The movie is set is the 1823 in South Dakota, but it seems like they try to portray more of mountainous western Montana region. Can somebody speak to the conditions trappers faced there, in this frontier area. There were French trappers in the movie, is this historically accurate for the location depicted in the film?
Were there frequent conflicts between trappers and Native American tribes?
How were trapping camps or missions organized? In the film they seemed to have something like a military structure. Several characters talk about enlisting.
Hi, there have been a few threads on this film; here are a couple that address points in your first bullet. Hopefully others can chip in with more info
For those of you who have seen 'The Revenant', how accurately does it show the life of fur trappers and that period of time in genera? - /u/nilhaus gives a quick review of the book upon which the film is based
I saw The Revenant today. There’s a bit in it where DiCaprio's character is talking to a Pawnee man about how they've both lost their families to conflict, the Pawnee says "revenge is in the Creator's hands". Does that line make any sense with regard to what the Pawnee actually believed? - there's a tangential question about halfway down the thread, asking about the presence of French trappers
I have a question also. In the movie, Fitzgerald (Hardy's character) refers to Native Americans as "tree niggers" multiple times. Was this a common term? And did frontiersmen view Native Americans and African slaves with the same disdain?