Cheyenne Autumn

The beginning of a day.

September 7th, 1878.

It dawned like any other day

on the Cheyenne reservation...

...in that vast barren land

in the American Southwest...

...which was then called

Indian Territory.

But this wasn't just

another day to the Cheyenne.

Far from their homeland...

...as out of place in this desert

as eagles in a cage...

...their three great chiefs

prayed over the sacred bundle...

...that at last,

the promises made to them...

...when the white man sent them here

more than a year ago...

...would today be honored.

The promises that had led them

to give up their own way of life...

...in their own green and fertile country,

- Good morning, Wichowsky.

- Troops all present or accounted for, sir.

Thank you.

- Good morning.

- Good morning.

Can I steal some of your coffee?

- Help yourself.

- Thanks.

Any news?

Here comes another name now.

- Senator.

- Great.

Looks like we're gonna be up

to our ears in congressmen.

Well, the more the better.

I wish every bigwig in Washington

could see this place.

Deborah, they're here already.

Lord knows when

the Congressional Committee will arrive.

I don't blame them for being early.

You and I know what this means

to them, uncle.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J...

...K., L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S,

T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.

Wonderful.

Come help me set the table.

Attention!

- Scott.

- Good morning, sir.

- Sergeant.

- Good morning, sir.

- Archer.

- Good morning, sir.

- Indians, huh?

- Yep.

Any word

from the Congressional Party?

They haven't left Fort Scott yet.

Well, let me know. Keep me advised.

Yes, sir.

Wichowsky, put the men at ease.

Let them smoke...

...if they've got anything to smoke,

which I doubt.

At ease!

You're ready to smoke!

- Good morning, friend Thomas.

- Good morning, friend Deborah.

Well, now, where have you been

hiding that dress?

That's pretty stylish for a Quaker.

I made it just for this great day.

It's mighty pretty.

Do you know when they'll arrive?

Well, you can't expect speed

from congressmen...

...but they ought to be here

any minute now.

Well, I'd offer to help you,

but I can see you don't need it.

Oh, don't I, now?

Well, the leg on the senator's chair

seems to be stuck.

Senator, huh?

Well, let's see what's wrong.

There we are.

All neat and tidy for the senator.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome. Anytime.

Friend Deborah,

where do you want the senator's chair?

I think I'll put him

at the head of the table.

He'd like that.

Plumtree, go down the road.

Let us know when those gentlemen

from the East arrive.

Hour after hour

they waited under the hot sun.

Waited for the moment

when their prayer would be answered.

When the white chiefs from Washington

would see for themselves...

...how the Cheyenne

had been forgotten.

- Archer!

- Yes, sir.

When is that blasted party

coming anyway?

- I don't know, sir.

- You don't know, sir.

- Hey, you.

- Sir.

Any news on that party

from the East yet?

No. No, sir. Nothing since 11:30.

Eleven-thirty?

- Do you realize it's 5:30 now?

- Yes, sir.

Archer, see what he wants.

Plumtree.

I ain't a-getting paid for thinking, sir

but I don't think them folks is a-coming.

Just came in from Fort Reno, sir.

I'll be damned!

"Congressional Committee delayed

by bumpy roads and dust storms.

Decided to return to Reno in order

to rest up for the Officers' Ball tonight."

You mean

they're not coming here at all?

How long do they expect me to wait

to build some barracks out here?

Archer, I'm going to Fort Reno,

see to it.

Friend major, please...

...will you tell them about the medicine

and the food the Indians need?

And all the things

that were promised?

Uncle, you must make him listen.

How can I?

You know what he thinks of Quakers.

You've been here from the beginning.

You've watched them die of smallpox

and measles and malaria.

You've watched them starve.

Haven't you anything to say?

Nothing that you can't say better.

Major Braden!

I'm asking you to plead for justice.

I'm asking you to make them realize...

...that over a thousand Cheyenne

were brought here...

...and only 286 are left alive.

Miss Wright, my responsibility to

the Indians is only to guard them.

When you have reached my age,

you will have realized...

...that it pays to stick

to your own knitting.

That's exactly what I intend to do.

Dull Knife! Little Wolf!

What happened today

changes nothing.

The Indian Bureau

is still pledged to provide you...

...with adequate clothing and rations.

You are still pledged

to abide by the law.

Remember that.

We are asked to remember much.

The white man remembers nothing.

You spoke the truth for us.

This we will not forget.

But there will be no more school.

Oh, no.

Oh, no, please don't do that

to the children.

The white man's words are lies!

It is better that our children

not learn them.

It is not the words,

but who speaks them.

Has speaking white men's words

made you a liar?

Our words were learned long ago.

When some white men

still spoke truth.

And so began, what to most people...

...must seem to be

only a footnote in history.

It ain't in my department, sir...

...but looks to me

like them kids is a-playing hooky.

You're gonna be pretty lonesome,

friend School Teacher.

No scholars.

They'll come.

When?

Spanish Woman!

Friend Deborah, leave this place.

Friend Thomas, you know

I came here to carry out a task.

I can't leave now.

Bunking in this schoolhouse

won't help.

It will show them

that I'm on their side.

Not unless you can change color.

You know what they call whites?

- And veho means "spider"!

- Means "spider"!

That's right.

- That's what they think of all of us.

- And why shouldn't they?

How many Cheyennes have you fought?

How many have you killed?

Deborah, look, will you take

the blinders off just for once?

You claim no self-respecting Quaker

could fall in love with a soldier...

...but you've fallen in love

with a whole tribe of them.

Have you ever seen a Cheyenne?

- Of course, I have.

- No, you haven't!

All you've seen is reservation Indians,

looking pitiful as fish out of water.

But give them a chance, they're

the greatest fighters in the world.

Will you listen to me?

It takes a blue coat to make

a white man a soldier.

But a Cheyenne is a soldier

from the first slap on his bottom.

War is his life.

He's fierce, he's smart.

And he's meaner than sin.

Possibly you can only think of the past,

but I'm here to think about the future.

All right.

You think of the future.

Want some help?

I'll manage.

Better keep that lamp lit tonight.

And if anything happens,

ring the bell.

- Little Wolf.

- Yes?

- What's happened?

- This is not the place for you.

Spanish Woman...

...where are they going?

- Home.

- Home?

What you call Yellowstone country.

What about the children?

They are Cheyenne.

But who will care for them?

We will do what we can.

They are Cheyenne.

Dull Knife, the old chief

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