Into the West
This mini-series is a historical drama. It follows the lives of two fictional families, the Wheelers of Virginia as their members move "into the west" and four Lakota siblings who live in modern-day South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska. The lives of these families are paralleled to show you what change may have looked/felt like from different perspectives. Mixed in with these fictional families are real people of history. The massacres in this series represent actual atrocities against native people, and the treaties referred to are real as well. There is mild cinematic violence, some language, and parental guidance is suggested for kids under 14. This series is not required but does offer a glimpse into the themes of: mountain men, bison hunting, the effects of forts, guns, and trade on tribes, the Oregon Trail, the California Gold Rush, the building of the transcontinental railroad, the Sand Creek Massacre, the battle of Little Big Horn, and the boarding school experience for children ripped away from their tribe all the way to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Below is a description of each episode.
Episode 1 - Wheel to the Stars: a young Virginian boy goes West to see if he can be a mountain man, and meets the real mountain man Jedidiah Smith. Four Lakota siblings go down their different paths. One participates in the Sun Dance, another ends up a slave to fur trappers and is almost sold at the annual gathering of fur trappers: the rendezvous.
Episode 2 - Manifest Destiny: this is the term for the American belief that it was white people's God-given right and mission to go West and bring with it "civilization." This belief was repeated by many travelers who were often worried while traveling on the many trails leading West. Here, the Wheeler siblings and cousins try a trail from Missouri to California, but meet many misfortunes. The Lakota siblings try to figure out life with constant, unwelcomed change.
Episode 3 - Dreams and Schemes: the California Gold Rush is more about destruction than gain. Destruction of the land, of values and morals, and of the family unit. As people move west, conflicts over the future of slavery lead to violence in Kansas, and in 1855, a hot-headed lieutenant tries to unjustly arrest a Lakota man, leading to an unlawful attack on the Lakotas that results in the lieutenant's death (known today in history at the Grattan Massacre). The characters Quantrill, Conquering Bear, and Lt. Grattan are real people.
Episode 4 - Hell on Wheels: the building of a transcontinental railroad leads to massive changes for white encroachers and tribes. In Colorado, an out-of-control Colonel uses a few separate attacks on white stagecoaches and ranches to manipulate men to engage in a brutal massacre against the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. The characters Col. Chivington, Roman Nose, Black Kettle, White Antelope, and Major Wynkoop are real people (although Major Wynkoop is a combination of two historical people in this series: both questioned the treatment of the Cheyenne, their names were Major Wnykoop and Silas Soule. Silas Soule, like you see inthis episode, refused to participate in the massacre). Some of the quotes you hear Chivington say are actual quotes of his.
Episode 5 - Casualties of War: repeated treaty violations by gold seekers in the Black Hills lead to conflicts between the US military and Lakota peoples, including the Battle of Little Big Horn in present-day Montana. Many children are taken away from the tribe and forced into an abusive environment at the real Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. The characters Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Custer, and Pratt are real historical people.
Episode 6 - Ghost Dance: a spiritual revival movement among many tribes leads to fear and hatred among white encroachers. The result is more mistreatment and massacres. This episode shows the early days of reservation life. This also shows the real Wounded Knee massacre in what is now South Dakota, an unjust rounding up and slaughtering of Lakota men, women, and children by the US military. The characters Sitting Bull and Wavoka are real people. This also does a good job of showing how journalists exaggerated life out west in order to sell a "good story" and this exaggeration led to anxious soldiers ready to pull the trigger.
Special Attention: Grattan Massacre - Watch this "Into the West" miniseries segment for an idea of why the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was ignored - watch from 44:16 to 48:01, then 55:20 to 1:02:03
Special Attention: Sand Creek Massacre - Watch this "Into the West" miniseries segment for a retelling of the Sand Creek massacre against the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho people - watch from 11:08 to 38:17. Most of the characters in this segment are real, and some quotes are historically accurate.
Episode 1 - Wheel to the Stars: a young Virginian boy goes West to see if he can be a mountain man, and meets the real mountain man Jedidiah Smith. Four Lakota siblings go down their different paths. One participates in the Sun Dance, another ends up a slave to fur trappers and is almost sold at the annual gathering of fur trappers: the rendezvous.
Episode 2 - Manifest Destiny: this is the term for the American belief that it was white people's God-given right and mission to go West and bring with it "civilization." This belief was repeated by many travelers who were often worried while traveling on the many trails leading West. Here, the Wheeler siblings and cousins try a trail from Missouri to California, but meet many misfortunes. The Lakota siblings try to figure out life with constant, unwelcomed change.
Episode 3 - Dreams and Schemes: the California Gold Rush is more about destruction than gain. Destruction of the land, of values and morals, and of the family unit. As people move west, conflicts over the future of slavery lead to violence in Kansas, and in 1855, a hot-headed lieutenant tries to unjustly arrest a Lakota man, leading to an unlawful attack on the Lakotas that results in the lieutenant's death (known today in history at the Grattan Massacre). The characters Quantrill, Conquering Bear, and Lt. Grattan are real people.
Episode 4 - Hell on Wheels: the building of a transcontinental railroad leads to massive changes for white encroachers and tribes. In Colorado, an out-of-control Colonel uses a few separate attacks on white stagecoaches and ranches to manipulate men to engage in a brutal massacre against the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. The characters Col. Chivington, Roman Nose, Black Kettle, White Antelope, and Major Wynkoop are real people (although Major Wynkoop is a combination of two historical people in this series: both questioned the treatment of the Cheyenne, their names were Major Wnykoop and Silas Soule. Silas Soule, like you see inthis episode, refused to participate in the massacre). Some of the quotes you hear Chivington say are actual quotes of his.
Episode 5 - Casualties of War: repeated treaty violations by gold seekers in the Black Hills lead to conflicts between the US military and Lakota peoples, including the Battle of Little Big Horn in present-day Montana. Many children are taken away from the tribe and forced into an abusive environment at the real Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. The characters Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, Custer, and Pratt are real historical people.
Episode 6 - Ghost Dance: a spiritual revival movement among many tribes leads to fear and hatred among white encroachers. The result is more mistreatment and massacres. This episode shows the early days of reservation life. This also shows the real Wounded Knee massacre in what is now South Dakota, an unjust rounding up and slaughtering of Lakota men, women, and children by the US military. The characters Sitting Bull and Wavoka are real people. This also does a good job of showing how journalists exaggerated life out west in order to sell a "good story" and this exaggeration led to anxious soldiers ready to pull the trigger.
Special Attention: Grattan Massacre - Watch this "Into the West" miniseries segment for an idea of why the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was ignored - watch from 44:16 to 48:01, then 55:20 to 1:02:03
Special Attention: Sand Creek Massacre - Watch this "Into the West" miniseries segment for a retelling of the Sand Creek massacre against the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho people - watch from 11:08 to 38:17. Most of the characters in this segment are real, and some quotes are historically accurate.