Johnny Depp Wants to Buy Wounded Knee Property, Give to Native Americans

[flowers]

Johnny Depp's latest film may be a flop by summer movie standards, but it's not stopping him from dropping some serious coin to help Native Americans.

The Lone Ranger star is planning to buy Wounded Knee, an historic landmark considered sacred ground to the Sioux nation. Depp plays the Native American character Tonto in the film.

    In an interview with the Mail On Sunday, the actor revealed that he is ready to spend millions in order to give the Native American people control of the land that was the site of a brutal 1890 massacre.


    ‘It’s very sacred ground and many atrocities were committed against the Sioux there,' he said in the interview.

The land's price tag isn't cheap, but Depp should be able to cut the appropriate check without a significant change in lifestyle.

    Depp's standard salary is said to be around $20 million per picture, and his total net worth is in the $200 million to $300 million range.

ABC News reported in May that the land is, indeed, for sale, but for a higher price listed in The Daily Mail publication.

    Two 40-acre tracts of Wounded Knee are on the block for $4.9 million. They're for sale to any buyer, including any commercial developer.

    At Wounded Knee in 1890, U.S. soldiers opened fire on Native Americans being held captive, killing 300, including women and children.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2013/07/11/depp-buy-wounded-knee

[massadvj]

Good for him.  The nice thing about having property rights is that when you own property you get to do with it whatever you like.  If you have a passion for an issue, you can use that passion to make more money and then put that money to work solving the problem.  That's the whole vision of free markets and individual liberty.

I'd be singing a different tune if Depp was insisting that the government buy the property and give it to the Indians.  But if he wants to do it, more power to him.

[ABX]

Good for him.  The nice thing about having property rights is that when you own property you get to do with it whatever you like.  If you have a passion for an issue, you can use that passion to make more money and then put that money to work solving the problem.  That's the whole vision of free markets and individual liberty.

I'd be singing a different tune if Depp was insisting that the government buy the property and give it to the Indians.  But if he wants to do it, more power to him.

You took the words out of my mouth. I was about to post this but now all I need to say is Ditto.

[Rapunzel]

Good for him.  The nice thing about having property rights is that when you own property you get to do with it whatever you like.  If you have a passion for an issue, you can use that passion to make more money and then put that money to work solving the problem.  That's the whole vision of free markets and individual liberty.

I'd be singing a different tune if Depp was insisting that the government buy the property and give it to the Indians.  But if he wants to do it, more power to him.

 

[mountaineer]

As they say ... whatever. 

[Cincinnatus]

Is this his way of saying "sorry" to the Indians for his portrayal of Tonto?

[alicewonders]

Is this his way of saying "sorry" to the Indians for his portrayal of Tonto?

Could be.  I hear it's a stinker. 

[flowers]

Is this his way of saying "sorry" to the Indians for his portrayal of Tonto?

[mountaineer]

That's what it said in the AP story in this morning's newspaper, that his portrayal of Tonto was viewed by many as stereotypical and offensive to American Indians.

[jmyrlefuller]

That's what it said in the AP story in this morning's newspaper, that his portrayal of Tonto was viewed by many as stereotypical and offensive to American Indians.

Well, duh... the whole character is a stereotype and always has been. Sorry to say, but there wasn't much of a need for tax-free gasoline and cigarettes back in the Old West, so the modern Indian would be out of luck.

[massadvj]

Is this his way of saying "sorry" to the Indians for his portrayal of Tonto?

It may very well be.  Apparently, the press is snooping around (God only knows why they never do such snooping when it comes to OPapaDoc) and they can't seem to find any evidence that Depp or his people have made any inquiries about the property.  This could just be a publicity gimmick.