Dances With Wolves Ending Explained

The ending of Dances With Wolves reveals the tragic fate of the Sioux and other Native American people and cultures of the American frontier. Dances With Wolves is the 1990 directorial debut of Kevin Costner, adapted from a book of the same name. Dances With Wolves was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Michael Blake, who also wrote the original novel.

Dances With Wolves is a story about Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Costner), an officer in the Civil War who is commissioned to man an outpost on the western prairie of the American Frontier. When John arrives, the outpost is abandoned and no reinforcements arrive. In time, he makes friends with the local Sioux tribe, learning their language and customs, and they eventually give him the name “Dances With Wolves.” John decides to join the Sioux when they move to their winter camp, but the advancing American army and arrival of more white men eventually marks the end of “the great horse culture of the plains.”

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Why John Wanted to Go to Fort Sedgewick

Dunbar Always Felt The Frontier Calling

The very beginning of Dances With Wolves features a Civil War battle where Union officer John J. Dunbar is about to get his leg amputated to treat an injury sustained during an 1863 battle in Tennessee. Amputation was a common treatment to many wounds at the time to prevent gangrene. Not wanting to live life without his foot, John steals the horse, Cisco, and charges the Confederate army, hoping they’ll end his life. He miraculously survives and actually leads the Union army to rally to victory. As a result, he gets better medical treatment to save his leg and is given the opportunity to choose the location of his next post.

John Chooses Fort Sedgewick on the western frontier. The exact location isn’t stated in Dances With Wolves, but the real historical Fort Sedgewick is located at the northeast corner of Colorado near the border of Nebraska. John is asked if he chose the post because he’s an “Indian fighter,” but he says it’s because he wanted to see the frontier “before it’s gone.” Based on his suicidal charge at the beginning of the movie he may also want to be far away from the war, but his journal entries and relationship with the Sioux reveal a genuine interest in exploring and understanding the American frontier.

Why Was Fort Sedgewick Abandoned?

The Army Probably Didn’t Know John Was There

John didn’t expect Fort Sedgewick to be abandoned when he discovered it in Dances With Wolves, and he also expected more soldiers to eventually follow him, so he didn’t plan on being the only soldier stationed there initially. Since the major who sent John to Fort Sedgewick shot himself and his guide, Timmons, the only other person who knew John was at Fort Sedgewick, was killed and scalped by the Pawnee on his way back, it seems likely the army didn’t even know John was stationed there or to send additional support.

When John arrives, he sees the remains of an outpost, including uniforms, bridles, and munitions, but the exact fate of the soldiers stationed there remains a mystery in Dances With Wolves three-hour theatrical cut, although the nearly four-hour director’s cut includes a scene explaining what happened. In the added scene, it’s revealed the men manning Fort Sedgewick had endured multiple Native American attacks and their horses had been stolen and many of the men had already deserted before the remainder finally abandon their post due to lack of additional supplies and support from Fort Hayes.

Why Did Spivey Hide The Journal

Basic Bigotry Drove His Decision

After marrying Stand With a Fist (Caroline), Dances With Wolves (John) decides to travel to the Sioux winter camp; however, first he needs to return to Fort Sedgewick to retrieve his journal, since it has information in it that could compromise the Sioux safety when the American army eventually returns to Fort Sedgewick. When he returns to the camp, John finds he’s too late and the army has already returned. Since he now dresses and behaves more like a Sioux than a Union army Lieutenant, he’s captured, beaten, and interrogated by the soldiers. His journal should be able to confirm his identity, but they say they can’t find it.

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It turns out one of the early scouts, Spivey, had lied about not finding the journal and had been reading it and using it for toilet paper. Spivey’s motivations aren’t clear, but the soldiers’ general treatment of John reveals a hostility driven by bigotry towards the Native Americans. They consider John a traitor for abandoning his uniform and white customs to live like, and among, the Sioux, so Spivey likely withheld the journal as a form of punishment. He clearly takes pleasure in beating and mistreating John as they take him to Fort Hayes, so his motivation appears to be purely malevolent.

Why Did Dances With Wolves Leave the Sioux?

The Decision Kept His Found Family Safe

Dances With Wolves had already decided he was going to live with the Sioux when they went to their winter camp before he was captured retrieving his journal, but after they rescue him from the American soldiers, he changes his mind. While he is still, choosing the Sioux way of life over his white upbringing and position in the United States Army, he believes the death of the soldiers who captured him will brand him as a traitor and the soldiers would hunt him down, putting the rest of the Sioux at risk.

The decision at the end of Dances With Wolves doesn’t immediately make sense, because John had already been living among the Sioux for some time, and it’s clear the American soldiers wouldn’t know where to find the Sioux winter camp. However, the way the soldiers treat John when they capture him reveals a cruel impulse towards the Native Americans, and now that he has the blood of the soldiers on his hands, he knows their hatred of him will be even greater. Additionally, the final scene of the movie reveals the army has recruited other Native Americans as guides, putting the Sioux at an even greater risk, especially if John stays with them.

What Happens at the End of Dances With Wolves?

The Frontier Was No More

The short text and the end of Dances With Wolves states “Thirteen years later, their homes destroyed, their buffalo gone, the last band of free Sioux submitted to white authority at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. The great horse culture of the plains was gone and the American frontier was soon to pass into history.” When originally choosing the post, John stated he wanted to see the frontier “before it’s gone,” and he knew it’d eventually end this way, telling Kicking Bird the white men were coming, and their number would be “like the stars.”

