GERONIMO: AN AMERICAN LEGEND

The movie GERONIMO focuses on the final months of the U.S. Army’s “Geronimo Campaign” of 1885-1886 which led to the surrender of the legendary Apache Indian Chief. It chronicles Geronimo’s steadfast determination to battle the U.S. Government’s advance westward and their relocation of the Apache from their homeland. Geronimo had escaped twice before: in 1876, when the Chiricahua Reservation was abolished, and in 1881, after which Geronimo conducted raids in Arizona and Mexico. After his final surrender in 1886, Geronimo is sent to a military prison in Florida where he died according to the movie. In reality, he was placed in another prison in Alabama, then one at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he settled down, adopted Christianity and became a prosperous farmer. Geronimo even became a national celebrity when he appeared at the St. Louis World’s Fair and in Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural procession.

GERONIMO contains beautiful cinematography of the rugged Southwestern United States and credible acting. To its credit, all those who see this movie can catch a glimpse of our past, though knowing the facts about the real Geronimo will help the viewer considerably. One thing is certain: the entire way of life for Native Americans vanished when Geronimo told his captors: “Do with me what you please. Once, I moved like the wind. Now, I surrender to you and that is all.”