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, 1500 miles to the north.

- 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 is much too sick.

He'll never make such a trip. Let...

If he lives to ride even a mile closer to home...

...he will die as a man should.

There will be no more dying in this place.

They've skipped.

Thank God.

What the hell do you mean by that?

I've waited since I was 10 years old for this chance.

Then you're a damned idiot.

I want D Troop ready and mounted in 10 minutes.

E Troop and wagons to follow under your command.

No artillery. Plumtree!

- Come here! - Yes, sir!

E Troop and train reporting, sir.

You brought the wagons along too fast, Mr. Scott.

Draft animals can't stand it.

They can rest up tonight.

They can?

Well, that's an assumption you had no right to make.

We're gonna keep moving.

That's fine with me, sir.

- Scott, tell me something. - Sir?