What is the role of main character Senator Henry Dawes?
Henry Dawes [played by Aidan Quinn] was a senator from Massachusetts who was very influential with Native American policy. It has to be understood that he and other people who felt so passionately, the so-called reformers or humanitarians, they were people of their time and place. They were Christian, mostly prosperous, and they believed in their way of life. They believed the only way to save a Native American was to convert him and assimilate him as quickly as possible into white society. Henry Dawes believed that. Charles Eastman came to believe that for quite a while, until he saw for the first time with his own eyes what life on the reservation was like. What can the events portrayed in this film, during this period of history, teach viewers today? There are a number of issues and questions raised in the movie that I think have resonance today. One is the aggressive policy of the government with foreign affairs. It has to be remembered that in the 19th century, Native American pol
