William Eagle Shirt

William Eagle Shirt
Born	William Eagle Shirt 1873 South Dakota, USA
Died	1967 Texas
Other names	Good Lance
Occupation(s)	Actor, screenwriter

William "Good Lance" Eagle Shirt was a Native American actor, performer, and screenwriter who was born and raised on the Great Plains of South Dakota.^[1][2] He appeared in a string of Hollywood films in the 1910s and is credited with co-writing two of them.^[3]

Biography

William and his family — all Oglala Sioux — were forced to settle on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where he met and married a woman named Mattie; the pair had a daughter named Bessie. After performing in Wild West shows, he began appearing in silent films. At some point, he remarried a woman named Emma; the pair divorced in 1942 with no children.^[4]

Selected filmography

• The Conqueror (1917)
• The Silent Lie (1917)
• The Last Ghost Dance (1914)
• The Arrow Maker's Daughter (1914)
• His Squaw (1912)
• The Invaders (1912)
• Custer's Last Fight (1912)
• The Outcast (1912)
• The Lieutenant's Last Fight (1912)
• The Battle of the Red Men (1912) (also writer)
• The Heart of an Indian (1912)
• War on the Plains (1912) (also writer)

References

1. "Only Indian Tailor". The Evening Herald. 28 Jun 1916. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
2. "Princess Wenona and Chief Eagle Shirt on horseback / Lillian Frances Smith - Gilcrease Museum". collections.gilcrease.org. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
3. Bricklin, Julia (2017-04-27). America's Best Female Sharpshooter: The Rise and Fall of Lillian Frances Smith. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-5800-6.
4. "Divorce". Rapid City Journal. 2 May 1942. Retrieved 2021-03-29.