White Fawn's Devotion (1910)

White Fawn’s Devotion is one of fewer than ten surviving films by James Young Deer, among the first Native American filmmakers working in early Hollywood, and a rarity for a 1910 western in granting its Native characters a sympathetic, unpunished resolution. Added to the National Film Registry in 2008, the lead role was long misattributed to Young Deer’s wife Lillian St. Cyr (Princess Red Wing) but is now credited to Lucille Young.

Background

White Fawn’s Devotion is a 1910 silent Western directed by James Young Deer, one of the first Native American filmmakers to work in early Hollywood. It is one of only a small number of surviving films by Young Deer. The film was added to the National Film Registry in 2008. For many years the lead role was attributed to Young Deer’s wife, Lillian St. Cyr, but the role is now generally credited to Lucille Young. The story concerns a Native American woman married to a white settler who fears her husband will abandon her and their daughter for an inheritance back East. The film runs about eleven minutes.

What to watch for

Look for the film’s sympathetic treatment of a Native woman in a Western of its period, which departs from the typical narratives of the time. The plot turns on her despair when she believes her husband may leave her, which leads to a dramatic act and a chase before the truth comes out. The film is brief, and its emotional beats are compressed into that short running time. Compare its representation of Native characters with contemporary Westerns to see the choices Young Deer made. Notice that the film grants its Native characters a resolution that is not punitive, which was unusual for films of this date.