For his era, Ford portrayed Indians in a very respectful and at times noble manner.
Interestingly, the plot is very loosely based on a true story. Cynthia Ann Parker was a young girl when her family settled in central Texas. She, among others, was taken captive in a Comanche raid. She lived among the Comanches and married a Comanche chief. One of her children was Quanah Parker, who later became known as the last Chief of the Comanche, eventually making peace with the whites and moving his people to a reservation. In 1860, Texas Rangers found her with a band of Comanches and returned her to her family, which captured the attention of many. Sadly, she was unhappy living with her white family and longed for her life as a Comanche.
For his era, Ford portrayed Indians in a very respectful and at times noble manner.
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How right you are, and if you read the IMDB.COM “Trivia” items about this film, the Indians thought well of Wayne and Ford in return.
My Top Five John Ford films:
The Searchers
The Long Voyage Home
How Green was My Valley
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
And
The Quiet Man
And one more ...
They Were Expendable...
Not only that he made it a point to hire local Indians (sorry - Native Americans!) in the Monument Valley area for his shoots. And it was a very poor area back then....