Original subtitles

Gentlemen.

Dorothy.

I'd like you to print this in your nice little paper.

Just sell in the telegraph office?

You don't own it.

That's very observant, Jake.

Now, let's see.

Why might I be able to sell it if I don't own it?

Oh, perhaps the telegraph company asked me to act as their broker. That must be

it. Good thinking, Jake.

It's a good location.

No, no, no, that's not a good location. It's the best location in town.

It's halfway between the store and the church, across from the saloon, on the

way into Grace's, and right next door to the clinic.

By the foot traffic alone makes it worth its weight in gold.

By the hard sell, Preston.

Are you working on commission?

What kind of business they want to put in there?

Well, that's irrelevant.

As long as the price is right.

Going to take him?

No.

Looks for the son of the Lakota.

His father was an elk dreamer. They did not hunt or eat elk or deer.

Even though his family has crossed over, he still has that birthright.

How many times I got to tell you?

Fighting just gives the soldiers an excuse to rough you up.

Sully, cloud dancing. Great news.

The Reverend's been commissioned to open a school here on the reservation for

the Indian children.

They're going to pay for a schoolhouse and supplies?

Who is paid?

The government.

They've made an agreement with my missionary agency.

Who will teach?

I will.

This will help bring them into the world.

And learning together will give them something in common.

Perhaps even stop fighting between tribes.

What will you teach?

Oh, everything.

Reading, writing, science.

It's all here in this manual.

Your government sent that book?

This is good news, Cloud Dancing.

These are doing something.

That is the perfect spot for the schoolhouse.

And the government said that they'd pay for the materials.

Till then, put up an awning.

These are the first supplies your government has sent in many months.

I know.

But perhaps this means they're going to start living up to the agreements they

made with you.

You know, Dr. Mike, there is one...

Vital supply that isn't in those boxes.

Teachers.

Now, I can come out here every afternoon, but with teaching in town,

it's going to be difficult for me to handle everything.

Well, I'd be happy to help you out.

Oh, would you, Dr. Mike?

If you think that it wouldn't be too much for you.

Oh, I'm sure I could handle a couple of afternoons a week.

That is wonderful.

Now, you could just take a few subjects.

Science, maybe geography.

Well, I'd love to.

What do you say we get started on the awning?

And here's a scarf for you.

Thanks again.

Appreciate it.

You won't need to put this in the gazette.

Sorry, I don't quite follow.

I'd like to buy the telegraph office.

I got the money saved and I want to take out a loan for the rest.

A loan?

You know I'll pay it back.

All right.

What sort of collateral will you be able to provide?

I have my print and press.

And there's some other things that... You do realize that you have to provide

collateral that's of equal value to the loan.

My Gazette's the collateral, and I'm going to expand it soon as I move in.

going to pay for itself. It's a perfect place for it. And what better business

for this location? The men who've invested in this bank have very strict

collateral requirements.

Future hopes aren't sufficient.

I'm sorry, but if it were for a smaller amount, I might be able to help.

You understand, don't you?

If you don't give me the loan, then I'm just going to have to apply to the banks

in Denver.

It's a good idea.

Dorothy.

I'm going to get that loan.

Your tenacity is admirable.

Good luck.

I checked these out from the library.

And we brought these from home.

The Spencerian Key to Practical Penmanship.

Don't you think you ought to teach them the alphabet before you start worrying

about their penmanship?

Actually, it's a bet that they learn both at the same time.

If they want to enter into a profession, they should learn to write legibly. And

that's what we're going to be doing. We're going to be teaching the first

generation of Indian doctors and lawyers.

That's what they want to be.

Exactly.

We're giving them choices in life.

That's Tom Sawyer.

He's got a lot of good stories.

Too many big words.

Maybe you should come to school.

It'll help you learn to read.

I know how to read.

Everybody needs help learning big words.

We regret that we're unable to... We're sorry to inform you.

We wish that we could be of assistance, however the... Can they think of another

way to turn me down?

