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James Young Deer


James Young Deer (April 1, 1876 – April 6, 1946), also known as J. Younger Johnson or Jim Young Deer, was actually born James Young Johnson in Washington, D.C. Although he was identified in the early Hollywood trade paper Moving Picture World as of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, his ancestry is of the Nanticoke people of Delaware. He became an early film actor, director, writer, and producer. He is believed to be the first Native American filmmaker/producer in Hollywood. Together with his wife and partner Lillian St. Cyr, Winnebago, the couple were labeled an "influential force" in the production of one-reel Westerns during the first part of the silent film era. Their films, along with several others of the silent era, were notable for portraying Native Americans in a positive light.

Questions were raised about Young Deer's Winnebago background when film historians were unable to verify much about his origins, and he was not listed on the Winnebago tribal rolls in the early 20th century.

Young Deer was born in the "Old Southwest" District of Washington, D.C. to George Durham Johnson and Emma Margaret Young. Census records indicated his parents were mulatto, although the term was often ambiguously used. Young Deer (i.e., James Johnson) entered the U.S. Navy on October 8, 1898 for three years during the Spanish–American War, but he was apparently disillusioned with the Navy's "great prejudices."

Newspapers instead boasted about how he supposedly performed as a cowboy with the Barnum and Bailey Circus and Miller Brothers' 101 Ranch Wild West Show, riding as a son of the Wild West.

After meeting in Washington, D.C., Young Deer was married on April 9, 1906, to actress Lillian St. Cyr, who was known by her stage name of Princess Red Wing. Born on the Winnebago Reservation near Omaha, she was a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska through her parents Mitchell St. Cyr and Julia Decora. St. Cyr was best known for her lead role in The Squaw Man (1914 film).


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