Cheyenne Warrior

The Cheyenne's captive! Runaway heiress Lorna Bradford must reach California to claim her fortune, but when she's rescued from robbers by fierce warrior Black Horse, she's forced to remain under his protection. Immersed in a world so different from her own, wildcat Lorna learns how to be the kind of strong woman Black Horse needs. But, to stay by his side, she must first let go of everything she knows and decide to seize this chance for happiness with her Cheyenne warrior!

Brave Eagle grows to manhood amid the constant changes and turmoil on the Plains. Now, in a world full of choices, Brave Eagle must make many decisions, some for his survival. This period is a time of exploration, discovery, and settlement in the West; intervention and treaties with the U. S. Government; leadership issues between the peace chief Black Kettle and the war leader Roman Nose, the Dog Soldiers, the Sand Creek Massacre, the Massacre at Washita. Is Brave Eagle to be a man of war or a man of peace? *Is he to be a fierce frightening warrior or a wise peacemaker? Can he learn to adapt to the white man's world, or would he be able to hold on to the rich traditions of the grandfathers? In the middle 1800's, the white man's world collides with the world of the Native Americans. How would this affect the people of the Plains? Where will this life journey take Brave Eagle?

An original screenplay by Michael B. Druxman, CHEYENNE WARRIOR was produced by Roger Corman's Concorde/New Horizons Pictures and released in 1994. Mark Griffiths directed the film, which starred Kelly Preston, Dan Haggerty, Bo Hopkins and Pato Hoffmann.CHEYENNE WARRIOR was a critical and financial success, and through home video and cable television, achieved a worldwide fan following that persists to the present day.CHEYENNE WARRIOR II and HAWK are Druxman's two diverse versions of a long awaited sequel to that original film, each following "Soars Life a Hawk," the character played by Pato Hoffmann, as he and his Cheyenne brothers seek revenge for the bloody 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, in which the Colorado Militia slaughtered over one hundred peaceful Cheyenne men, women and children. With both the U.S. Army and ruthless bounty hunters on his trail, Hawk becomes a hunted fugitive, determined to reunite with his people and his destiny.The epic historical saga continues....

"CHEYENNE WARRIOR is a thinking man's Western...a welcome throwback to the traditions of the genre..." TV GUIDE ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK".This gritty look at the Old West stands up with the best...plot and character development are top notch." ARIZONA SENTINEL REVIEW.Written as an elegant realistic western surrounding the forbidden inter-racial relationship between a young pregnant pioneer woman, and a Cheyenne warrior chief wounded by buffalo hunters, this story has action, humor and an unforgettable love story

Three army outposts built before and during the Civil War protected critical routes along the western trails at the North Platte River near what later became Casper. All had been abandoned by 1867, and their dramatic stories are mostly forgotten. The Post at Platte Bridge was a vital outpost on Albert Sidney Johnston's Utah War supply route. Camp Dodge and Platte Bridge Station, also called Fort Caspar, guarded telegraph lines from Native American sabotage. Violent winds, horrendous blizzards and scorching summers made life miserable. Tension reached a fever pitch at the Battle of Platte Bridge when Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho attacked a cavalry detachment led by Caspar Collins. Today, a reconstructed Fort Caspar stands as a vigilant reminder of the struggles at those lonely frontier stations. Local historian Johanna Wickman chronicles military efforts to keep the peace, wage war and merely survive.

The Military Conquest of the Prairie is a study on the final wars on the prairie from the Native American perspective. When the reservation system took hold about one-third of tribes stayed permanently there, one-third during the harsh winter months, and the last third remained on what the government termed unceded territory, which Native Americans had the right to occupy by treaty. For the Federal government it was completely unacceptable that some Indians refused to submit to its authority. Both the Red River war (1874-75) in the south and the great Sioux war (1876-77) in the north were the direct result of Federal violation of treaties and agreements. At issue was the one-sided violence against free roaming tribes that were trying to maintain their old way of life, at the heart of which was avoidance on intermingling with white men. Contrary to the expectations of the government, and indeed to most historical accounts, the Native Americans were winning on the battlefields with clear conceptions of strategy and tactics. They only laid down their arms when their reservation was secured on their homeland, thus providing their preferred living space and enabling them to continue their way of life in security. But white man perfidy and governmental double-cross were the order of the day. The Federal government found it intolerable that what it termed savages' should be able to determine their own future. Vicious attacks were initiated in order to stamp out tribalism, resulting in driving the US aboriginal population almost to extinction. Analysis of these events is discussed in light of the passing of the Dawes Act in 1887 that provided for breaking up the reservations to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 that gave a semblance of justice to Native Americans.

The story of the Apsaalooke (Crow) men who scouted for the Seventh United States Cavalry in 1876 has been told by historians, with details sometimes distorted or fabricated. Biilaachia--better known as White Swan--survived the Battle of Little Bighorn despite severe wounds. One soldier recalled him standing beside his horse, firing at the Sioux: "He would not mount up and try to get away but stood and fought." White Swan continued to scout off-and-on for the U.S. Army until 1881 and recorded his 22 combat actions in 37 paintings and drawings. Done in traditional Plains warrior biographic style, his complete body of work is presented here for the first time, along with the history behind each depiction. His life is detailed in photographs, some never before published, and four little-known interviews, as well as extensive research about the Apsaalooke people.

“Wooden Leg was one of the sixteen hundred warriors of the Northern Cheyennes who fought with the Sioux against Custer at the legendary Battle of the Little Bighorn. As an old man in his seventies, he related his story of the battle to Thomas B. Marquis, formerly an agency physician for the Northern Cheyennes, in scores of interviews, illustrating his statements with drawings and maps. "Some aspects of Wooden Leg's account have provoked controversy, but - as Marquis points out - soon after the battle the Sioux were settled in the Dakotas while the Cheyennes were located on the reservation in the heart of the region where had been the conflicts. Thus they have kept their memories fresh or have kept each other prompted into true recollections. This advantageous condition has rendered them the best of first-hand authorities." The author checked and corroborated or corrected all points of importance with other Cheyennes - among them Limpy, Pine, Bobtail Horse, Sun Bear, Black Horse, Two Feathers, Wolf Chief, Little Sun, Blackbird, Big Beaver, Medicine Bull, and the younger Little Wolf - "all of whom were with the hostile Indians when Custer came."”-Print Ed.