None of them even agreed to meet you?

Obviously, they think it would be just a waste of their time.

I suppose they can't imagine a woman can go into business and pay off a loan.

Well, obviously someone thought enough of you to loan you the money for this

clinic.

Actually, it was my mother.

Oh.

Well, I'm afraid that's not an option in my case.

Oh, it was just a silly idea.

What was I thinking?

Expanding the Gazette was a good idea, Dorothy.

There's got to be a way.

Men find a way. Well, if you were a man, I suppose men would take your business

proposal more seriously.

I'm just incapable.

They just don't know that because they never take the opportunity to find out.

Why? Why not?

Well, they spend time with each other. They're working, socializing.

Socializing.

Huh.

Socializing.

For the son, these are for you.

They're mine?

All yours.

Shoes?

They're just for school.

The manual says it makes them feel like all part of the same class.

There's enough for everybody.

There you are.

Dr. Mike!

Dully!

Ready for our first day of school?

Indeed I am.

Brought some canvas for the awning. And I found some maps I was given as a

child.

Let's go.

Well, they're going to do well.

Look at them.

They're ready to learn.

Let's begin, shall we?

I want to sit down.

How does cutting their hair and putting them in white pants clothes help them

learn?

Q -R -S -T -U -V.

W, X, Y, and Z.

Now I know my ABCs. Tell me what you think of me.

That last phrase is just part of the song. You don't really have to tell me

you... Let's try it again together, shall we?

A, B, C, D, E, F, G.

Maybe we've had enough for the first day.

Class dismissed.

That means you can all go.

You can go.

Don't be discouraged.

After all, they have no written language like their own, so it's all very new to

me. I suppose you're right.

And I guess for the first day, it's an accomplishment that they were all

listening and interested.

D.

D, that's right. That's a D.

And the second letter is an O.

And that's a G. And together it's spelled dog.

Dog.

Right.

Is reading

and writing the first thing they must learn?

Well, books are full of valuable information.

Information they wouldn't be able to get elsewhere.

When you read a story, you cannot know who tells it. You cannot see him or hear

his voice.

If you do not know his spirit, the story has no meaning.

Well, all we want to do is give them a new way of learning.

So they can have both ways.

So the new way don't wipe out the old.

Good afternoon, Preston.

Dorothy, what have we here?

Lunch. Oh, I didn't make it myself.

I didn't have time to. What was getting the Gazette out?

But it's Grace's best.

Well, it's very considerate of you.

To what do I owe this pleasure?

Well, I was just thinking that we ain't... that we haven't really had the

opportunity to get to know each other.

An omission which has caused me great unhappiness.

Well, we've both been so occupied with our own businesses.

I don't want to get food on those prospectuses. Do you mind?

Not at all.

You know, it's really a shame your valiant efforts are spent on a business

will never bring you great profit. Oh, Preston, I'm not here to talk about the

newspaper. Oh, of course not.

Oh, dear.

You're not thinking of investing in this, are you?

I've invested in railroad security's Jay Cook and company for years.

Very reliable.

Well, if you say so.

You say differently?

Well, it's just that I read that the only way they can offer that rate of

is by watering down the value of the stock.

Where did you read that?

The Gazette isn't the only newspaper that I read.

You ever play baseball?

Well, we could teach you.

Are you all right?

Have you been hurting again?

No, I feel all right.

What did you do in school today?

Lots of stuff.

We read about animals in the sea, like whales and sharks and the big turtles.

Come on, Brian!

When are you going to come to school?

Miss Grace don't want me to.

Call the Standard Oil Company. It was started this year by a man named

Rockefeller. Never heard of him.

Well, he's got a refinery in Ohio.

Hmm? Oh.

May I save this for later?

So you'd advise me to invest in, uh... What's his name again?

Rockefeller. Sounds risky.

Where there's risk, there's opportunity. Isn't that right?

True. But you mustn't confuse... Gambling with opportunity.

Well, all I can say is that if it was my money, I wouldn't depend entirely on

the railroads. Oh, the railroads are here to stay.

