The Only Good Indian doesn't cut it.

I just saw the last week on Encore's "Western" channel. I really wanted to like it, but I have to agree with you ejhutchaz. I think it ultimately fails as a film.

My biggest problem is with Wes Studi’s character Sam and the transformation he undergoes. He wants to be a Pinkerton Detective and to be accepted by the whites more than anything. Yet when he is presented that opportunity that drives him the entire film, he passes on it to save Sally in a very dramatic way. Why the sudden change of heart? I don’t think the film examines this as much as it should have or spends enough time developing Sam’s character perhaps but either way, when it happens, it doesn’t seem believable to me.

This subject is important and it’s about time to see it exposed on film but I’d only give this movie an average rating. It's nothing special which is a shame as it could have been much, much better...

I don't think the film was whether of those two points you stated.
I think the movie was a portrayal of a 'white indian', who grows unsure of his belongings and roots, and if there is a place for him in the white man's world.

On another note this film was a total win in my eyes. It was very artsy, because it (even for a western!) nearly was completely whithout dialoge. This way there is place for thoughts amd you are left thinking and wondering constantly, what might go on in the characters (mostly Sam and McCoy) minds. This enhances before mentioned portrayal-style - in this category it was flawless and had a nice pace.

It seems that you perhaps missed the entire point. Maybe as an outsider looking in, you simply 'saw' what you wanted to see from that standpoint. This film impacted me deeply because my father and my father-in-law were in BIA boarding schools (concentration camps)growing up and came away with the point-of-view that if their children would survive in this 'white' world, we would only speak American English. The Native languages were nearly lost because of the constant physical and mental abuse. The irony is that my wife's uncle, another boarding school 'guest', became one of the original 29 Navajo 'codetalkers' and through the use of that language that was nearly beaten out of them, many American lives were saved. All of the main actors handled their character roles well. The 'lawman' and his views actually live on in many of the people of Kansas today. I attended Haskell JC in the 70's and speak from experience. The Studi character reminded me of other people that were termed 'apples' because they felt shame at their Native heritage and desperately wanted to blend. The defiance of the young boy reflects the attitudes of people who were not willing to assimilate and be good little Indian white people, those people took part in the protests of the 60s and 70s and helped restore Native pride. When viewed from a Native standpoint, this film was very good at reflecting life.

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