The Great Indian Wars 1540-1890 is based on the Indian Wars that were fought in the United States of America. I really enjoyed the details throughout the documentary about the exact Tribes the Europeans went to war with. A visual timeline would have been helpful throughout the documentary (at least 7 hours worth of information and more than 300 years of history thrown at the viewer; a lot of information to retain without visuals).
NARRATOR’S PERSPECTIVE
I did not like how the narrator would side with the Indigenous side throughout the documentary, because as the viewer you’re not sure exactly what the narrator’s true motives are. I don’t know the author’s background.
The truth is, when you’re Indigenous, which I am, people who are of European descent are either sad about what their ancestors did and/or have pity on you. They also may have racist attitudes toward you as well. There is no right answer. But you just don’t know if the person supposedly showing you empathy really does have empathy or it is just a pretense with hidden prejudices. That is why the matter is truly frustrating. You never really know how one feels of the Indian wars; bigotry or pretense (with hidden bigotry).
INDIAN RESERVES
Once again, the lack of visuals was very frustrating. Without pictures one does not know how big each tribe’s land was or how the size of the reservation changed throughout the years.
LACK OF INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATION
Did the documentary have Indian Actors and Actresses? Yes. However, the same actors and actresses were used to represent the same Indian tribes in America. Really hard to tell what their motive was?
MY REVIEW
I really appreciate all the work that went into this documentary. Not many people want to talk about the truth about “Indian Country,” as the Indian’s say in the United States of America. It feels like North America is in denial of what happened. The Indian wars or Indigenous care too much (to the point of still caring on to fight). I am literally divided because I have Indigenous and White blood; I belong to no side but my own side.
THE REVIEW I AGREED WITH
One of the reviews on Amazon said it best: “It OFTEN uses the same short video segments repeatedly- sorta like the old time westerns used to do. That’s tacky. It also shows old photos that don’t match the narrative that accompany them.” It would have also been nice to have the actors and actresses match the tribe that was being discussed in the documentary.
MY CRITIQUE
Written by Charlaine Tallman, Lethbridge College