Well, from what I've read, it's important to invest in lots of different

Absolutely. But you know, Dorothy, you can't always trust what you read.

The newspapers that I subscribe to are reputable. Naturally. But they all have

editors with their own agendas. They report the facts. As they see fit.

And they use them to support their own position.

Invest in this business. Vote for this politician.

In fact, any reasonably intelligent publisher can wield an enormous amount

influence. Publisher?

Take the Gazette, for instance.

Everybody in town reads it. That's absolutely true. And with the town

bigger, that only means that the Gazette's going to grow, too.

Exactly.

Supper.

Supper.

We must continue this over supper sometime soon.

I'll contact you.

Well, that would be lovely.

It's always a pleasure, Dorothy.

Always a pleasure.

It's more simple. It's like a teepee, right? Or a mountain with a line through

it. It's an A.

supposed to keep the crow on the other side of that ridge? They don't get along

with the Pawnee.

Maybe it's because they know it that they do nothing.

When are you going to start doing your job?

Children!

Children, please, sit down. Sit down.

Let's continue.

We use the letter A in a word like Adam.

And we use the word in a sentence.

Like, in Adam's fall, we sinned all.

Who is Adam?

Adam. Adam was the first man that God created.

Who is God?

God.

God is... God created the world.

Did not Enoch create the world? No, Terawatt came first. How would you know,

punny? No, you don't know.

Kevin!

Children, please!

God came before anything or anyone.

Who told you this?

It's right here in this book.

This is the holiest of all books.

And this book tells us how the world began.

At first, there was nothing.

The world didn't exist. Can you imagine that? It was cold and dark.

There were no people.

No animals, no trees, no land, no water, nothing.

And then God created earth.

And then God said, let there be light.

And do you know what?

The sun shone down on the earth.

And then God created the ocean and the rivers and streams and lakes.

Cloud dancing? What are you doing?

We got to talk.

We're in the middle of class.

Maybe you ought to take a recess.

Children, we'll take recess a little early now. You can all go.

I brought some anatomy charts.

I thought we could start with science today. There is no teaching here.

There's only white man's haircuts, white man's clothes, and the white man's holy

book.

I bet you're going to teach them, not preach to them.

You've been preaching to them from the Bible?

The manual says that religious training is part of their education.

God damn it, we're just starting here. Nothing's cast in stone.

We can make this work together.

In time, compromise.

It's better than nothing.

Are you saying they have nothing without your school?

No, of course not.

Unfortunately, the white man's world is the world in which they're going to have

to live.

We are only trying to help them survive.

What if their true nature will survive if they live with white people?

All we want to do is prepare them for the future.

They won't have a future if they don't have a path.

Let me help you with that.

I can manage.

But you can't.

I could have used your help earlier at the reservation.

I wanted to believe that this was going to work.

was finally going to do something to help them.

I should have known better.

That's at the school, isn't it?

No.

The fighting is getting worse.

The soldiers ain't doing nothing to stop it. They won't listen to me.

It's getting to seem like I can't do anything to make their lives better.

Sully, I know how frustrating this is for you.

Especially sharing their lives for so long.

It's always an uphill battle, isn't it?

The occasion, Dorothy.

Nothing.

I'm having a business supper with Preston.

Not wearing that, Yank.

Why not?

Because it's mine.

That's why.

Well, I'm the one that give it to her, ain't I?

You getting a lot of use out of it?

Jake, you gave me a beautiful gift that I appreciate wearing when I choose to.

This supper you're having with Preston tonight, is it about the telegraph

office?

In a way, yes.

I wish I could get some cider. The air is... Lauren, do you have something on

your mind?

No.

Look, I know I told you it was time to move out, but there's no great rush. No,

no, no, you're absolutely right. It's time for me to find my own place.

Dorothy, you look ravishing.

Thanks.

But I think it's a little cold out here, don't you?

Oh, I thought we were gonna have supper.

We are.

What do you think?

