The Big Picture

  • John Ford's Cheyenne Autumn is a significant pro-Indian Western that emphasizes the Native point of view.
  • The film cast Navajo actors to play the Cheyenne people, but they spoke the wrong language, using Navajo instead of Cheyenne.
  • Despite its problems, 'Cheyenne Autumn' marks a change in Ford's depiction of Native Americans and ends with the Cheyenne people being respected and shown in a positive light.