1913, Oct: "You laugh, but my heart does not laugh."
On October 19th, Buffalo Bill Cody was making a battle movie at Wounded Knee, but three days before, on October 16th, in Denver, Colorado, Cody and Lieut. General Miles were being ridiculed for the re-enacting of the battle, by Chauncey Yellow Robe at the Convention of the Society of American Indians.
"Heroes who weren't there," he said, "mocked our tragedy for cheap glory."
In another article, reported in The Lima News (10/16/1913), Yellow Robe said, "You ask how to settle the Indians troubles. I have a suggestion. Let Buffalo Bill and General Miles take some soldiers and go around the reservations and shoot them down. That will settle his troubles. Let them do in earnest what they have been doing in jest at the battlefield at Wounded Knee."
"These two, who were not even there when it happened, went back and became heroes for a moving picture machine.
"You laugh, but my heart does not laugh. Women and children and old men of my people, my relatives, were massacred with machine guns by the soldiers of this Christian nation while the fighting men were away. It was not a glorious battle and I should think these two men would be glad they were not there. But no, they want to be heroes for moving pictures."
On November 3rd, 1913, Curator of the University of Nebraska, M. R. Gilmore says, in an article by the Omaha Daily Bee (Objects to Battle Films. 11/4/1913), that he traveled to the Pine Ridge reservation to speak with survivors of the Wounded Knee battle, and the reported: "In the picture the Indians are given all the blame for the massacre, when, according to Mr Gilmore, the soldiers were the ones to blame and the reproduction of the fight the way it was taken by the motion picture company is a disgrace to the government under whose sanction it was taken."
The following month, December 15th, at the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota, The Sioux Indians have decided to send a committee to Washington to protest the US government from accepting the Wounded Knee battle film as an authentic historical record. They claim the film is distorted, belittling, and inaccurate. They claim that the movie makes it appear that the number of soldiers versus Indians were equal, that the Indians were well mounted and well armed with army rifles and that they began the fight. All of this is a lie. They said the Indians actually numbered about 400, and most were women and children. They were all on foot, that most had already given up their guns and were defenseless, and what guns they had were old-fashioned muzzle-loaders in decrepit condition. They claim that the Calvary were the aggressors, not them.
"As to the claim that many survivors of the Wounded Knee battle took part in the movie battle, the Indians say there were no Indian survivors; that the Indians were within a bellow square, with soldiers on all sides of them, and only one Indian, a lame one, came through without a scratch or got past the line of soldiers. All the others, about 400, were either killed or wounded, mostly killed. At least, in the big grave into which all the dead Indians were thrown there are more than 350, a majority of whom were women and children. After the shooting began the little band of Indians was raked by a deadly fire from all directions, including a battery of mountain howitzers. The firing continued for more than two hours."
According to the films the Indians started it by killing Capt Wallace. In the real battle, however, Capt Wallace was killed by bullets from the white soldiers shooting from the opposite side of the square, in which the Indians were herded. In fact practically every soldier who was killed or wounded was a victim of the unusual battle formation of the soldiers.
Curator Gilmore was present when the films were made, and agrees with the Indians version of the affair. He says they were misrepresented in the film and it should not be considered historical data.
The Indians said they did not know they were recreating Wounded Knee. They were under the impression it was a sham battle for the movies. "Later, when they discovered that the white people called the exhibition Wounded Knee," and that it was to do down in history, they were very indignant." They then called a meeting of the grand council of the tribe, to form a formal protest to the government, and to send a delegation to Washington. The December 14th, 1913 information is from The Greenville News, 12/14/1913, Moving Pictures Are Unfair to Them, say the Sioux Indians."
"Heroes who weren't there," he said, "mocked our tragedy for cheap glory."
In another article, reported in The Lima News (10/16/1913), Yellow Robe said, "You ask how to settle the Indians troubles. I have a suggestion. Let Buffalo Bill and General Miles take some soldiers and go around the reservations and shoot them down. That will settle his troubles. Let them do in earnest what they have been doing in jest at the battlefield at Wounded Knee."
 |
| 1913, Oct 16 The Allentown Leader |
"You laugh, but my heart does not laugh. Women and children and old men of my people, my relatives, were massacred with machine guns by the soldiers of this Christian nation while the fighting men were away. It was not a glorious battle and I should think these two men would be glad they were not there. But no, they want to be heroes for moving pictures."
On November 3rd, 1913, Curator of the University of Nebraska, M. R. Gilmore says, in an article by the Omaha Daily Bee (Objects to Battle Films. 11/4/1913), that he traveled to the Pine Ridge reservation to speak with survivors of the Wounded Knee battle, and the reported: "In the picture the Indians are given all the blame for the massacre, when, according to Mr Gilmore, the soldiers were the ones to blame and the reproduction of the fight the way it was taken by the motion picture company is a disgrace to the government under whose sanction it was taken."
The following month, December 15th, at the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota, The Sioux Indians have decided to send a committee to Washington to protest the US government from accepting the Wounded Knee battle film as an authentic historical record. They claim the film is distorted, belittling, and inaccurate. They claim that the movie makes it appear that the number of soldiers versus Indians were equal, that the Indians were well mounted and well armed with army rifles and that they began the fight. All of this is a lie. They said the Indians actually numbered about 400, and most were women and children. They were all on foot, that most had already given up their guns and were defenseless, and what guns they had were old-fashioned muzzle-loaders in decrepit condition. They claim that the Calvary were the aggressors, not them.
"As to the claim that many survivors of the Wounded Knee battle took part in the movie battle, the Indians say there were no Indian survivors; that the Indians were within a bellow square, with soldiers on all sides of them, and only one Indian, a lame one, came through without a scratch or got past the line of soldiers. All the others, about 400, were either killed or wounded, mostly killed. At least, in the big grave into which all the dead Indians were thrown there are more than 350, a majority of whom were women and children. After the shooting began the little band of Indians was raked by a deadly fire from all directions, including a battery of mountain howitzers. The firing continued for more than two hours."
According to the films the Indians started it by killing Capt Wallace. In the real battle, however, Capt Wallace was killed by bullets from the white soldiers shooting from the opposite side of the square, in which the Indians were herded. In fact practically every soldier who was killed or wounded was a victim of the unusual battle formation of the soldiers.
Curator Gilmore was present when the films were made, and agrees with the Indians version of the affair. He says they were misrepresented in the film and it should not be considered historical data.
The Indians said they did not know they were recreating Wounded Knee. They were under the impression it was a sham battle for the movies. "Later, when they discovered that the white people called the exhibition Wounded Knee," and that it was to do down in history, they were very indignant." They then called a meeting of the grand council of the tribe, to form a formal protest to the government, and to send a delegation to Washington. The December 14th, 1913 information is from The Greenville News, 12/14/1913, Moving Pictures Are Unfair to Them, say the Sioux Indians."
 |
| 1913, Oct 16 The Lima News |
 |
| 1913, Nov 4 Omaha Daily Bee |
 |
| 1913, Dec 14 The Greenville News |
