Filmmakers looking for frontier wilderness of 200 years ago settled comfortably into bustling DuPage County over the weekend.
A film crew from a Chicago-based production company and about 70 actors re-created historic battle scenes in Parson’s Grove, an area of scattered trees and tall grass behind the Equestrian Center at the Danada Forest Preserve in Wheaton.
“We’re shooting here because of the authentic look,” said Gary Foreman, director for Questar, the production company. “The savanna here is what prime forest would have looked like 200 years ago.”
Foreman knows the area well because he shot another historical film at Danada two years ago. Eventually, the new footage will appear in a historical program for cable television. “Frontier: Legends of the Old Northwest” is a series of one-hour episodes in production for the History Channel.
The “Frontier” episodes should air in the spring, and will include scenes from Michigan, Indiana and other sites in Illinois.
“This represents one of the first efforts in the Midwest to capture some of the early history and characters that shaped the Old Northwest Territory,” Foreman said.
The stories center on events between the 1750s and 1813, when native tribes found their lands overrun by warring British, French and American soldiers.
Much of the filming revolved around Tecumseh, a Shawnee chief, and his brother, known as The Prophet.
They led a united resistance among the tribes to stop settlers from moving farther west.
“Tecumseh was a great tactician and he had incredible physical stamina,” said Foreman.
The role of Tecumseh went to Curtis Zunigha, chief of the Delaware tribe based in Oklahoma.
It’s the first time he’s acted in front of a camera.
“I must say I’m impressed with the effort to portray the Native American perspective,” he said. “And the story of Tecumseh has never been told.”
Foreman’s attention to detail and authenticity is well-known in the industry. He was a consultant, actor and stunt man for the 1992 feature film “The Last of the Mohicans.”
At the makeup table were reference books containing historical portraits of Native Americans.
To appear before the camera, Foreman recruited Native Americans from the Midwest, including members of the Potawatomi tribe in southwest Michigan.
Other actors on the set typically spend their weekends at historical re-enactment camps as a hobby.
Some drove from as far away as Louisville, bringing their costumes, powder guns and love of history.
Despite the 12-hour shooting schedule and numerous exhausting sprints through the rough woods, few if any of the actors were complaining.
“For us, this is real life,” said Harvey Anglum of Beardstown, Ill.
As the sun set, Tecumseh, The Prophet and an assembled tribe stood on an open knoll just north of the savanna. Foreman frantically raced against the setting sun, assembling one group after another for varied camera shots.
Behind them was the traffic and glare of the shopping areas along Butterfield Road.
But looking westward from this hill top, the frontier looked vast and untamed.
