During the early to mid-Seventies, there were 57 unsolved murders on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation due to the fighting between the "Traditionals" and Tribal government sanctioned "Goons". This made the Village of Pine Ridge (Pop. 1100) the "Murder Capital of the Nation" with the highest number of violent deaths per capita in the United States.
John Trudell (Jimmy Looks Twice) really did serve in Vietnam and was acting chairman of A.I.M. From 1973 to 1979.
In the movie, Val Kilmer plays a character who is 1/4th Sioux. In real life, he is 1/8th Cherokee (he said that his father's grandmother was Cherokee).
Two hundred and fifty Native Americans worked as extras on the movie.