{"id":12064,"date":"2025-01-03T01:50:31","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T01:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/?p=12064"},"modified":"2025-01-03T15:29:49","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T15:29:49","slug":"1923s-teonna-rainwater-storys-most-horrifying-scene-is-based-on-real-life-is-she-related-thomas-rainwater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/?p=12064","title":{"rendered":"1923\u2019s Teonna Rainwater Story\u2019s Most Horrifying Scene Is Based on Real Life\u2014Is She Related Thomas Rainwater?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Teonna Rainwater\u2019s\u00a01923<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>storyline features harrowing scenes\u00a0made all the more difficult to watch by being based on real history<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/em>The\u00a0<\/em>scenes in the Yellowstone spinoff depict the physical and emotional abuse inside a Catholic boarding school for Indigenous American youth in Montana. Teonna is beaten and brutalized for forgetting small details in her lessons, for speaking her Native language, and for seemingly any excuse Sister Mary can think of for attempting to dehumanize her. Teonna fights back against her oppressors, eliciting more violent reactions from those running what were referred to as Indian Schools at the time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unfortunately,\u00a01923<\/em>\u00a0paints a fairly historically accurate picture of what transpired inside these boarding schools. The horrific institutions seen in\u00a01923\u00a0<\/em>were real and were founded by Western settlers specifically to attempt to forcibly assimilate Indigenous communities displaced by the Westward Expansion of America. Teonna\u2019s abuse makes\u00a01923<\/em>\u00a0the darkest\u00a0Yellowstone\u00a0<\/em>story yet, set in a time when cases of abuse in Catholic boarding schools were rampant across the United States as well as in Canada. The\u00a01923<\/em>\u00a0scenes focusing on this are disturbing but an important part of the overall story.<\/p>\n

The Real History Of Catholic Boarding Schools For Indigenous Americans<\/h2>\n

Such Schools Brutally Forced Indigenous Children To Abandon Their Traditions And Culture<\/h3>\n

\"Teonna<\/a><\/p>\n

The\u00a01923\u00a0<\/em>Catholic School scenes and narrative are, tragically, based on real events that transpired throughout the US in the early 20th century. Father Renaud and Sister Mary\u2019s horrible treatment of Teonna is based on historical accounts of so-called \u201cAmerican Indian boarding schools,\u201d which first gained popularity in the mid-1800s. Only one of these schools was founded in Montana \u2013 the Fort Shaw Indian School. However, almost\u00a0200 more sprang up across almost 30 American states since the 1840s<\/strong>, with a higher concentration in states like Oklahoma, Minnesota, and South Dakota.<\/p>\n

As seen in\u00a01923,\u00a0<\/em>the goal of the so-called \u201cIndian Schools\u201d was to attempt to assimilate Indigenous youth into white Western culture by erasing their language and cultural identity, baptizing them into Christianity, and replacing their tribal names. This paved the way for the inhumane treatment of Indigenous American children across different generations. As explained by the actor who plays Sister Mary,\u00a0Jennifer Ehle, in her\u00a01923\u00a0<\/em>Screen Rant interview:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSister Mary is a person who believes, as the people who were running these residential schools actually did believe, that you had to \u2018kill the Indian to save the man.\u2019 You had to force assimilation; you had to remove all cultural identity from these children who had been removed forcibly from their families and were living in isolation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Though most of these boarding schools have either been closed or heavily reformed since the late 20th century, the culture of abuse fostered by these institutions has left permanent scars in the history of America\u2019s Indigenous nations. While the scenes of abuse in\u00a01923\u00a0<\/em>are jarring, Aminah Nieves (who plays Teonna in\u00a01923)\u00a0<\/em>says that it\u2019s a tale that needs to be tackled:<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s hard. But being indigenous, it\u2019s our duty to tell our stories and to tell them as strongly, quickly, and powerfully as we can. It\u2019s what we\u2019re born into, and we\u2019re storytellers from the jump. You know what I\u2019m saying? Continuing to tell our story as honestly as we can is very important.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why The 1923 Indian School Contextualizes Yellowstone<\/h2>\n

Is Thomas Rainwater The Hero Of Yellowstone?<\/h3>\n

\"Mo<\/p>\n

The cruel establishments known as the Indian Schools in\u00a01923<\/em>\u00a0are not only a haunting aspect of that series but also an important piece of context for the original\u00a0Yellowstone<\/em>\u00a0series. Since the first episode of\u00a0Yellowstone<\/em>, Thomas Rainwater has been one of the main antagonists of John Dutton. He wants the Yellowstone ranch and is not shy about sharing his contempt for any of the white people who fight over the land that he maintains belongs to his people.<\/p>\n

