The Liberty Boys of '76

Under Handicap

An Up-To-Date Squaw

Little Dove's Romance

The Cheyenne's Bride

The Red Girl and the Child

The Cowboy and the Schoolmarm

Young Deer's Bravery

The Mended Lute

The Falling Arrow

Tragedies of the Osage Hills

Lieutenant Daring RN and the Water Rats

The Great Secret

The Savage

The Arrow of Defiance

Attack Of The Indians

The Indian Raid

An Indian's Gratitude

White Fawn's Devotion: A Play Acted by a Tribe of Red Indians in America

James Young Deer (April 1, 1876 – April 6, 1946), also known as J. Younger Johnson or Jim Young Deer, was 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 purported Winnebago background when film historians were unable to verify much about his origins. He was not listed on the Winnebago tribal rolls in the early 20th century.



James Young Deer