Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story

After watching this film, I saw that it had a lot of facts in it that related to the wrongful murder of JJ Harper. I relate this film to another Canadian made film called "Justice Denied" in which Donald Marshall was wrongly convicted of murder. It's quite similar how the injustices that were committed against Donald Marshall were also committed against JJ Harper and his family! Well, the way it turned out, Robert Cross (the police officer who shot Harper) died many years later so no one will ever really know who shot Harper. According to the real story, Cross was in pursuit of 2 young men who were driving a stolen vehicle. Although Cross did apprehend the 2 suspects he somehow ran into and started harassing Harper for no apparent reason. That was when Cross pulled out his revolver to shoot Harper.

Well.............. anyways............. I really liked the drama in this film so that's why I gave it a 6 out of 10.

I grew up in Winnipeg and saw the treatment of the natives almost everyday. There are good and bad in EVERY race, why make them all out to be bad? That goes for all races today. John Harper was an educated man, he graduated from high school, he even had a year of university under his belt before going back to the reserve. How do I know this? John Harper lived with my family for the 3 years he was in high school, and he kept in contact with us the year after graduation. He was a kind and gentle soul, he could be fun loving and he could be serious when the times were right. I wasn't very old when he left our house, but I can still remember all the times he helped me with my homework when my own brother couldn't be bothered. He even taught grade 3 the year before he came to Winnipeg. None of this is mentioned in the movie, and the suicide of constable cross is an admission of guilt as far as I'm concerned. What happened to John is unforgivable, not only in the native community, but also in the white community. Not everyone in Winnipeg think like the police do, I knew the person inside, and what he was like as a PERSON, not an Indian!

The cowboy in the movie Cowboys and Indians: The J.J. Harper Story was a City of Winnipeg policeman, the late Constable Cross, and not an R.C.M.P. officer as stated in a review by Richard Maurer. Anyone submitting a review has to have the correct facts before submitting.

Cowboys and Indians is an excellent film. The writing, acting, directing could not have been better. This was a story that begged to be told, and this group of talented individuals and teams did a superb job of doing so. Stories like this one are not pleasant ones, but serve to remind people of the social injustices that exist all around the world. It is my hope that when this film is seen that attitudes and prejudices will be changed. A film that can do that is a rare a special thing. Andrew Berzins is an excellent writer, and his talents and expertise in this field came shining through in this film.

Thank you for telling this story!!!

Ruby

This is a less publicized but compelling story of the racism endured by the indigenous peoples.