Ford et Wayne avaient été contactés pour faire ce film, mais ‘Pappy’ Ford s’apprêtait à réaliser un autre projet de western, en cette année 1955 ... (Il aurait pu être intéressant de voir comment le catholique réalisateur aurait traité ce sujet).
« Le tournage dura six … semaines », en Été 1955, dans l’Est de l’Orégon.
Trois des personnes qui seraient peu après dans le chef d’œuvre de Ford sont déjà présentes ici : le révérend Bond, avec la même voix profonde de Pierre Morin dans la VF,
« L'oeil sagace du forumeur acharné va identifier maman Carey, Olive de son prénom, dans le rôle de la femme du colon tué au début du film. » ... mais Olive Carey est créditée, et comment ne pas reconnaître cette chère vieille dure à cuire de Mrs Jorgensen : « She vas a schoolteacher, you know » … And if you … « Look » very carefully, you will also recognize « her » (Beulah Archuletta), non créditée sur l’IMDB, assise dans le dernier banc, de dos, lors du baptême du petit Ruben, puis époussetant l’autel un peu plus tard. (Également dans le film du mois, d’ailleurs, toujours non créditée sur l’IMDB.)
Hormis Michael Ansara (que j’ai pratiquement toujours apprécié sur des rôles d’Indiens -sauf dans certains téléfilms et séries plus récents : « Law at Randado » par ex.), Sidney Chaplin (comment atterrit-il sur un rôle d’Indien … ?) et deux habitués des rôles d’Indiens (Frank de Kova et Richard Hale … lorsque j’ai vu ce dernier dans « To Kill a Mocking Bird/Du Silence et des Ombres », je me suis dit : « tiens, en voilà encore un qui aurait pu jouer des rôles d’Indiens, selon les critères des années 40-60 » … ai consulté le générique, et ai vu qu’il s’agissait de Richard Hale, que je n’avais vu jusque là QUE dans des rôles d’Indiens, avec tresses et plumes ; les casting scouts ne m’avaient pas attendu ! ) ; les figurants sont des « Amérindiens », leurs costumes (sans être toujours tout à fait exacts) sont cependant très crédibles et ne font pas « cheap » (pas de chemises de calicot, de turbans pour retenir des perruques), la manière de se coiffer, certaines parures sont correctes. Kamiakin et ses fidèles ne sont pas décrits comme les « mauvais Indiens », puisque le scénario reconnaît que le traité n’a pas été respecté par les Blancs ; Kamiakin peut même exposer ses griefs, avec morgue mais aussi noblesse. L’autre point de vue est développé également : « Nous n’avons plus l’habileté de nos Pères, nous l’avons perdue il y a des lunes et des lunes ; we lost [these skills] when we took the first iron knife from the White Man. (…) The Good and the Bad are bound up with the White Man … »
La frontière entre la collaboration, la résignation et le réalisme ?
Les décors naturels nous changent un peu des habituels Monument, Sedona ou Alabama Hills (même si c’est toujours un plaisir de les retrouver sur un petit western quand on ne s’y attend pas).
Je trouve ce « Pillars of the Sky/Les Piliers du Ciel » bien supérieur à « War Arrow/A l’Assaut de Fort Clark » (puisqu’il a été fait référence à ce film dans ces échanges), tant dans le respect historique, que les paysages, le jeu de Chandler, dans la garde robe des figurants …etc.
« Sidonis soit Loué », pour nous avoir ressorti ce beau petit western.
Et enfin, pour reprendre les termes de Vin sur « White Feather/La Plume Blanche » :
Mon cher [Vin], il va de soi que tes informations sont exactes, et pour nos amis forumeurs, j'ai mis ci-dessous l'histoire de [Kamiakin], en anglais, le texte original étant préférable.
L'histoire se comprend aisément de plus.
