Synopsis:
Although the Indians were assured their lands adjacent to the Black Hills by contract, the Whites want to expel them. Meanwhile, gold has been discovered there and the unscrupulous settler, Red Fox, demands of Mattotaupa, chief of the Bears Clan belonging to the Dakota tribe, to reveal to him the location of a cave with gold deposits. Mattotaupa refuses and is stabbed to death by Red Fox in the presence of his son Tokei-ihto. Lieutenant Roach orders Tokei-ihto to Fort Smith in order to negotiate. The son of the slain chief suspects that the Whites are planning an ambush, a fear that is confirmed when he encounters Red Fox there. Tokei-ihto refuses to move to a reservation in an infertile area with his tribe and is incarcerated. When the Dakota Indians have been defeated and resettled, he is released. Tokei-ihto learns of the murder of the senior chief Tashunka-witko. Tokei-ihto now wants to fulfill his legacy, escaping with the subgroup of his tribe to the fertile areas beyond the Missouri in Canada. While the members of the Bears Clan cross the border, Tokei-ihto encounters Red Fox, his father's murderer. A final life-and-death battle ensues and Tokei-ihto emerges as victor. This production began the most successful series of films at the box office in the history of East German cinema.

Press Comments:
"The essence of the film heightens the viewer's delight at the enjoyable panning shots of the gloriously colorful attire of the chief, the picture studies of Indian customs and traditional way of life as well as the turbulent plot striving for authenticity. Guest director Kosef Mach understandably had a hard time accommodating professional and amateur actors. The quality of their performance ranges very widely, with Jiri Vrstalas and Roemers right at the upper end of the scale. Prof. Finohr's grappling portrayal of the medicine man Hawandschita ranges somewhere in the middle." -- Helmut Hahnemann in the Leipzig Azet of 19.02.1966

These films represent a little-known but fascinating chapter in the history of Westerns. -- Taos Film Festival

Cold War on the High Plains! ... These films capture the look and feel of classic Hollywood Westerns with a novel twist courtesy of the Iron Curtain: the stories are told from the Native American perspective. - Cowboys & Indians Magazine Westerns with a twist. –- Hollywood Reporter

You may also be interested in:
Apaches	Chingachgook, the Great Snake