Reel Injun (55 minutes)
The era of the cowboy was fairly short, ending approximately at the time movies were born. Thus, many early action movies were about cowboys and Indians. Early on, the Indians were treated as savages to be exterminated, which reflected the government attitude from 1830 into the 20th century. Some films portrayed individual Indians as heroic, and their parts were mostly acted by white men. Later, some films, such as Dances with Wolves treated Native Americans as human beings, and their parts were most often taken by Native Americans.