En suivant ces principes, voici donc quelques compléments d’information :
Early years
Kamiakin was born about 1800 near present-day Starbuck, Washington. His name means "He Won't Go" derived from ka ("no") - miah ("to go") - kamman ("to want"). His father was a member of the Palouse tribe named Ja-ya-yah-e-ha (also known as Ki-yi-yah or Si-Yi) and his mother was a daughter of chief We-ow-wicht of the Yakama tribe. His mother went by the name Spotted Fawn (Ka-e-mox-nith also known as Kah Mash Ni). Kamiakin had two brothers, one named Skloom and the other Show-a-way (also known as Ice). When Kamiakin's father decided to take on another wife, his mother returned to the Yakama taking him and his brother Skloom with her.
Kamiakin planted one of the first gardens in the area at his home in Ahtanum. He was one of the first in the area to use irrigation. The use of irrigation can be traced to 1850 when Kamiakin met a Catholic priest in Walla Walla. Two newly ordained priests, Father Charles M. Pandosy and Father Louis Joseph d'Herbomez, accepted land from Kamiakin for a mission to be established on his property, resulting in the founding of the Saint Joseph Mission at Ahtanum creek on April 3, 1852. There, they taught the tribe about the Catholic faith, as well as irrigation techniques. Many of Kamiakin's people were baptized as Catholics by the two priests, including Kamiakin's children.
Kamiakin had five wives. His first was Sunkhaye (Salkow), who was the daughter of the Yakama chief Teias. He also married four women from the family of chief Tenax (Tennaks) of the Klickitat, with his fifth wife being the "warrior woman" named Colestah. These subsequent marriages to members of the Tenax family defied Yakama tribal custom and caused friction among his blood relatives. By marrying thus, however, Kamiakin extended his power base among other tribes of the Northwest.
Yakima War
The new Washington Territory governor, Isaac Stevens, spearheaded an ill-fated treaty process by threatening to remove the natives by force if they didn't sell their lands. Kamiakin began to organize immediately, allying himself with the chiefs Peo-peo-mox-mox (Yellow Bird) of the Walla Walla, and Allalimya Takanin (Looking Glass) of the Nez Perce. He eventually formed an alliance with a total of 14 tribes living on the Columbia plateau. The alliance was formed in order to start an uprising against American settlers and government officials in the Washington Territory. The hostilities are referred to as The Yakima Indian War of 1855.
Kamiakin convened a council with representatives from all of the tribes in the Grande Ronde Valley in Eastern Oregon in 1855 in order to discuss how best to deal with the invaders and keep their lands. Governor Stevens was tipped off about the meeting when Lawyer, a Nez Perce, informed him of the decisions made by the tribal representatives. At the subsequent Walla Walla Council, when Kamiakin arrived, he noticed the large number of Nez Perce and U.S. Government officials and realized his confidences had been betrayed. Stephens had used the information about the earlier meeting to marshal support for establishing reservations amongst the wavering tribal factions. When Oregon's Superintendent of Indian Affairs asked Kamiakin to speak, the proud Yakama refused. The other chiefs eventually pressured Kamiakin into signing the treaty "as an act of peace" that established the Yakima reservation.
Kamiakin led a band of warriors into the first engagement of the War when on October 4 and 5, 1855, he defeated a force of 84 soldiers led by Major Haller near Simcoe Valley. Kamiakin was also instrumental in the final battle of the War. On September 5, 1858, Colonel George Wright, with a force of 700 soldiers, defeated Kamiakin and his warriors at the Battle of Four Lakes. Kamiakin was wounded in the battle when he was struck by a pine tree felled by cannon fire. Colestah is reported to have saved her husband from capture by the U.S. soldiers. In the end, Kamiakin was the only chief who refused to surrender, escaping to Kootenai, British Columbia, then to Montana where he lived with the Flathead tribe.
Final years
In 1860, he returned to his home on the Palouse River. Following the death of Colestah in 1864, he then moved to his father's homeland near Rock Lake in Washington. Ranchers led by William Henderson repeatedly tried to drive Kamiakin from his ancestral lands, but superintendent of Indian Affairs, Robert Milroy, intervened and vowed (successfully) to allow Kamiakin to live out his days there. On at least two occasions Kamiakin was offered food and clothing by local Indian agents, charity which he steadfastly refused.