Today, the Sioux and other Native American tribes are relegated to land on reservations, although nearly 80 percent of Native Americans live off-reservation. While Dances With Wolves is told from the perspective a white man through John Dunbar, it still provides a glimpse into the Sioux culture before the end of the 19th century. Aspects of the historical accuracy of Dances With Wolves has been challenged as it gives into some Native American stereotypes, although the Sioux language and costuming is largely true-to-life.

The Real Meaning Of The Dances With Wolves Ending

Kevin Costner’s 1990 Western Exposes The Inevitability Of Tragedy

The Dances With Wolves ending is, at its core, a commentary on the inevitable clash between two disparate cultures and the ensuing loss of Native American autonomy and way of life. As Kevin Costner’s John Dunbar integrates into the Sioux tribe, adopting their customs and earning the name “Dances With Wolves,” he embodies the possibility of harmony between white settlers and Native Americans. However, the ending of Dances With Wolves underscores the tragic reality that such harmony was fleeting in the face of relentless westward expansion.

Dunbar decides to retrieve his journal from Fort Sedgwick towards the end of Dances With Wolves to prevent the U.S. Army from using it to locate the Sioux. Upon arrival, he discovers the fort reoccupied by Union soldiers who, perceiving him as a traitor due to his assimilation into Sioux culture, arrest him for desertion. This highlights the broader societal inability to accept the cultural integration of Native Americans, and the fact they weren’t viewed as fellow humans. The soldiers’ immediate hostility toward Dunbar reflects the pervasive bigotry of the era, and the systemic social barriers that prevented understanding and acceptance.

John Dunbar’s eventual rescue by the Sioux at the end of Dances With Wolves and his decision to leave the tribe to protect them from further persecution encapsulates the movie’s central theme: the inexorable decline of Native American cultures in the face of American expansion. Despite his deep integration and acceptance within the tribe, Dunbar recognizes that his presence endangers them, a poignant acknowledgment of the destructive impact his own people have on the Sioux. This self-imposed exile is a testament to his transformation and the deep bonds he has formed, yet it also serves as an indictment of a society unwilling to coexist with those it deems different.

Dances With Wolves concludes with an epilogue noting that thirteen years later, the last of the free Sioux were subjugated to reservations, marking the end of their autonomy. This somber note reinforces the narrative that, despite moments of understanding and connection, the dominant trajectory was one of cultural eradication and loss. Ultimately, Dances With Wolves uses its ending to reflect on the broader historical context of Native American displacement, urging viewers to acknowledge and mourn the loss of rich cultures and the individuals who sought, often in vain, to bridge the chasm between worlds.

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How The Dances With Wolves Ending Was Received

The Finale Continues To Be Widely Praised

Upon its release in 1990, Dances With Wolves garnered widespread critical acclaim, with particular attention to its narrative and thematic depth, especially concerning its ending. The movie’s conclusion, which portrays the tragic inevitability of Native American displacement, resonated deeply with audiences and critics alike, prompting reflections on historical injustices and the film’s role in reshaping the Western genre.​

Renowned film critic Roger Ebert lauded Dances With Wolves for its ability to transcend traditional Western tropes, highlighting its empathetic portrayal of Native American cultures. He had the following to say about the plot and ending of Dances With Wolves:

“The movie is a simple story, magnificently told. It has the epic sweep and clarity of a Western by John Ford, and it abandons the contrivances of ordinary plotting to look, in detail, at the way strangers get to know one another.”

Ebert emphasized the film’s success in fostering a genuine connection between the audience and the Sioux characters, a connection that renders the ending profoundly impactful, writing, “as Dunbar discovers the culture of the Sioux, so do we”. The famed critic rounded off his review by again directly commenting on the story, ending included, and how it defies all expectations (and makes its considerable runtime a benefit rather than a hindrance):

“Dances With Wolves has the kind of vision and ambition that is rare in movies today. It is not a formula movie, but a thoughtful, carefully observed story. It is a Western at a time when the Western is said to be dead. It asks for our imagination and sympathy. It takes its time, three hours, to unfold. It is a personal triumph for Kevin Costner, the intelligent young actor of “Field of Dreams,” who directed the film and shows a command of story and of visual structure that is startling; this movie moves so confidently and looks so good it seems incredible that it’s a directorial debut.”

Audience reactions to Dances With Wolves mirrored critical acclaim, with many viewers expressing a renewed awareness of Native American histories and cultures. In particular, the ending prompted discussions about historical accountability and the importance of cultural preservation. By presenting a narrative that centers on Native perspectives and concludes with an unflinching acknowledgment of their suffering, Dances With Wolves challenged audiences to confront uncomfortable truths about the past.​

In terms of its modern legacy, the Dances With Wolves ending has been credited with contributing to a broader reevaluation of the Western genre. By eschewing the simplistic “cowboys and Indians” dichotomy and instead offering a nuanced portrayal of its characters, Dances With Wolves paved the way for more empathetic and accurate representations of Native Americans in cinema. Its success demonstrated that audiences were receptive to stories that challenge historical narratives, encouraging filmmakers to explore more diverse perspectives in their work.​

Ultimately, the ending of Dances With Wolves played a pivotal role in shaping both critical and audience responses to 1990 movie. By providing a heartfelt and unvarnished depiction of the decline of Native American autonomy, the film not only garnered acclaim but also sparked essential conversations about history, representation, and the power of storytelling in effecting cultural change.

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Dances With Wolves

Release Date

March 30, 1990

Runtime

181 minutes

Writers

Michael Blake