ARTE – SATURDAY OCTOBER 15 AT 8:50 P.M. – DOCUMENTARY
For more than a century, the face-to-face between cowboys and Indians has been present in the collective unconscious. But like the story of the Wild West was fabricated, rewritten and, in fact, whitewashed by Hollywood, African-Americans have only a tiny place in it, whereas they have been an integral part of this history.
Regarding the conquest of the West, the scenario seems clear: “In the West, the good guys were always the whites, the Native Americans were the bad guys, and the African Americans didn’t count”, summarizes the academic Roger Hardaway. In fact, the story is more complex: there are notably African-Americans allied with the Indians against white exploiters, but also blacks who expelled and killed Indians.
This beautiful documentary by Cécile Denjean therefore restores the truth. Based on numerous testimonies from historians and stunning photographic archives, the documentary filmmaker gives African-Americans their rightful place in the story of the conquest of the West.
« Buffalo Soldiers »
In 1875, one in four cowboys was black. Hundreds of thousands of blacks fought in the Civil War (1861-1865). After the conflict, many will enlist in one of the four black units created within the army and sent to the West. Nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiersthey will receive a fine tribute in… 1978, when Bob Marley will dedicate one of his most famous hits to them.
At the end of the XIXe century, some African Americans would become lawmen to bring order to the chaotic West. Others will slaughter Indians. “The black men took the land from the red men and gave it to the white men”comments a historian.
Many of these former slaves will find freedom in the West. But also other forms of servitude. This is the case of these blacks who, once they arrived on the soil of the Indian territories (now Oklahoma), became slaves in the service of the Indians! “I would much rather be the slave of an Indian than of a white manclaimed Henry Bibb (1815-1854), born a slave in Louisiana and became a renowned intellectual in Canada. Being a slave in the West is not the same as being a white man. Here, slaves are allowed to eat and dress, they escape the whip. »
Reconstructed scenes
Through the fate of out-of-the-ordinary black personalities such as Bass Reeves (1838-1910), deputy sheriff and formidable outlaw hunter, or James Beckwourth (1798-1866), explorer trapper involved in the massacre of Indians at Sand Creek, November 29, 1864 (which inspired Ralph Nelson to make his film blue soldierreleased in 1970), Cécile Denjean sheds light on the gray areas of a crucial period in American history.
Cécile Denjean sheds light on the gray areas of a crucial period in American history
These exceptional destinies come to life in this documentary with the help of reconstructed scenes. The case of Bass Reeves is undoubtedly the most spectacular. Born a slave in Arkansas, having lived after his flight among Indian tribes, he became, in 1875, the first black deputy sheriff west of the Mississippi.
Incorruptible, ruthless, sharpshooter, Reeves is said to have arrested three thousand criminals and killed fourteen of them. Because, for the first time in the history of the United States, a Black, if he officially represents authority, has the right to kill a White. Bass Reeves is said to have inspired the popular fictional vigilante character Lone Ranger. Obviously embodied by a White on the screen.
Black Far West, a counter-history of the West, documentary by Cécile Denjean (Fr., 2022, 97 min). Available in replay on Arte.tv until December 13.