The day before he died (sometime in 1877) he was baptized a Catholic and given the name "Matthew." The year following his death, according to his people's customs, Kamiakin's grave was opened by his son (Tesh Palouse Ka-mi-akin) and his body was wrapped in a new blanket. Several years later, when he was exhumed in order to be reburied elsewhere, it was discovered that "the head and shoulders had been cut off and removed" probably for "public exhibition as a curiousity." Historian Clifford Trafzer states that friends of Kamiakin were able to retrieve these relics. In any case, what was left of his remains were finally interred at Nespelem, Washington, a village he had originally founded.
References
Bibliography
• -- Historylink.org essay 5285 Saint Joseph's Mission at Ahtanum Creek is founded in the Yakima Valley on April 3, 1852.
• -- Historylink.org essay 5288 First irrigation ditch in the Yakima Valley is dug at the Saint Joseph Mission in 1852.
• Kamiakin, Head Chief of the Yakamas C. 1800-1878 from The Treaty Trail: US-Indian Treaty Councils in the Northwest(retrieved Tuesday, May 6, 2008)
• Dockstader, Frederick J. "Kamaiakin" IN Great North American Indians: Profiles in Life and Leadership. New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1977 (OCLC 3167970)
• Mooney, James. "Kamaiakan" IN Handbook of American Indians north of Mexico Washington : G.P.O., 1907-1910, vol. 1 (OCLC 26478613)
• Ruby, Robert H. "Kamiakin" IN American national biography New York : Oxford University Press, 1999, vol. 12 (OCLC 39182280)
• Splawn, A.J. Ka-mi-akin, last hero of the Yakimas, Portland, Or. : Kilham Stationery & Printing Co., 1917 (OCLC 1086645)
• Trafzer, Clifford. "Kamiakin" IN Encyclopedia of North American Indians, New York : Houghton Mifflin Co., 1996 (OCLC 34669430)
1. Chief Kamiakin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
Ka-mi-akin, the last hero of the Yakimas
Title Ka-mi-akin, the last hero of the Yakimas
Author: Splawn, A. J.
Contents: This volume focuses on the life of Chief Ka-mi-akin of the Yakimas and the Indian perceptions of the War of 1855-58. It also includes chapters on early Yakima Valley history and the creation of Ferguson County in 1863.
Publication Information: Portland, Or. : Kilham Stationery & Printing Co., 1917
KAMIAKIN,
HEAD CHIEF OF THE YAKAMAS
C. 1800-1878
This portrait of Kamiakin
was created by Gustav
Sohon. Courtesy
Washington State Historical
Society.
Kamiakin lived in what is presentday central Washington as a child, but his family traveled to the Great Plains, where he was distinguished as awarrior and buffalo hunter. He accrued substantial wealth, allowing him to marry five wives. He broke custom and angered his uncles by marrying women from rival families. Nonetheless, his choice created kinship ties with many tribes.
A Natural Leader
Courage, good judgment, and generosity were Kamiakin's best claim to leadership. He demonstrated good business sense early in the 1840s by traveling to Fort Vancouver, trading horses to settlers in exchange for cattle, and driving the cattle back to Yakima. Kamiakin's herd was the first in the Yakima Valley.
Kamiakin planted one of the earliest gardens known to the agricultural history
of Yakima at his home in Ahtanum. His interest in gardening was uncommon for
his time, and he pursued this avocation even to the extent of irrigating his land.
Kamiakin Seeks a Teacher
In 1850 an opportunity arose to secure a teacher for the Yakama people, when Kamiakin met a Catholic priest in Walla Walla. Kamiakin offered the priest a place
on his property for a mission, if the priest would teach his tribe. As a result, two
Catholic Fathers arrived, and built St. Joseph's Mission on the Ahtanum Creek.
