“We know what we are, but not what we could be.” A quote from William Shakespeare discusses the trait of identity. The identity applies to the film as he is part of several characters and groups throughout the film. Most Americans have always stereotyped Native Americans and in the movie Thunderheart, the stereotypes play out towards Native Americans. The film was released in 1992 and is about an American FBI agent of Indian descent, Ray Levoi. She goes to a reservation with her partner, Frank Coutelle, to investigate a murder. At first, Ray ignores the Natives, but by the end of the film he embraces his heritage and considers himself a Native American rather than a stern FBI agent. In the scene at the Red Deer Table, the FBI and Ray's true identities are revealed as the natives are exploited. In this scene, Ray and Crow Horse go to a place on the reservation during the night and discover pools of liquid after Ray almost fell into one. Ray wonders what this is about and then Crow Horse throws a rock he picked up into one of the pools and concludes that he is trying drilling for uranium. Crow Horse then sticks a knife into a hole and discovers the sealant and then comments on how the natives voted against mining on the reservation. Crow Horse claims Jack Milton tried to own the lands and continues to receive kickbacks from the leases. Mining is the reason the water was contaminated. They both conclude that the murder was organized and blamed on Jimmy just so he could carry out the mining. Crow Horse tells Ray that "his people", referring to the Americans, did this. Ray responds by saying “they are not my people,” and that means he considers Native Americans. In the... center of the paper... he claimed he was a Native American, rather than a corrupt FBI agent, as Crow Horse called him. The FBI was shown to be self-centered because they killed Maggie and dumped her body at the Red Deer Table leaving it discovered by Ray and Crow Horse. The FBI did everything necessary to keep the uranium drilling project secret. The emotion Ray felt when he discovered Maggie helped show that he himself was considered a Native American and the director did a good job of showing this. Additionally, the director brought ideas to the scene, including how Natives were stereotyped by other groups and always taken advantage of, as in this film. Identity was an important aspect of this film about Ray and the FBI and it applies to everyone in the world because it is a trait that everyone has and needs to embrace, like Ray.