At the edge of the frontier, among the rolling hills, wild animals, and a vast landscape almost untouched by American settlers, lies Fort Sedgwick. It was a small and Isolated post that was abandoned by all but one man, Lieutenant John Dunbar, the protagonist of “Dances With Wolves”. Despite his expectations, he was not entirely alone. The Sioux tribe lurked nearby, curious of John’s Intentions. After several run ins with the soilder, the tribe slowly came to accept him and even invite him to learn more about their customs and traditions. John was eventually given the name “Dances With Wolves” showing his full membership to the Sioux, this in turn leads him to leave the US army. Now seen as a traitor amongst his previous allies, and finding his new found family endangered, he had no choice but to stand up and defend his beliefs. Through his numerous acts bravery, and sacrifice, John Dunbar proved himself as a hero. One example of John’s heroism was when he rescued Smiles a Lot, one of the youngest tribe members, from being trampled by a buffalo. Not only was this a valiant and selfless act, but he did this before he established a bond with the Sioux tribe. Smiles A Lot, along with the rest of the tribe were mostly strangers to him, having only interacted a handful of times prior to this …show more content…
With their greatest fighters far from camp and their foes advancing the Sioux were left at a disadvantage against the Pawnee warriors. Using his prior knowledge of warfare Dunbar convinces the tribe to use guns against their enemies, stating that a gun can “make one man like two,”. He then joined the rest of the Sioux in fighting off the Pawnee party and driving them away from their camp. John’s cunning and bravery helped him defend the lives of the women, children and elders of the Sioux tribe who otherwise may not have been able to protect