Dancing with Wolves

Dancing With Wolves changed the way American culture viewed native nations. It not only brought to light that there are to sides to every battle but also that  there are so many stereotypes around the native cultures.  One example of the two different sides is the the different outfits there wear to battle. Lt.Dunbar dresses in this soldier uniform with all the metals and swards where Wind In His Hair wears the animal skin. Neither one is wrong it is just a difference in culture. Both view themselves as wearing the right stuff and the other as savage. The difference is also noticeable in the hunting of buffalo. The Sioux nation uses all the the animal and leaves no waste. They have ceremonies and rely on these animals. White settlers would just hunt the buffalo for their skin and tongue. Those were the profitable parts of the animal and what the settlers relied one. Again neither side is wrong, its just a difference in views and culture. The settlers and the Sioux also had a difference in the way they cleaned and took care of the land. Soldiers left trash behind and typically didn't clean up after themselves. Many native nations on the other hand, left no trace of any trash. The two sides do many things in difference ways and both view themselves as superior and doing everything the right way. There is not right or wrong way, it is just a difference between the two cultures.

 There was many stereotypes shown in Dancing With Wolves. When Lt.Dunbar first met Standing With A Fist, her hair was a mess and she looked very savage. In reality she would always have her hair gelled and look more put together. The main stereotype that was broken by this film was the savage view of natives. They were always depicted as not civilized and less superior then white settlers.  This movie was the first to show another side to that, one were native nations were respected and seen as equals not inferior. The actors that played the members of the Sioux nation actually learned their language. In past films, actors would just talk backwards or nonsense. This made the natives look dumb and secondary to the settler. Many native nations were excited about this movie because for the first time they were respected in film and it gave a pretty accurate description of the tribe.