In 1876, the North-West Mounted Police send Constable Duncan MacDonald (Tyrone Power) and a blackmailed Blackfoot scout (Thomas Gomez) to get the Cree to sign Treaty 6 with the Crown.

Initially hostile, the Cree are influenced by a Fata Morgana-type mirage that they mistake for the power of Queen Victoria.

[2] Director Newman originally scouted locations in Montana, but finding nothing he thought suitable, the film was made in Sedona, Arizona.

[3] During development of the project, technical advisor on Native American issues, Nipo T. Strongheart, wrote a critical review of the proposed screenplay, though other departments of the studio had begun work on it.

During the filming at Sedona, production was interrupted by snowstorms and the flash of a nuclear weapon tested 300 miles (482.8 km) away in Nevada.