Given that John Dutton is the protagonist, it is easy to see Thomas as a villain early in the series, but by the end, he is closer to being the true hero of\u00a0Yellowstone<\/em>. The scenes of the so-called Indian Schools in\u00a01923<\/em>\u00a0show that Taylor Sheridan and the show realize that Thomas Rainwater\u2019s fight against the Duttons is not as simple as just wanting land. It is based on generations of cruelty, abuse, and murder of his people at the hands of white people whose descendants now complain of others trying to take their land.<\/p>\n

While the\u00a0ending of\u00a0Yellowstone<\/em>\u00a0sees the remaining members of the Dutton family succeed in keeping their ranch preserved,\u00a0their decision to hand over the land to Thomas Rainwater and the reservation gives them the final victory of the series<\/strong>\u00a0and sees them earn a little justice for the long history of abuse they endured.<\/p>\n

How Aminah Nieves And Jennifer Ehle Explain The 1923 Boarding School Scenes<\/h2>\n

\"Teonna<\/p>\n

The Actors Sought To Ensure Safety During The Intense Scenes<\/h3>\n

As expected with how harrowing the scenes in the so-called Indian School in\u00a01923<\/em>\u00a0were, filming them was an intense experience. Aminah Nieves and Jennifer Ehles both spoke about the process (via\u00a0TV Insider<\/em>), explaining that the first scene of Sister Mary beating Teonna in the classroom was filmed on their first day. Given the intensity of the scene, the set was respectful one with Nieves explaining that there were well-established boundaries and the two actors \u201cboth handled it pretty well, and we gave each other space when we needed it<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actors also spoke about the perspectives of each of their characters amid their violent confrontations. Nieves explained that Teonna didn\u2019t enjoy hurting Sister Mary even if it was retribution for the nun\u2019s own cruelty, saying it \u201cwasn\u2019t an action that she really desired to do, but it was one that she had to do to save herself and everyone in that room<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ehles explained that Sister Mary saw herself as a protector in her own warped way as she truly believed this was the best way to help these girls, though notes that is because Sister Mary is \u201cfull of intense ignorance and damage<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with the difficult nature of the scenes,\u00a0Nieves shares the pride she feels in being able to bring these stories to a larger audience<\/strong>\u00a0and the importance of speaking about this as part of history. She acknowledges that it is something that has affected generations and will continue to, saying\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s something that lives with us whether we want it to or not. It\u2019s going to live with our children<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also expressed the feeling of responsibility she had in bringing a story like this to light, saying \u201cdoing this, it\u2019s our duty, and it\u2019s very important. I\u2019m so honored to be here, to be telling our stories<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is Teonna Related To Yellowstone\u2019s Chief Thomas Rainwater?<\/h2>\n

A Connection To Teonna Could Foreshadow Thomas\u2019 Move Against The Duttons<\/h3>\n

\"Gil<\/p>\n

Teonna could be related to\u00a0Yellowstone\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>Chief Thomas Rainwater, who heads the Confederated Tribes of Broken Rock in the flagship Taylor Sheridan series. Notably, despite Thomas\u2019 position of authority, he and Teonna are both heavily abused in their respective shows \u2013 albeit in different ways \u2013 which is reflective of\u00a0how little has changed in terms of how the white government treats Indigenous Americans since the 1800s<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Although both\u00a01923\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Yellowstone\u00a0<\/em>paint the Duttons as pioneering heroes of colonial and contemporary America, the characterizations of Indigenous Americans in either series make it clear who the real villains are in\u00a0Yellowstone<\/em>\u2018s universe. While fans of\u00a0Yellowstone\u00a0<\/em>continue to be divided regarding series creator Taylor Sheridan\u2019s political stances, there\u2019s no question that\u00a01923\u00a0<\/em>is adapting America\u2019s dark history with reverence and accuracy.<\/p>\n

Moreover,\u00a01923\u00a0<\/em>could be setting up\u00a0Teonna to have the surname Rainwater, which means that the series could, at some point, reveal that Teonna is an ancestor of Chief Thomas Rainwater. Considering what Teonna has already been through in\u00a01923<\/em>, perhaps Angela Blue-Thunder was fully justified in brutally admonishing the Broken Rock chief for not doing everything in his power to kick the trespassers off their ancestral domain in\u00a0Yellowstone<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Teonna Rainwater\u2019s\u00a01923\u00a0storyline features harrowing scenes\u00a0made all the more difficult to watch by being based on real history.\u00a0The\u00a0scenes in the Yellowstone spinoff depict the physical and emotional abuse inside a … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[582],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","hentry","category-yellowstone-verse","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12064"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12064\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12227,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12064\/revisions\/12227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news4you.fit\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}