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Outlaw Josey Wales, The; 1976 (dir. Clint Eastwood).

Recently learned some interesting background on that movie from a This American Life episode. The novel it was based on was written by Forrest Carter, a Cherokee Indian writer also known for his memoir, The Education of Little Tree.

Except Forrest Carter wasn't a Cherokee and his name wasn't really Forrest. His actual identity was Asa Earl Carter, a former Klansmen and the speechwriter who wrote George Wallace's infamous "segregation forever" speech. After unsuccessfully running on a White Supremacist platform against Wallace in a later campaign for Governor of Alabama, he dropped off the face of the earth, and reinvented himself. He took the name Forrest as a nod to Nathan Bedford Forrest. Interestingly, though there were some news reports even back in the 70s of this duplicity, his "memoir" became famous as a unifying story of environmentalism and simple Native American living, and was even touted by Oprah, until she learned of the author's past.

[dabigv13]

[font=times new roman][size=12pt]
Outlaw Josey Wales, The; 1976 (dir. Clint Eastwood).

Recently learned some interesting background on that movie from a This American Life episode. The novel it was based on was written by Forrest Carter, a Cherokee Indian writer also known for his memoir, The Education of Little Tree.

Except Forrest Carter wasn't a Cherokee and his name wasn't really Forrest. His actual identity was Asa Earl Carter, a former Klansmen and the speechwriter who wrote George Wallace's infamous "segregation forever" speech. After unsuccessfully running on a White Supremacist platform against Wallace in a later campaign for Governor of Alabama, he dropped off the face of the earth, and reinvented himself. He took the name Forrest as a nod to Nathan Bedford Forrest. Interestingly, though there were some news reports even back in the 70s of this duplicity, his "memoir" became famous as a unifying story of environmentalism and simple Native American living, and was even touted by Oprah, until she learned of the author's past.