American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Nipo Strongheart's role in the DeMille production of Braveheart enables us to see the Native American performers of his generation as actors, in multiple senses of the word, not as mere objects of the cinematic gaze. Like other “contact zones” where Indigenous intellectuals and performers engage with non-Indigenous audiences and expectations, Native agency was exercised in the movie industry as well. This article demonstrates that even as they forged careers and identities in studio Hollywood, professionals such as Strongheart would negotiate the terms of Native representation and attempt to disrupt the dominant discourse.