''Cheyenne Autumn Trail'' is a 19-minute live action American film produced in color for distribution in late 1964, with narration by James Stewart. Structured as a complementary social and historical companion piece to

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

's final western, ''

Cheyenne Autumn ''Cheyenne Autumn'' is a 1964 American epic Western film starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. It tells the story of a factual event, the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878–79, told in "Hollywood style ...

'', it intersperses clips from the big-screen epic with background information about the

Northern Cheyenne Exodus The Northern Cheyenne Exodus, also known as Dull Knife's Raid, the Cheyenne War, or the Cheyenne Campaign, was the attempt of the Northern Cheyenne to return to the north, after being placed on the Southern Cheyenne indian reservation, reservatio ...

of 1878–79 and contrasts it with life on the Cheyenne reservation in 1964, as a tribal chief, a tribal beauty queen and a tribal adolescent take a drive along the route of the 19th-century trek.

Production

Commissioned by

's and his producer Bernard Smith's Ford - Smith Productions, the short documentary was produced and directed by Ronald Saland of Professional Film Services. It was created and written by Burt Sloane and photographed by

Ross Lowell Ross Kohut Lowell (July 10, 1926 – January 10, 2019) was an American inventor, photographer, cinematographer, lighting designer, author and entrepreneur who changed the film production industry with two inventions: a widely used quick-clamp ligh ...

Synopsis

After several seconds of Native American chanting and before the appearance of opening credits, James Stewart's voice is heard speaking the initial lines: "Some of the past is forgotten — some is remembered.

Dull Knife Morning Star ( Cheyenne: ''Vóóhéhéve''; also known by his Lakota Sioux name ''Tȟamílapȟéšni'' or its translation, Dull Knife) (1810–1883) was a great chief of the Northern Cheyenne people and headchief of the ''Notameohmésêhese'' ( ...

remembered and honored...

Little Wolf Little Wolf (''Cheyenne'': ''Ó'kôhómôxháahketa'', sometimes transcribed ''Ohcumgache'' or ''Ohkomhakit'', more correctly translated Little Coyote, 18201904) was a Northern Só'taeo'o Chief and Sweet Medicine Chief of the Northern Cheyenne. ...

remembered and honored. They were the last of the Cheyenne warrior chiefs. They led their people's great struggle to freedom and this homeland in

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

. The land of the Cheyenne is a land of beauty and peace now, but the heroic trail that brought them to it almost a century ago was a bitter, bloody trail." The opening credits appear, with the title, ''Cheyenne Autumn Trail'', hand-printed in block letters on a wooden plank nailed to a tree. At the bottom of the plank, in small type, are the names of the states the Cheyenne crossed in returning to their native grounds: Oklahoma -

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

. Chief

John Woodenlegs John Woodenlegs (12 November 1909 – December 1981) was a Native American writer, educator, and the tribal president of the Northern Cheyenne from 1955 to 1968. In 1975, he founded Chief Dull Knife College, a community college located in La ...

, at his desk as president of the

Northern Cheyenne The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation ( chy, Tsėhéstáno; formerly named the Tongue River) is the federally recognized Northern Cheyenne tribe. Located in southeastern Montana, the reservation is approximately ...

Council at

Lame Deer, Montana Lame Deer (Meaveʼhoʼeno in Cheyenne) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The community is named after Miniconjou Lakota chief Lame Deer, who was killed by the U.S. Army in 1877 under a flag of truce so ...

, is described in Stewart's narration as an "executive looking after today's needs of nineteen hundred people on the reservation". Shown next, at her desk, is college-trained Williamette Youpee,

Miss Indian America Miss Indian America was a pageant from 1953 to 1989 that was part annual All-American Indian Days festival in Sheridan, Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States ...

1963 who, Stewart states, "has her pretty eyes on the future". Shown next, riding his horse, is twelve-year-old Richard Roundstone, an honor student at the reservation school. Stewart explains that "Chief Woodenlegs is guided by the story of the Cheyenne struggle for freedom in the old days and he wants Willi and Richard to know that proud story and to pass it on to generations that will follow and he's taking them from the Montana reservation to retrace the historic Cheyenne Autumn trail". At dawn, the trio departs in a small recreational vehicle and, along the way, Chief Woodenlegs unfolds maps as his voice is heard explaining that "the Cheyenne people were taken to Oklahoma and were getting sick and some of the younger people were dying and they wanted to go back to Montana... go back north fifteen hundred miles where they could live and hunt". The first scene from ''Cheyenne Autumn'', as narrated by Stewart, depicts the start of the journey on September 9, 1878. Chief Woodenlegs, Willi and Richard are shown visiting a remnant of 19th century network of army forts which Stewart names as "

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...

