Minnie Devereaux

Minnie Devereaux ( 1869–1923) was a Native American silent film actress. She was a citizen of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma. More commonly known as Minnie Provost and occasionally "Indian Minnie", or "Minnie Ha-Ha", she held at least 14 roles, beginning in 1913 with Old Mammy’s Secret Code and ending with the 1923 release of The Girl of the Golden West. A few sources say she was a Cheyenne and the daughter of a Chief Plenty Horses. However, her father is often confused with Plenty Horses who was Lakota and born the same year as Minnie. In a 1917 interview published in the Mack Sennett Weekly Provost states that she was born to Cheyenne parents who fled G. A. Custer's Army during the Battle of the Little Bighorn, an event that took place when she was eight years old. and she appears on the Carlisle rolls as Minerva Burgess of Cheyenne and Arapaho heritage. Her father is listed as "Plenty of Horses", not to be confused with Plenty Horses.

Early career

Fatty and Minnie He-Haw The actress starred alongside Roscoe Arbuckle in the 1914 silent comedy film Fatty and Minnie He-Haw, directed by Arbuckle. She is featured as a Native American, whom Arbuckle reluctantly marries after being rescued by her tribe. Arbuckle pursues a white woman in town, played by his real-life wife Minta Durfee, but is driven back when He-Haw discovers his disloyalty. Outraged, the tribe prepares to burn him for his traitorous behavior, but He-Haw spares him in an act of love. Provost was an actress in demand, working with various production companies on the east coast, including Kay-Bee Pictures, the New York Motion Picture Company, and Sennett's Keystone Studios.

Reputation The actress was considered a professional, who could easily perform slapstick comedy as well as melodrama.

In an article in Photoplay Provost recalled an encounter between her and a belligerent white woman. On a crowded street car, the woman intentionally took up available space in order to prevent Provost from sitting nearby. Provost interrupted the conductor of the street car, who insisted that the woman move her belongings. The woman replied saying that she would rather stand than sit next to such a woman.

The encounter involved Grassby tipping his hat toward Provost, which prompted her to question the meaning of the act. She often poked fun at other actors and directors during the production of a film.

Filmography