Beautiful.

Does this mean... I'm giving you that long.

I won't let you down, Preston.

I know you won't.

Well, this calls for a celebration.

I didn't have time to make dinner myself, but it's Grace's best.

Oh, this is the perfect... spot and just the right amount of space. And that

door is going to be open to everybody in this town. And the best part is, you're

going to be half owner of the best newspaper in the territory.

Half owner?

Well, some of the investors didn't think this was a sound opportunity.

So I let them talk me into buying half the property.

Your loan's for the other half.

What are you proposing? That you and I be partners?

In a manner of speaking, yes. In what manner of speaking?

Well, you'll retain 49 % ownership of a growing newspaper, a very substantial

stake for a first -time editor, and probably unheard of for a woman.

So, congratulations.

49? Then I'm not really even half owner.

It's only for my investor's peace of mind.

Yes, but you'd be able to tell me how to run things.

Nothing's going to change.

You won't even know I'm involved.

I already do.

I sent a telegram to Hazen this morning requesting we change the way the

school's being run.

He said that we got to run it the way it says in the manual.

Did you tell him that the Reverend was preaching to the children?

He said the Reverend's in charge.

I've been speaking to some of the others. We can file a petition of

and then you can stop the Reverend. But I don't have that kind of authority.

You're the Indian agent. You're our representative.

And Hazen is the superintendent of Indian affairs.

And this is what a rib bone looks like.

Now, we all have 12 pair of these bones.

Even men?

Oh, yes.

Men and women have the same amount.

But the reverend told us that God took a rib from Adam to make Eve.

Well, not everyone believes that, looks at the sun. But if we do not, then we

can't be saved.

Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Mike.

Children, it is time to go work on our projects.

But we didn't finish our class.

I don't want you overexerting yourself.

Oh, I feel fine. Well, the manual... calls for vocational training and i have

been letting that slip carpentry and sewing are considered part of schoolwork

and the manual requires that it be given equal time you see in order to get the

funding then i know that it may not be the way that you or i would do it but it

is a small compromise but they could be doing that anytime you and i only here

for a few hours michaela i've been told that the manual is very effective it's

not my place to question

And it is what I agreed to do. I can't go back on it.

We want to make sure Anthony's feeling

well enough before he goes off to school.

He ain't had pain attacks in a while now.

Oh, but Dr. Mike said they could happen any time.

School's real close to the clinic.

Well, it just ain't the pain attacks.

I want to make sure you're all caught up before you go into a classroom.

I'll make sure he doesn't fall behind.

Brian, you've got your own study and to -do sites.

Robert and me have been teaching Anthony, and as soon as we're ready and

ready, we will send him off to school.

Miss Grace,

the kids will be real nice to Anthony.

I promise.

Brian.

Anthony will go to school.

Where is he going?

I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. No.

We will not baptize these children.

They asked to be baptized.

That is because you told them it was the only way to get into your heaven.

I'm only doing what's best for them, cloud dancing, really.

They want this.

Baptism is as much a part of their education as reading or writing.

They can learn to read or write and still be Indian.

But if you baptize them, you're trying to make them into something they're not.

Come along. Looks for the sun.

It's all right.

Nothing to be afraid of.

I'm closing the school. You have no authority. I'm the Indian agent here.

my decision.

School's closed.

What did I do wrong, Dr. Mike?

I only wanted to do the right thing.

They never ask us to share their religion, Reverend.

Should we make them share ours?

But they don't share our medicine either, and yet you help them with it.

Medicine's different.

How?

You took an oath to save lives with your medicine, and I took an oath to save

souls with my faith.

I thought our job here was to educate their minds.

Hazen says we've got to reopen the school.

If we don't, he'll reopen it himself.

What if the children don't go to class?

You know Hazen, he ain't one to make empty threats.

He would bring the army to force our children to go to his school.

Sooner or later.

Keep resisting, he ain't gonna let you get away with it.

They killed our people before.

I feel like I'm watching them die again.

I wanted that place so much.

