SU Hosts 'Dances with Wolves at 30' for Native American Heritage Month

Salisbury, MD---To celebrate Native American Heritage Month and the 30-year anniversary of “Dances With Wolves,” Salisbury University hosts a roundtable discussion on the film at 7 p.m. Tuesday, November 10.

Released in theaters in 1990, “Dances with Wolves” (directed by Kevin Costner) was an immediate box office success, hailed by critics for redefining the Western genre. In this epic, set in the rugged landscape of the Great Plains, Union Army Lt. John Dunbar settles in a remote frontier outpost, soon befriending wolves and his Lakota Sioux neighbors and growing at odds with the military.

How has the movie withstood the test of time? In 2020, are people feeling as positive about the representation of Native Americans in the film as they did back then? What is the legacy of the film in terms of other Western epics and Native independent cinema? Roundtable participants include Ryan Conrath, SU English Department, film studies; Andy Fisher, The College of William and Mary History Department; and Céline Carayon, SU History Department.

Sponsored by the Fulton Public Humanities Program, this event is free and open to the public. Community members are encouraged to watch the movie on their own prior to the discussion. The movie is available for free screening to members of the SU campus through the University’s Library Swank database. To receive link, register on the SU website.

For more information, contact Céline Carayon at cxcarayon@salisbury.edu.