In the 1931 film, Yancey is presented as an advocate for Native Americans from the beginning. The fact that he uses his skills as a lawyer to defend and assist them is one of the reasons Sabra's family despises and fears him, and he has a reputation in Oklahoma because of it. He does not stop being a lawyer, as he does in the 1960 film. (The character was based on Temple Lea Houston.) In the 1960 film, Yancey's support of the Native Americans is not shown until the attack on the Red Feather family.