Life of American Indian [sic]

Very little information from contemporary sources has been located on this film. Cameraman Harry Keepers lists it in both 1916 studio directories, stating that it was made for the "Wanamaker Expeditions," was "recorded in" the Smithsonian Institution and was a first-prize winner at the 1915 Panama Expo. According to modern sources, Rodman Wanamaker, as a police commissioner, led a 1913 expedition to the Crow Reservation near Sheridan, WY, during which director Rollin S. Dixon took footage of the tribe that was edited into a thirteen-reel film in 1915. This film, referred to in modern sources as History of the American Indian, is probably the same as Life of American Indian. The intention of the filmmakers was to record for posterity ancient tribal customs, rites and ceremonies, including the ceremonial steam bath and the use of the medicine stick, as well as combat techniques, as demonstrated in staged battles. Another part of the documentary featured a more contemporary view of reservation life and included scenes of Indians participating in a cattle round-up. No further information on the production, including its exact connection to the Smithsonian Institution, has been discovered.