The Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society will sponsor a series of films over the summer months, with the theme "HOLLYWOOD AND THE INDIAN WARS: DOCUMENTARY VS. ENTERTAINMENT." The series will run on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m., at the old National Guard Armory Building on Highway 180 East, across the highway from the village of Santa Clara.
According to FBHPS board member Dr. Doug Dinwiddie, the series will provide an opportunity to examine how the history of the culture clash between Native Americans and non-Native settlers compares with the way those events were depicted in Hollywood movies between the 1940s and the 1990s.
The series will premiere at 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 9, with an episode from the acclaimed PBS documentary series entitled "The Way West: How the West was Lost and Won." The film makers examine the nationwide culture clash between Native Americans and Euro-American settlers pushing westward from the United States in the mid-19th century. The film will be introduced and a discussion period will follow, both led by Dr. Dinwiddie, who is a retired history professor. During his career, Dr. Dinwiddie taught at WNMU, Northern Arizona University, New Mexico State University-Carlsbad, and Colorado State University.
As the series progresses through the summer, documentaries will be interspersed with Hollywood action movies made between the late 1940s and the 1990s. Members of the Preservation Society and other guest hosts will lead discussions with the audience.
Titles and dates for the showings are as follows:
The Way West: How the West was Lost and Won - PBS -- June 9
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, starring John Wayne -- June 16
Kit Carson, PBS Documentary from the American Experience -- June 30
Last Stand at the Little Big Horn, PBS Documentary -- July 7
Geronimo and the Apache Resistance, PBS Documentary -- July 14
We Shall Remain, PBS Documentary -- July 21
Fort Apache, starring Henry Fonda and John Wayne -- July 28
Ulzana's Raid, starring Burt Lancaster -- August 4
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, HBO Movie -- August 11