South Dakota's movie is...

Dances with Wolves

South Dakota is probably best known for one of this country’s most recognizable landmarks, Mount Rushmore, but more deeply engrained in the history of the state is its connection to the Native American Indian tribes who populated it during the nation’s early days. As such, Kevin Costner’s directorial debut, the 7 Academy Award-winning Dances with Wolves, excels at portraying frontier life on the plains, telling the story of a Civil War lieutenant (Costner) who becomes isolated at a deserted outpost and subsequently befriends the local Sioux population. The film is epic in scale, with long shots of the sprawling landscape, and it strives to shed some historical light on the native peoples who wove the first strands of South Dakota’s cultural fabric, making Dances with Wolves a worthy representative of the 40th state admitted to the Union.