In addition to teaching the Catholic faith, the priests trained the Yakamas in
digging irrigation ditches and growing crops.
The Treaty Process Begins
Governor Stevens began the treaty process with the objective of "civilizing"
the Indians, pushing them onto reservations out of the way of the hordes
of white settlers already headed west.
Word went out to the Indians that the President in Washington, D.C. desired
Indian land for the white men, and that a great white chief was on his way west to buy it. If the Indians refused to sell, soldiers would come and drive them off
their land. This news understandably angered the tribes, resulting in prejudice
against the newly appointed Governor of Washington Territory, Isaac Stevens.
Preparing for Trouble
At this point, Kamiakin began building a confederation of Indian tribes to oppose
non-Native settlement. He quickly enlisted Peo-peo-mox-mox, Head Chief of
the Walla Walla, and Looking Glass, War Chief of the Nez Perce to his cause.
These three chiefs planned a council for Indians only in the remote Grande Ronde Valley of Eastern Oregon.
At one point Kamiakin rallied tribal forcessaying:
We wish to be left alone in the lands of our forefathers, whose bones lie in the
sand hills and along the trails, but a pale-face stranger has come from a distant land and send word to us that we must give up our country, as he wants it for the white man. Where can we go? There is no place left. Only a single mountain
now separates us from the big salt water of the setting sun. Our fathers from the hunting grounds of the other world are looking down on us today. Let us not make them ashamed! My people, the Great Spirit has his eyes upon us. He will be angry if, like cowardly dogs, we give up our lands to the whites. Better to
die like brave warriors on the battlefield, than live among our vanquishers,
despised. Our young men and women would speedily become debauched
(destroyed) by their fire water and we should perish as a race.
At the Grande Ronde council, the tribal leaders prepared for Governor Stevens’
upcoming Treaty councils by developing strategies to try to keep their lands.
However, Lawyer, a Nez Perce chief, notified A. J. Bolon, the Indian agent, of
the Grande Ronde council. Governor Stevens learned of the meeting and knew
what to expect going into the 1855 Walla Walla Treaty Council.
The Chiefs Speak at Walla Walla
Kamiakin reached the council ground, accompanied by Peo-peo-mox-mox, on
May 28th, 1855. When they saw the huge number of Nez Perce present, they began to realize that Lawyer had betrayed their trust. Not wishing to accept gifts from false friends, Kamiakin refused Stevens' offer of tobacco for his pipe and
provisions for his party. The speeches of the council went on day after day, with all the chiefs—except for Kamiakin—setting forth their wishes for theirtribes. Then Joel Palmer, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in Oregon Territory, said: I want to say a few words to these people, but before I do, if Ka-mi-akin wants to speak, I would be glad to hear him.
Kamiakin replied, I have nothing to say.
Kamiakin’s contempt for the U.S. continued.
Later, an Indian agent attempted to ease Kamiakin's poverty by giving him some
blankets due under the provisions of the 1855 treaty. He rejected them and pointed to his ragged clothes, saying:
See, I am a poor man, but too rich to receive anything from the United States.
Kamiakin died in 1877, and was buried near the village he founded.
Sources:
Josephy, Alvin M. The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening
of the Northwest. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company,
1997
Nicandri, David L. Northwest Chiefs: Gustav Sohon's View
of the 1855 Stevens Treaty Councils. Tacoma:
Washington State Historical Society, 1986.
Ruby, Robert H. and John A. Brown The Cayuse Indians:
Imperial Tribesmen of Old Oregon. Norman: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1972.
Splawn, A. J. KA-MI-AKIN: Last Hero of the Yakimas.
Portland: Metropolitan Press, 1944.
KAMIAKIN , HEAD CHIEF OF THE YAKAMAS C. 1800-1878 Kamiakin lived ...
Je suis un vieux Peau-Rouge solitaire qui ne marchera jamais en file indienne.
- You've seen too many westerns, old man.
- That doesn't exactly work in your favor.
en effet !
Hello VIN AND LIMPY
