Alvin Manitopyes: Native women treated poorly in 'The Revenant'

Another aspect of the film that stands out is the Mountain Man takes an Indian woman as a wife in a meaningful relationship. Glass’s love and respect for his wife and her human emotions is seen as a noble act. All historical accounts report Indigenous women were the only women around in the wild undiscovered frontier of the early 1800s. Several Indigenous Nations of the northern plains actually encouraged interracial marriages to seal ties of friendship, fostering stronger trade relations. The ugly side of these historical interactions was that Indigenous women were perceived as property and as helpful in bringing European influence and control onto Indigenous lands.

The manner this production depicts Indian women as sex slaves is extremely disturbing. The gross rape scene illustrates this. Then we see other Indian women casually tending to the biological needs of the foreign trappers inside the fort. It is a sad degrading reality, if you are an Indigenous person watching this film.

“Elk Dog” played by Duane Howard (Nuu-Chah-Nulth), goes on a passionate mission to find his missing daughter, “Powaqa”, played by Melaw Nakehk”o (Dene). This episode reflects modern stark realities of the current murdered and missing Indigenous women issue in Canada. One begs to ask the question? Has anything changed that much since the wild wild west?

At the gala premiere, Melaw Nakehk’o was interviewed on the red carpet where she raised the issue of murdered and missing women in Canada.