B
lanchard invited them to spend the remainder of the night at her home where they enjoyed a bath, one of her home-cooked meals and a warm bed. By day-
light, Thorpe had collected enough money for clothing and a stay at a motel. A few days later, Blanchard found them a place to live and someone to help with the children, while Thorpe secured employment for the mother in the production office of the MGM film Northwest Passage. While known to the world as its supreme
all-around athlete, Thorpe was now in the middle of a new career that left a powerful, though largely forgotten, legacy. It earned him the title Akapamata, in his Sac and Fox heri- tage, the word for “caregiver.” After an unprecedented athletic career,
including gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Thorpe retired to a life of fighting tirelessly for Indian rights, especially in the motion picture industry. There was no obstacle in the world of
sports that he had not been able to overcome, but, in the midst of the Great Depression, he was thrust into the maelstrom of modern earning and spending. He traveled to Holly- wood, where he sold the rights to his life story to MGM. “He stayed in Tinseltown,” wrote Kate Buford in Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe, “where be- ing an Indian added to his athletic fame and gave him a competitive edge he couldn’t get anywhere else.” Universal Studios was the first to hire him, casting him as Chief Black Crow in Battling with Buffalo Bill in 1931. Soon, MGM hired him for a baseball film. Later came a football picture with his old coach, Glenn Scobie “Pop” Warner. More than 70 films followed, mostly of the
western genre, where Thorpe was usually cast as an Indian or athlete. His most notable per- formances were in Always Kickin’ (1932), My Pal, the King (1932), Wild Horse Mesa (1932), The Red Rider (1934), Code of the Mounted
Thorpe with Victor McLaglen on the set of Klondike Annie, in 1935. Mae West was the star and screenwriter.
(1935), Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935), Treachery Rides the Range (1936), Wildcat Trooper (1936),Trailin’ West (1936), Klondike Annie (1936), The Man From Texas (1939), Arizona Frontier (1940), Prairie Schooners (1940) and Outlaw Trail (1944). He appeared in 19 movies in 1935, his busiest year. In his fi- nal role, he played a Navajo Indian in the 1950 John Ford classic, Wagon Master. As the motion picture industry began to
rise from the depths of the financial collapse of the 30s, Thorpe was in demand. His roles began to increase in significance and, with his determination and leadership acumen, he
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 35
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