Dances with Wolves: a Story of John J. Dunbar

“Nothing I have been told about these people is correct. They are not thieves or beggars. They are not the bogeymen they are made out to be. On the contrary, they are polite guests and I enjoy their humor. ”—John Dunbar. The movie, “Dances with Wolves” is a moving story based on the story of lieutenant in the Union Army, who became an accidental war hero via a suicide attempt and requested to transfer to Fort Hayes. After his transfer was approved, he was further transferred to Fort Sedgwick on the frontier. Lieutenant Dunbar makes his way to his new post and finds that it has been deserted. He soon after befriends some local Lakota Sioux Indians and becomes integrated into their society and later on marries into their tribe. He then goes on to fight the Pawnee with the Lakota Sioux and becomes a vital source of information to them. Was, “Dances with Wolves” really filmed in St. David’s Field Tennessee? Also, was Lieutenant Dunbar based on a real person or was he simply fictional?

Did St. David’s Field in Tennessee really exist? The answer, sadly is no. It is a fictitious place and ‘Dances with Wolves’, was consequently filmed primarily in South Dakota’s Badlands National Park area with a few scenes filmed in Wyoming. Despite the battle at St. David’s field that was completely fictitious, it was based on the gruesome three-day battle at Gettysburg. According to the Gettysburg National Military Park, no such place exists; however, the battle scenes within the movie are very life-like. The conditions at this battle were beyond horrific and as a first hand account was given by Nurse Cornelia Hancock, “I [had] eight wall tents full of amputated men you have no idea how soon one gets used to it. Their screams of agony…” the conditions could not get much worse. Not only was St. David’s Field, Tennessee, completely fictional, but also the battle at Gettysburg took place in Pennsylvania where at the very least the novel took place in. The location was said to be filmed in South Dakota because of a monetary incentive offered by an outside source.

Next in question is the validity of Lieutenant John J. Dunbar, did he truly exist, or was this yet another fictitious being in Michael Blakes, Dances with Wolves? Through Kevin Costner’s moving performance of his role as Lt. Dunbar, he makes the book come to life and begs the question was this based off of a real experience or character? Lieutenant John J. Dunbar was indeed fictional, he also was not based on a real character. However, Dunbar’s experiences and views of the Lakota Sioux were incredibly detailed and very close to being historically accurate. The Lakota Sioux were a peaceful and migratory tribe that followed the path of the buffalo they hunted, until they had to fight to reclaim their hold on their area of land. Costner’s portrayal of Dunbar was so insightful and eye opening, that the Lakota Sioux made him an actual honorary member of the tribe.

The movie “Dances with Wolves” is a tribute to the Native Americans, where for once the ‘white man’ helped instead of harmed. Although it is not the most historically accurate on a superficial level, if you dig a little deeper, the details that went into the movie from the dialogue of the Sioux Nation, to the making of the peace pipes, all tied together to create a critically acclaimed movie that won several Oscars, and many more awards. “Loo-tent-ten”, may not have been real, but the impact Costner made, was. This movie despite being fictional, for once gave credit to an accurate version of Native American life on the American frontier in the 1860’s.