On a Navajo reservation in the early 20th century, the indigenous people live uneasily under the watchful eyes of Booker, a government-appointed "Indian agent" who can barely contain his seething bigotry. When Booker tries to rape Marion Warner, a white woman enlisted to convert the Navajo to Christianity, she is rescued by Nophaie, the tribe leader. For his heroism, Nophaie is banished to the hills, only returning to persuade his people to enlist in the coming world war at the behest of Earl Ramsdale, an Army recruiting officer. While serving together overseas, Nophaie saves Ramsdale's life and learns he is in love with Marion. Returning to the reservation at war's end, Nophaie finds his people living in horrific conditions. They stage an uprising against Booker, and Nophaie races to get Ramsdale's help before too many Native lives are unduly lost. As the Navajo tear the reservation apart, one of the two men - both of whom love Marion Warner - will have to make the ultimate sacrifice...

The first Hollywood film to present a sympathetic portrayal of the Native American people, The Vanishing American is a true epic that still deserves to be seen today. Shot on location at the Navajo Nation in Arizona, it employed over a thousand Native people as extras to give the film a sense of authenticity. Star Richard Dix - who regrettably spends the movie in brownface makeup rather than letting a Native actor play the role of Nophaie - was known as the "strong, silent type" before it became a Hollywood cliche. He would eventually receive an Oscar nomination for his role as Yancey Cravat in the Western classic Cimarron (1931). Noah Beery, who plays the loathsome Booker, was the brother of Academy Award-winner Wallace Beery and the father of longtime TV supporting player Noah Beery, Jr. Lois Wilson's breakthrough role had come two years earlier in James Cruze's The Covered Wagon (1923). Successfully making the transition to sound features, she played Shirley Temple's mother in one of her most popular films, Bright Eyes, in 1934. The Vanishing American would be remade by Republic in 1955, starring Scott Brady and Audrey Totter.