I’ll try not to miss anything:
Sun Dance – this is particularly interesting given the Hollywood context. We’re looking at two concurrent scenes – the Sun Dance of plains cultures (many of whom do not allow ‘non-native’ people to attend, to my chagrin) and the Sundance film festival in Utah. Check out this documentary (NFB) on Canada’s Kainai Nation – or Blood Tribe – and their sun dance. As far as I know this is some of the only documentation (outside orality) of these ceremonies. There is some information available (not sure how good it is) from students / participants. This seems like something that would vary locally. Notably, the Department of Indian Affairs (as it was known at the time) never officially prohibited the Sun Dance – although you might not know it given their behaviour.
The women’s lodge at the Sun Dance (I assume a sweat lodge, or temporary dwelling) is significant and I’m not sure why. It could be an allusion to social housing, or gender segregation (women were not always allowed to dance).
The marque of Eli’s De Soto (by Chrysler) is a reference to Hernando De Soto – a Spanish explorer (Mississippi area) known for his brutal treatment of natives. He died on the banks of that river, which is interesting – the John Wayne movie playing features a battle on the banks of a river. I find it hard to believe it’s not meant to be the Mississippi.
The captive white woman in the movie is representative of the Western trope I’m sure we’re all familiar with. Keep in mind movies aren’t supposed to be representative of reality, and as far as I’m concerned artists aren’t answerable to outside interests (except as fiducially dictated). Not that I seek out racist movies. I’ve never even seen Triumph of the Will. The John Wayne references – for me – function as a sort of referent-adhesive; they act as a sort of common-binding-node-thread between the others. King is being somewhat blatant here, I think.
I did try not to miss anything; I’ll add to this list as significant things pop up.