VITAL SIGNSrnThe Time ofrnOur Peoplernby H.A. Scott TrashrnGeronimo: An American LegendrnProduced by Walter Hdl, Neil Canton,rnand Columbia PicturesrnDirected by Walter HillrnPhotography by Lloyd AhemrnScreenplay by ]ohn Miliusrnand Larry GrossrnIf vou are a lover of film but ha’e neverrnseen Geronimo: An American Legendrn(1993), you are missing not only one ofrnthe best Westerns ever made but a trulyrngreat film that deseres more recognitionrnthan it has receied. The screenpla}’,rncasting, directing, cinematographv, andrnscore are excellent, and the film skillfull)rnexplores a morallv complex issue withoutrnthe melodrama, simplifications, and indignantrnmoralism that we have come tornexpect from most HolKwood produc-rnHons. It does this by adopHng the devicernof multiple points of iew. (I countedrnseven.) Two of these points of view —rnthose of Geronimo and the SouthernrnAmerican officer who won his trust andrntalked him into finally surrendering —rnhad a particular and powerfid meaningrnfor mc.rnThe Ghiricahua Apache, led b- thernwarrior Go}athla- (Geronimo), was thernlast hidian tribe to resist the reservahonrnpolicy imposed upon them by the U.S.rngovernment. From roughh’ 1881 to 1886,rnthey waged a hit-and-nm war of attrihournwith the U.S. Ann}- across the AmericanrnSouthwest. The fighting ranged acrossrndesert, canvon, and mountains in the Arizonarnand New Mexico territories andrneven portions of northern Mexico. Itrnended only when Geronimo, reduced torna force of only 20 or so effective warriors,rnfinallv surrendered to Gen. Nelson Milesrnat Skeleton Canon, Arizona Territory,rnin September 1886.rnWalter Hill’s fdm tells the story of thernlast vears of this war from the point ofrniew’ of Geronimo (plaed b W’es Studi),rnhvo other Apaches, and the white cavalryofficersrnwho were pitted against him.rnThe latter include Gen. George Grookrn(Gene Hackman), or Nantan Litpan asrnhe was known to the Indians, who tookrncommand of the Arizona department inrn1882. Grook adopted novel and effectiverntactics against the elusixe and refractor)-rnApache, including the use of large numbersrnof Apache scouts. He also thoughtrnthat it was good policv to treat the tribesrnwith maguanimih, sympathy, and honest-.rnTwo of his proteges — First Lt.rnGharles D. Gatewood (Jason Patric) andrnSecond Lt. Brittou L2)avis (Matt Damon) —rnheld sinular points of view. Al Seiberrn(Robert Duvall), the eteran scout andrnIndian fighter who sered with Crook,rnprovides the perspective of a tough frontiersman.rnTw-o other Indian points ofrnview are provided bv Mangus, an Apachernscout serving w ith the American army,rnand an Apache chief who argues thatrnpeace is the onl- hope for his people.rnThe film docs not evade the moral issuernof who was in the right in the Indianrnwars. Was it the Indians who resistedrnwhite encroachment on their lands, orrndie Americans who moed west regardlessrnof whether thev w ere invited or wclcomed?rnContrary to the pretensions ofrnboth Hollvwood and the universities, thernquestion does not admit of an easy answer.rnThe prexailing assumption in ourrneidtnrc todav is that the Indians were justifiedrnin waging war in defense of theirrnlands and tiieir wa)- of life. This assumptionrnis based on a superficial understandingrnof tlie histor of the Indian w ars andrnon a moral argument tiiat, if consistentlyrnapplied, would make the polifically correctrnmandarins of culture and .state recoil.rnHowe er, in tire er) act of recoiling, the)rnwould be revealing an inconsisteuc)- andrndouble standard that pro-es not oulrntheir moral and intellectual bankruptcyrnbut the real passion that motixates them:rna deep and abiding hatred of WesternrnChristendom and the European peoplesrnwho created and sustained that civilizafionrnfor almost hvo millennia.rnThose who reflexiel- defend Indianrnwarfare must also defend the offensiverncharacter of that warfare, its methods,rnand the right of other peoples to take uprnarms in similar situations. Indian warfare,rnin die broadest sense, was defensive:rnThe Indians fought to defend their exclusivernpossession of the land and their primitirnc wav of life, both of which werernthreatened b white immigration. Butrnthe war waged b)- the Apache was also offensive:rnThe attacked white pioneersrnand settlers on their farms, ranches, andrnhomesteads. Their victims were not warriorsrnor conquerors but peaceful setticrsrnseeking land on whicli to build, farm,rnand raise a family. Finally, Indian warfiirc,rnwhether practiced bv the easternrntribes in the 17th century or the westernrntribes in the I9d-i, was always genoeidal:rnIndian warriors tortured and killed prisonersrnand massacred women and children.rnThe moral issue is clear: Either thernIndians’ possession of the land and theirrnright to maintain their way of life (whichrnrequired tiiat the lands of North Americarnbe kept forever in a natural wildernessrnstate) justified offensive and genoeidalrnwarf;ire, or it did not. If it did, tiien don’trnEuropeans have the right to wage thernsame kind of warfare against the millionsrnwho are seeking homes and jobs in theirrnlands and whose ever-increasing numbersrnand alien cultures threaten to destroyrnthe Western way of life forever? If itrndid not, then shouldn’t die Indians be denouncedrnfor iolentl) resisting the tide ofrnpeaceful white settlement? The Christianrnalternative (the position of LieutenantrnGatewood) was that the right of warrnin self-defense does not justify genoeidalrnmethods.rnHill’s film does not ignore this importantrnquestion of the moralify or immoralit’rnof Indian resistance, as well as itsrnmethods. Geronimo himself has norndoubt that he is fighting the good war inrndie right way. In his eves, he and his warriorsrnare justified in killing cer)- whiternperson, male or female, and ever) Mexicanrnwlio dares to encroach upon Apachernland. His rea.souing? The Apaches haernan exclusive right to their land; thernshould not have to change their wa)-s tornaccommodate die whites; and the onl-rnwa)- to stop them is to kill diem all. Inrnone scene, Geronimo’s warriors roundrnup a group of white miners for execution.rnGeronimo shouts at the doomed prisoners:rn”This is Apache land! This has alwaysrnbeen Apache land!” One miner beginsrnto weep and to plead for his life: “Itrnain’t right —we never did ainthin’ torn’0u.” Another pushes him aside eon-rn42/CHRONICLESrnrnrn