In 1938, twelve Blackfeet men and other tribal members traveled by train to Hollywood to make a movie with child-star Shirley Temple, who was the biggest star at 20th Century Fox. The older men felt like they were going to a strange place, so they prayed for protection.
The Blackfeet brought their own special clothes for ceremonies. Shirley Temple’s costume was made by an actor’s wife. Many Guns, one of the Blackfeet men, said that on the train, they wore regular store clothes. But when they arrived in Los Angeles, they put on their buckskins and headdresses to look proud. When they ate at the famous Brown Derby restaurant, Many Guns felt that the restaurant had never seen old buffalo hunters and warriors like them before.
For two months, the Blackfeet lived in tents on the Fox studio lot and ate at the same cafeteria as the other actors. Tom Many Guns and Eddie Big Beaver, the youngest men, acted as interpreters. In 1976, when Many Guns was 80 years old, he said that he was still receiving monthly payments for his work in the movie, about $191 a month (which would be about $850 today). You can even watch a colorized version of the movie “Susannah of the Mounties” on YouTube.
Adolf Hungrywolf, who documented the stories of the people involved, helped preserve their memories.