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INTO THE WEST; WHEEL TO THE STARS episode 1

In the start of the movie we are introduced to a Native American / Plains Indian tribe gathering,
where I think the chief is supposedly giving a talk. I wasn’t able to fully understand, however it
seems quite important when looking at the actors’ facial expressions. During the very start we
hear how important the tatankas ( buffaloes ) were to the Plains Indians and the uses of the
buffalo ( something we have gone in depth through in class and

Jacob is a white American boy who seems to rather be a disappointment in Enoch’s father,
which I am assuming is his father as well, soon after Nathan and Jacob depart for St. Louis.
When the herd of buffaloes stampedes, White Feather escapes unharmed, and his name is
changed to Loved By the Buffalo. In the process of raiding a henhouse where they were stealing
eggs, Jacob and Nathan encounter a black runaway slave who begs them not to turn him in.
Jacob maintains his promise and does not turn the slave in. When Jacob and Nathan arrive in
St. Louis, Mr. Fletcher prefers to hire mountain men instead of them. Nathan makes money by
playing poker and some Texas property investment. Jacob travels to the west, finds Jedediah
Smith, and persuades him to accompany him while Nathan travels to the south.

The brothers Running Fox and Dog Star marry two sisters back at the Plains Indians'
community. The Lakota exchange pots and skins for Thunder Heart Woman with the French
trader Lebeck. When Thunder Heart Woman prepares to become Lebeck's wife, Loved By the
Buffalo offers her the amulet as a parting gift. After Jedediah Smith is attacked by a grizzly bear,
Jacob has to put his scalp back together. Whilst working with the large stone medicine wheel,
"Loved By the Buffalo" discovers the circle's full power. The Mojave Indians are met by the
mountain men, who then fancy the Maricopa and women who are there. Jacob tries to talk with
Jedediah Smith rather than joining the party. Lebeck, Thunder Heart Woman's husband, is
murdered by the Crow Indians, who also kidnap Thunder Heart Woman's child.

The Mexican army captures the mountain men when they reach the Pacific Ocean in California.
The Mexicans discover that the Mojave Indians have exchanged their horses for Mexican
horses. Most of the mountain men are slaughtered in the Mojave attack against them. The three
, Fletcher, Jedediah, and Jacob, decide to hide in a cave but the Indians attempt to smoke them
out though and realise there must be another route out of the cave since the smoke is travelling
in the opposite direction. Fletcher sadly passes away as Jacob and Jedediah make their way
out of the cave. As they navigate the challenging cave, Jedediah speaks to them about God and
the biblical account of Jonah and the Whale. Gold coins are discovered close to a skeleton
which is found.

To save the people, Growling Bear sends him a buffalo disguised as himself. Jacob and
Jedediah split up in Utah in 1829, when Jacob attends the Rendezvous celebration, he
stumbles across Benjamin Franklin, a black escaped slave, who thanks him for not giving him in
to the farmer. Thunder Heart Woman still possesses the amulet and is being sold as a slave at
the Rendezvous. In an effort to acquire her and set her free, Jacob engages in a bidding war
with Johnny Fox. To see who will buy her, he uses the knife to kill the other man during their
dispute. Jacob is treated for his wounds by Thunder Heart Woman, who also presents him with
the amulet, her most prized item. When she returns to her Lakota village with Jacob, he has
plans to take her home to be with her people. Jacob demonstrates to the Indians how to create
a wheel by fusing wood and steel. Jacob gets an explanation of the Medicine wheel by Loved
By the Buffalo to which he understands the four components incorporated in the Wheel ;
wisdom, strength, heart, and bravery.