Chief Yowlachie was a powerful, resolute-looking man; handsome with high cheekbones and copper complexion; firm of frame and tall-seeming, if not actually tall. With presence alone he invested his eponymous character in Sitting Bull at the Spirit Lake Massacre with the gravity needed to be a believable spiritual and political leader in a time of war. And with his acting, he made Sitting Bull a crook. That he could be both, and still a bit sympathetic, makes Spirit Lake Massacre a more interesting film than it’s actually trying to be.