But with Preston involved, he'll take over.

Well, he said he wouldn't, but you know Preston.

Can you believe he wanted to split the ownership 51 % and 49 %?

Well... Actually, Dorothy, 49 to 51 isn't such a bad idea.

What?

It depends on how you look at it.

51 % for me, 49 for you.

Dorothy, you're not approaching this from a business -like perspective.

I believe I am.

I'm the one who'll be doing the work. And I'm the one who'll be supplying the

money. And I'm the one who'll be paying it back.

Of course, you could put out your own newspaper, buy a press, write the story,

set the type, but then you wouldn't have that much time left for the bank.

You're asking me to gamble on the Gazette.

Those railroad stocks that you like so much, they're a gamble.

Rockefeller is a gamble.

The Gazette's a sure thing.

And if your investors have got any doubts, show my prospectus.

I figured out cost, circulation, projected returns, everything else they

want to know.

And you know me. You know how hard I'm going to work.

The Gazette didn't get this far because of folks like me.

It's a business, and I run it well.

So...

You can have 49 % of something that's going to make you money or 51 % of

nothing.

What's it going to be?

You have a deal.

Anything else?

Just this.

Want me to take that over for you? Oh, no, I can manage.

Thanks for the help.

You're welcome.

I'm proud of you, Dorton.

Well, I should get going. I got a lot of unpacking to do.

You've still got a few things upstairs.

I know. You can leave them here. No, no. I'll come back for them tomorrow.

But I'm going to be over here all the time anyway.

Of course.

Just because you're moving out don't mean anything has to change.

Lauren, we've been friends too long to be lying to each other now.

It's just going to take some getting used to, that's all.

I, uh, wanted to get you something for your new place.

I couldn't seem to think of anything that was right.

Lauren.

You've already given me the best gift of all the day that you took me in.

You gave me my life back.

Time for you to go home.

There must be some way to reopen the school that we can all agree upon.

Maybe if the Reverend wasn't so strict about following that manual, we had a

plan he could go along with it.

Hazen would find out.

Perhaps in the meantime we'd have a school.

Michaela! Sully!

What do you think?

It's wonderful.

Congratulations, Dorothy.

Thank you, Sully.

But you know, it's not just good for me. It's going to be good for the whole

town, too.

I mean it when I say that door is always going to be open. I want everybody to

contribute to the Gazette.

If Preston were in charge, they'd just hear one voice, but now they're going to

hear everybody.

That way, everyone can make up their own mind.

Sully, Dr. Mike.

I was just about to start class.

Yeah?

Well, we thought we might try something a little different today.

Well, perhaps at the start we'll all sit in a circle so we can see each other.

Come on.

Everybody, over here on the ground.

Isn't that how it's done in school?

And what do you do when you sit like that?

We hear stories.

I know someone here who knows many stories.

When he was your age, he learned these stories from his elders.

They passed their wisdom on to him, and he passed it on to the children of his

tribe.

Soldiers will still come.

They ain't here now.

Who here knows of the Cheyenne?

And who knows how the Cheyenne came to be.

I am a Cheyenne.

I was born three days south of here, into the band of the Cheyenne led by

cattle.

Cheyenne believed that before there was earth, our grandmother, all was water.

And the crow, he talked to the turtle.

Turtle dove down, got some mud.

And he brought it out.

I am Arapaho.

I was born two sons east of the river.

My father taught me that Nyankan created sun and moon, man and woman, to mold

and shape the earth. An old man, Haudi, told the birds to dive into the water

for mud.

Three could not find mud, but one did.

And from that, he made the earth.

I am a Lakota, an elk dreamer.

I was thought that Eok came first, and he was when there were no other.

Has everyone spoken?

No.

Not everyone.

Reverend?

Before my father came to this country, he lived in a place called Bright...

country called England.

We believed.

My people believed that the world was created by one God.

He created man and woman named Adam and Eve, and they lived in a beautiful

garden called Eden.

They had two sons.

One that came.