Buffalo Dance (1894)

Buffalo Dance is an 1894 American 16-second black and white silent film shot in Thomas Edison's Black Maria studio. The film was made at the same time as Edison's Sioux Ghost Dance. It is one of the earliest films made featuring Native Americans. In this film, produced by William K. L. Dickson with William Heise as cinematographer, three Sioux warriors named Hair Coat, Parts His Hair and Last Horse dance in a circle and two other Native Americans sit behind them and accompany them with drums. According to the Edison catalog, the actors were "genuine Sioux Indians, in full war paint and war costumes." They were also apparently veterans of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show.