Randall Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town *Randall, Iowa, a city *Randall, Kansas, a city *Randall, Minnesot ...

, Larned,

Robinson Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960s ...

, Meade,

Laramie Laramie is derived from a French surname ''LaRamie'' and often refers to Laramie, Wyoming, or one of the places named after it. Places *Laramie (CTA Blue Line station), a former station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system *Laramie (CTA ...

...", explaining that "one by one, the garrisons were called out". The second scene from ''Cheyenne Autumn'' shows army wagons rolling across the plains. As the vehicle continues along the highway, additional points along the route are examined as a third film clip depicts the cavalry tracking and pursuing the moving group of women, children and old people as they cross a wide river. Chief Woodenlegs and Richard find time to fish in the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

where Chiefs "

and

outwitted a massive ambush and then found food for their people". In the present, Chief Woodenlegs and Richard bring the fish to the recreational vehicle kitchenette where Willi prepares their meal. The fourth film clip depicts excerpts from the farcical "Battle of Dodge City" with the townspeople, accompanied by a cynical

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which la ...

(portrayed by the documentary's narrator James Stewart) and

Doc Holliday John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American Old West, American gambling, gambler, gunfighter, and dentistry, dentist. A close friend and associate of Sheriff, lawman Wyatt Earp, H ...

(portrayed by

Arthur Kennedy John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914January 5, 1990) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the origi ...

), ineptly setting out on an ill-conceived Indian hunt. In the present, sitting under the moon, Chief Woodenlegs chants the sounds of his ancestors. As the modern drive continues and modern trains are seen, the fifth film clip shows the ragtag tribe crossing at night under a high railroad trestle. The 1964 travelers stop at

Bear Butte Bear Butte is a geological laccolith feature located near Sturgis, South Dakota, United States, that was established as a State Park in 1961. An important landmark and religious site for the Plains Indians tribes long before Europeans reached S ...

, a sacred place for generations of Cheyenne. Chief Woodenlegs is heard explaining that "medicine men of the tribe, they go up to the mountain to offer prayers to the spirits before war... go up there and fast and ask the spirits... the good spirits... for the blessings." The sixth film clip is the snowy trek of the tribe towards Fort Robinson, as Stewart describes the privations they suffered that winter. Willi is heard saying that "John would tell us about the buffalo migration... for days ahead you could feel them coming... could feel the earth tremble... and then they would come and they would look like a black rippling carpet... as far as you could see there were buffalo running and the sky would be just hanging heavy with the dust that was raised from their hooves... and it would take about three days for them to pass and it was the end of the herd they hunted." The seventh clip shows Little Wolf, Dull Knife and the hungry tribe finding only bones remaining from the mass buffalo slaughter. As Chief Woodenlegs, Willi and Richard watch buffalo at play, the eighth clip shows the most savage battle in the Dakotas... the

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes ...

. Finally, Stewart declares that "one hundred and ninety-seven days it raged... the Cheyenne Autumn struggle... and in the end, the people of Little Wolf and Dull Knife won their homeland. They could not be conquered. There's no finer story of human spirit than the will to be free." The final stop is the annual All-American Indian Day Celebration in

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Micro ...

where

is chosen. Scenes from the festival are shown as Stewart concludes, "Williamette Youpee, John Woodenlegs, Richard Roundstone... they're Americans of today, bound together by a memory of the old ways and the old courage... the memory will help them continue the great tradition forged along the Cheyenne Autumn Trail".

End credits

"Filmed with the cooperation of

United States Department of Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

,
Bureau of Indian Affairs

Custer State Park Custer State Park is a South Dakota State Park and wildlife reserve in the Black Hills, United States. The park is South Dakota's largest and first state park, named after Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The park covers an area of over o ...

Chevrolet Camper courtesy of
Chevrolet Motor Car Division
General Motors Feature scenes from
the new Warner Bros. motion picture

's "''CHEYENNE AUTUMN''"
starring / James Stewart /

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, ''Kiss of Death'' (1947), ...

Carroll Baker Carroll Baker (born May 28, 1931) is an American former actress. After studying under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, Baker began performing on Broadway in 1954. From there, she was recruited by director Elia Kazan to play the lead in th ...

Karl Malden Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American actor. He was primarily a character actor, who according to Robert Berkvist, "for more than 60 years brought an intelligent intensity and a homespun aut ...

Sal Mineo Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor, singer, and director. He is best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film ''Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination f ...

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films durin ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people w ...

Availability on DVD

''Cheyenne Autumn Trail'' is included as an extra feature on the ''

'' DVD issued in 2006.

References

External links

''Cheyenne Autumn Trail''
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

database {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheyenne Autumn Trail Documentary films about Native Americans Forced migrations of Native Americans in the United States * 1964 films Films shot in Montana American short films 1960s English-language films Native American history of Montana