The Lone Ranger in Indian Country

I’ve been waiting to hear the buzz about the “Lone Ranger” movie from folks out in Indian Country. Magazines like Cowboys and Indians and Native Peoples have been politely neutral. I suspect the decision has been to appreciate that American Indians at least get some pop culture notice, and that Johnny Depp has been fairly respectful of Tonto, even going so far as to intimate he himself has some Native blood.

One tweet I saw recently said that Depp is talking with the Oglala Sioux about buying Wounded Knee, since that sacred site of heartbreak is up for sale in this oh-so business-like world we inhabit.

I wasn’t sure what to make of the movie when I saw it, but I decided I liked it, especially the ending scene which occurs after the closing credits start. (By then most of the handful of people in the theater had walked out, so they missed it.) If I said the movie was uneven, that would be a good judgment. The critics panned the movie and it hasn’t brought in the money Disney had hoped for, but I still wonder what Native America thinks about it…

Looking north from Monument Valley, toward Rainbow Bridge. Monument Valley, where lots of “The Lone Ranger” was filmed.

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