)… If you like, read a bit about Peltier’s case on Talking People. Let me just paste here some info about it: The movie is actually a thinly veiled account of real events that occurred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation during the early to mid-Seventies. Exploration for Uranium, disease from irradiated water, the American Indian Movement (AIM) and the “Traditional” Natives fight against the Tribal government “Guardians Of the Oglala Nation (GOON’s), and the FBI’s assistance to the “Goons” by providing weaponry and other assistance are some of the things that are referred to in the movie that were true and documented by Writer/Director Michael Apted when he was a regular visitor to the Reservation during that time.
During the early to mid-Seventies, there were fifty-seven unsolved murders on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation due to the fighting between the “Traditionals” and Tribal government sanctioned “goons”. This made the Village of Pine Ridge (Pop. 1100) the “Murder Capitol of the Nation” with the highest number of violent death per capita in the United States.
More trivia at imdb.
Thunderheart (1992)
September 21, 2008 · 6 Comments
Categories: 2 - Movies
Tagged: peltier, south dakota, thunderheart
6 responses so far ↓
betty boop // September 23, 2008 at 8:15 pm
hello, I am planning to be here very soon and I hope my new students can also share this info! Big hug
dakota // September 30, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Great!
Check out the TP section “The World – People and Culture” because we have a whole webpage devoted to American Indian People, which links back here too, so that people can comment.
I’m actually going to start a thread on Joy Harjo, in case people want to comment here poems.
See you
Smallcanyon // December 18, 2008 at 5:59 am
Just speaking from a Native American’s point of view, there have been many tragedies exploited by the US government and it’s handling of Native peoples. Me personally, I am a young Navajo professional with rich ties to my culture. The navajo people (navajo is actually a derrogratory connotation from spanish, which is why real navajo’s refer to each other as Dine’). It is a shame that such things have to happen, but so is history in all cultures. Here is a link about the Navajo culture referred as the “Long Walk” where navajos had to be placed on “reservations” because we are who we are… people who respect the earth and live by such creed. http://www.kued.org/productions/thelongwalk/film/interviews/harryWalters.php
dakota // January 7, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Hi there, Smallcanyon!
You see, I usually visit this place whenever I have something new to add, or once a month or so! Thanks so much for your comment and your link. If you’d like to write a piece for our Project (this blog is part of it! 
, here, http://talkingpeople.net/tp/world/americanindians.html, we would be really happy to read and host it so that more people read it!!! I’d really be interested in what you mention, and in your views on how Indian questions are dealt with in those movies. We could create a little webpage to add analysis on that, if you like!
Sorry for taking so long to reply!
Well, hope you read this… Happy New Year!!!
Smallcanyon // May 3, 2009 at 5:01 am
Hi there Dakota,
Sorry for the long reply as well. I just by chance came across this site again and saw your reply. I’d be welcome to answer any questions that you might have. I left my email address in the form field. Look forward to your reply!
Dakota // May 23, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Oh, wow!!!! Thanks! I’ll get in touch with you then! Thanks so much!!!!
Have a nice day!