MONTANA BLACKFEET, 1938. Twelve adult men and other Blackfeet tribal members traveled in a dedicated Great Northern railcar to Hollywood to make a movie with child-star Shirley Temple (center), 20th Century Fox’s top moneymaker. The old people felt they were traveling to a strange country, so they prayed hard to be protected.
The Blackfeet brought their own ceremonial finery. Shirley Temple’s costume was made by an actor’s wife. Many Guns reported that on the train they wore ordinary store clothes. They put on buckskins and headdresses to look proud when they arrived in the strange land of Los Angeles, California. When they ate at the famed Brown Derby, Many Guns was certain that the restaurant had never before hosted old buffalo hunters and warriors.
For two months, the Blackfeet lived in tent houses on the Fox studio lot and usually ate at the commissary with other actors. Tom Many Guns, standing right, and Eddie Big Beaver, standing left, were the youngest adults and served as interpreters. At age 80 in 1976, 37 years after the movie was released, Many Guns reported that he was getting monthly residual payments of $191, about $850 in current value. You can view the colorized version of “Susannah Of The Mounties” on YouTube.
Adolf Hungrywolf documented stories from original participants.
