Dances With Wolves
We are watching this film because it portrays the interaction/clash between Native Americans and white European Americans in the Great Plains during the second half of the 1800's.
As you watch Dances with Wolves, please answer the
following questions in your book.
1. What type of medical care is available to soldiers during the Civil War? How does it differ for officers and enlisted men (normal soldier)?
2. From the end of the Civil War (1865) to the Spanish-American War (1898), the U.S. Army's primary deployment was in the Plains, fighting the "Indian Wars." What tactics did the Army use to fight against the Natives?
3. How does John Dunbar change? What is his attitude when he first creates his post?
Kind
4. What is assimilation? How does Dunbar assimilate into Sioux culture?
the process of becoming similar to something.
5. Two Native tribes are referenced in the film (Sioux and Pawnee). How do their approaches differ in dealing with whites? Which is the better approach? Why do you think so?
6. Native Americans and white European Americans view natural resources and land differently. Explain this difference, paying particular attention to the hunting/use of buffalo ("tatonka") and land ownership.
7. Predict: How will the army respond to Dunbar’s assimilation once they catch up with him?
CHARACTER
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DESCRIBE THEIR PERSONALITY
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WHAT THEY ARE DOING IN THE MOVIE
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John Dunbar
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Kind
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Major Fambrough
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Sends John to work at a western military outpost
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Timmons
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Wind in His Hair
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Brave and angry
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Kicking Bird
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Anger
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Two-Socks
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Stands With Fist
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Ten Bears
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Smiles a lot
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Retrieves Dunbar’s diary
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The film opens during the____________________. Union Army Officer Lieutenant John J. Dunbar learns that his injured leg is to be________amputated_______________. Seeing the plight of other __________ Soldiers _________ with amputated legs, Dunbar attempts _______suicide_____________ by riding a ______horse_______________ across the line of fire between the opposing ____________________ and _________________ positions. His action has the unexpected effect of rallying his comrades, who storm the Confederate positions.
After the battle, a surgeon saves Dunbar's ____diary________. The commanding officer says that Dunbar is a _____U.S. Civil War_____ and offers Dunbar his choice of military station.
Dunbar requests a transfer to the West Coast (frontier) of America during a quick meeting with Major Fambrough, who is having a few mental problems (he is proud that he has ____pistol________ in his pants). Dunbar is teamed up with a rough cowboy named Timmons, who escorts Dunbar on a _____________ to his new post.
After a scenic journey, Dunbar and Timmons arrive at the isolated Fort Sedgwick, finding it deserted except for a lone _____________ that Dunbar befriends and names ________ ____________. Dunbar, while waiting for reinforcements to arrive, begins ______________ the deserted post. Timmons, while returning back to the East Coast of America, is ambushed by Pawnee Indians and ______________.
Timmons' death and the suicide of the major who sent him to the post prevents anyone from knowing where Dunbar is, effectively isolating Dunbar. Dunbar remains unaware of the full situation and its implications. He writes in his _______diary_________ how strange it is that no more ______________ have joined him at the post.
Dunbar has some close encounters with an aggressive tribe called the Pawnee, who steal his ______________. Dunbar decides to ride out to meet and talk with the Sioux Indians, who live in the surrounding hills.
Dunbar finds himself drawn to the ______________ and ______________ of his Indian neighbors, the Sioux Tribe. He becomes a hero among the Sioux and is accepted as an honorary member of the tribe after he helps them locate a migrating herd of ________________, which they depend upon as a source of ___________, material, and clothing.
Dunbar helps defend the settlement against a Pawnee raiding party, providing the Sioux warriors with surplus ___________ and ammunition from the fort. He eventually is accepted as a full member of the tribe, and is named Šuŋgmánitu Taŋka Ob'wačhi (literally Dances With Wolf), after they see him playing with Two Socks. He falls in love with Stands With A Fist, who initially served as an _______________ between Kicking Bird and Dunbar.The two eventually marry, and Dunbar spends more time with the tribe than manning his post at Fort Sedgwick. Dunbar's tells Kicking Bird that white men will continue to ____________ their land in "numbers like the stars." They tell this to Chief Ten Bears, who decides it is time to move the village to its winter camp.
Dunbar realizes that his ______________Journal_____________, left behind at the deserted fort, is a map for finding the Sioux. It reveals that he knows far too much about their ways. He returns to the fort to retrieve it, but finds Sedgwick is re-occupied by reinforcing Army troops, who shoot Cisco and arrest and beat Dunbar as a deserter.
Lots of other stuff happens too, but I don’t want to spoil the ending for you. Enjoy the twist in the end J
Word Bank
Invade Suicide Horse Union Diary Confederate Hero leg
Repairing Buffalo Soldiers Lifestyle Interpreter Customs
