South Dakota's history makes the state stand out; Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and The Lewis and Clark Trail all put us on the map.  Now a filmmaker from Hollywood plans to draw more attention to the state, with an epic story about history, honor and struggle.

Modern day military forces are made of men, women and people of all races and ethnicities.  It wasn't always that way.  In 1866, the Buffalo Soldiers made up the first peacetime, all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army.  Now their story of struggle, triumph and loss will be told on the big screen, in a movie filmed right here in South Dakota.
December 29, 1890, will forever be remembered for the Wounded Knee Massacre. More than 300 men, women and children were killed, shot to death as a result of miscommunication and the resulting chaos between the Native Americans and U.S. Troops of the 7th Cavalry.

Erich Martin Hicks' fictional novel, "Rescue at Pine Ridge", is based, in part, on the events of that day.

"Why I wrote the story, and it ends in South Dakota, is because the day after the Wounded Knee massacre, the 7th Cavalry, got a little stupid, and they got themselves entrapped, and were rescued by the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers,” Hicks said.

Hicks grandfather, a Buffalo Soldier who fought during WWI, inspired him to write the story; a story which is being made into a 1 hour, 40 minute film.

"What I wanted to show in this movie is that these gentlemen who tried to prove themselves not only to America, but also the Indians, that we were there, for a peaceful means to bring both sides together,” Hicks said.

Hicks says the movie will be about the events, battles and journey of the 9th Cavalry, leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre and the rescue at Pine Ridge the day after.

"Eighty percent of my characters were the real characters.  It's a fictionalized version of the actual instance that happened in that point in time,” Hicks said.

The setting of the movie will be on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

"I could not see filming this anywhere else,” Hicks said.

Hicks says there are 47 speaking roles in the film, and he has high hopes for a captivating cast, including Lawrence Fishburne and Johnny Depp.

Pre-production in South Dakota will start in November.  An interesting side note in the wake of Michael Jackson's death, his brother, Tito Jackson, will be the music supervisor for the film.

You can learn more about Buffalo Soldiers and the book, "Rescue At Pine Ridge," online.