Buffalo Bill and Chief Iron Tail (Oglala Lakota) in 1900(?)

Buffalo Bill (William Frederick Cody (1846–1917), an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman) and Chief Iron Tail, or Siŋté Máza, Oglala Lakota (1842–1916) speak sign language.

Buffalo Bill and Chief Iron Tail: A Silent Conversation Across Cultures

William F. Buffalo Bill Cody and Iron Tail, an Oglala Lakota performer also known as Siŋté Máza, developed a long professional relationship through Cody’s Wild West exhibitions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although they came from very different worlds (and stood on opposite sides of the frontier conflicts commonly grouped as the so called “Indian Wars”) they worked together for many years as part of Buffalo Bill’s traveling shows, which toured both the United States and Europe.

Because they did not share a spoken language fluently, they are believed to have communicated at times using Plains Indian Sign Language, a widely used intertribal sign system of the Great Plains that also served as a bridge between Native and non-Native people. A rare silent film, generally dated to around 1919 in archival catalogs (though likely filmed earlier), shows Cody and Iron Tail seated outside a tent, exchanging animated gestures in what appears to be a casual signed conversation. The footage survives without sound or detailed production credits, typical of short documentary clips from that era.

Iron Tail became one of the most recognizable Native American figures of his time through his decades with the Wild West shows and extensive publicity photography. His profile later helped inspire the Native American portrait on the U.S. Buffalo nickel, minted from 1913 to 1938. While popular accounts sometimes describe the two men as close friends who hunted together, what is firmly documented is their long association as performers and public figures within Cody’s enterprise.

Iron Tail died in 1916, and Cody followed in 1917, marking the end of an era closely tied to the spectacle of the Wild West. Today, their brief on-camera exchange remains a striking visual record, not only of two famous personalities, but also of Plains Indian Sign Language as a living medium of cross-cultural communication at the dawn of modern film.

In an extraordinary piece of early film history, a brief silent clip exists showing William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody and Chief Iron Tail of the Oglala Lakota communicating through Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL). The footage, believed to have been shot around 1910 in the United States, captures an unguarded moment between two towering figures of the American West, one a renowned frontier showman, the other a celebrated Lakota leader.

The snippet (only a minute or so in duration) shows Buffalo Bill and Iron Tail seated outside a tent, engaged in animated gestural conversation. The clip has been widely circulated online, including on platforms like YouTube where history enthusiasts share the rare footage of these two men seemingly “swap yarns” using hand gestures in the absence of spoken dialogue. This use of sign language reflects an actual historical practice: Plains Indian Sign Language was a widely understood trade language among many Indigenous nations of the Great Plains and was sometimes used by non-Native individuals to bridge linguistic barriers.

Who Were the Men in the Film?

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846–1917) was a legendary figure in American folklore. A scout, buffalo hunter, and U.S. Army veteran, Cody achieved international fame through his traveling spectacle Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, which dramatized frontier life with sharpshooters, reenactments, and Indigenous performers. The show toured the United States and Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shaping popular perceptions of the American West.

Chief Iron Tail (c. 1842–1916), known in Lakota as Siŋté Máza, was one of the most recognizable Native American figures of his time. He became a star performer with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West tours and remained associated with the shows for decades. Iron Tail’s prominence extended beyond the arena; his profile famously became one of the models for the American Indian depicted on the U.S. “Buffalo nickel” coin, minted from 1913 to 1938.

The Film and Its Significance

The footage’s precise origins are somewhat obscure, but surviving records, including archived film catalogs and stock footage listings, date the scene to 1919, shortly after the peak of Buffalo Bill’s fame and following Iron Tail’s decades of touring with his show. The clip is silent, as were virtually all films of the era, and shows no audio track, a visual testament to early cinema’s limitations and yet its enduring documentary power.

The location of the filming is generally described as being in the United States, likely near one of the Wild West show encampments or promotional events where both Cody and Iron Tail were present. The producer or cameraman is not definitively credited on surviving prints, which is common for short silent films of that period; such footage was often shot for newsreels, stock libraries, or promotional purposes without detailed archival documentation.

A Lasting Glimpse into a Bygone Era

Today, the clip survives primarily in digital archives and on video-sharing platforms, offering modern audiences a rare glimpse of two historical icons interacting naturally. The silent exchange reminds us not only of the storied lives of Buffalo Bill and Iron Tail but also of the complex, often personal relationships that developed between Plains Indigenous leaders and Euro-American figures on the frontier. It is a small but invaluable piece of visual history — one that bridges cultures, eras, and languages across the silent screen.

One contibutor mentioned that:

«Buffalo Bill is making the motion of pulling a whiskey bottle out of his back pocket ,not a coffee grinder. He quickly makes the motion of how tall the whiskey flask is to show its a bottle and not a coffee grinder. The motion he makes is not grinder or stirring coffee but rather a fast sloppy way of unscrewing the whiskey bottle cap. B. Bill pours whiskey into a cup for himself then hands the entire whiskey bottle to Iron Tail who tastes it and quickly throws it down because he is not a drinker of Fire Water. Buffalo Bill jokes that the fire water has lit the grass on fire.»